DATE: Tuesday, October 21, 1997             TAG: 9710210427

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE:    - HARRY MINIUM

           AND STEVE CARLSON

                                            LENGTH:   67 lines

BIG EAST REPORT

Connecticut planning

to become league's

8th football member

The University of Connecticut has approved plans to build a $106.7 million football stadium, move up to Division I-A and join the Big East in football.

UConn's board of trustees approved the move 16-1 last Friday and Gov. John G. Rowland has scheduled a one-day special session of the legislature in November to approve bonding for the 35,000-seat stadium.

UConn will be the eighth Big East football team. It will remain in the Division I-AA Atlantic 10 through 1999, begin playing as a Division I-A independent in 2000 and join the Big East in 2005.

``I thought it would never happen, to be honest,'' said football coach Skip Holtz, who has been at the school since 1993.

However, the Boston Globe reported this weekend that the Big East may not exist by the time UConn is ready to join. The newspaper speculates that Boston College, West Virginia, Syracuse and others will be attracted by leagues such as the Big Ten and ACC.

``I don't think it's accurate,'' UConn athletic director Lew Perkins said of the Globe story. ``But I think that story reassures why we should go I-A. There's going to be so much change taking place. We don't want to be with the group that has no say when the dust settles.''

West Virginia the early

favorite against Va. Tech

Virginia Tech is ranked higher than West Virginia and has blown out the Mountaineers the last three seasons. But oddsmakers are betting that the Mountaineers will win Saturday when the teams face off in Morgantown, W.Va. (3:30 p.m., WTKR-TV).

West Virginia is a 1 1/2-point favorite in a game that likely will decide the Big East title.

``That's Monday. By Friday it will probably change, so who cares?'' West Virginia coach Don Nehlen said when told his team is the favorite.

Tech coach Frank Beamer is eager to be viewed an underdog.

``I'm not surprised they're favored,'' he said. ``This is a typical West Virginia football team. They're very tough. They've got a three-game winning streak going. We'll have to play our best football game of the year, without question.''

If the Hokies win Saturday, they'll have a hammerlock on the Big East lead. Virginia Tech is 5-1 and 3-0 in the Big East. West Virginia is 5-1 and 2-1. Syracuse, the only other team with a hope of catching the Hokies, is 5-3 and 2-1, and the Orangemen have lost to Tech, meaning they'll have to finish a game ahead of the Hokies or finish five places ahead of them in the rankings to win the title.

A win Saturday and against Miami or Pitt in its final Big East games would likely give the Hokies the league title and an alliance bowl bid.

Temple returns to form

Temple coach Ron Dickerson said recently that the Owls had improved to the point where they should no longer suffer blowout losses to Big East teams.

That was before his team's 60-7 loss to Syracuse last weekend, in which they trailed 40-0 at halftime and which would have been worse had Syracuse not benched quarterback Donavan McNabb the entire second half.

``Our kids feel embarrassed. Our coaches don't feel embarrassed, they are embarrassed,'' Dickerson said.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu