HOKIES' AD HAS CHANGE OF HEART IN SIDING WITH COALITION FORCES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 24, 1992                   TAG: 9201240177
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium
HOKIES' AD HAS CHANGE OF HEART IN SIDING WITH COALITION FORCES
When Virginia Tech athletic director Dave Braine and other Big East Football Conference representatives met last weekend in Charlotte, N.C., to hear a final offer from the Blockbuster Bowl, Braine said he expected to hear a bigger offer.
The Blockbuster originally had said it would pay $4.3 million per team to the Big East and ACC champions to meet annually in its bowl. Blockbuster chairman Wayne Huizenga had his first face-to-face meeting with the leagues last weekend.
"The general feeling of all the [athletic directors] was that he would up the ante," Braine said. "He didn't do that."
That, Braine said, is when he decided to support the Big East's entry into the multiconference, multibowl coalition, which was officially announced Thursday. The Big East's vote was unanimous, Braine said.
For Braine, it was a change of mind. A few weeks ago, he supported the Blockbuster because of its financial value, which would have included advertising, marketing and promotion deals for each league school. But when the coalition eliminated a loophole that could have resulted in, for example, the Big East champion being passed over for a coalition bowl, Braine began favoring the coalition.
The Blockbuster's decision not to offer more money; the tradition of the Orange, Sugar and Cotton bowls; and the fact that the coalition has added bowls and will include second-place teams cinched it for Braine. He acknowledged the runner-up issue was vital to the Hokies in light of Miami's likely domination of the Big East.
"The tradition as far as recruiting is concerned is very important," Braine said. "The Orange, Sugar and Cotton mean more than the Blockbuster. It's much easier with a young man to say if you come here we're going to play in the Orange, Sugar or Cotton bowls. [The Blockbuster] is just a 2-year-old bowl."
The coalition is an infant, still growing. Braine said he expects it will add even more bowls and incorporate some conferences' third-place teams. Bowls have been contacting the coalition, said Braine, who wouldn't identify the interested parties.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB