Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 31, 1993 TAG: 9307310066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tech athletic director Dave Braine said Friday he is "pretty optimistic" that the Hokies will play Virginia and West Virginia at USAir Arena, previously known as the Capital Centre.
"Nothing is finalized, but it's in the works," said Braine, who expects to release Tech's revised schedule next week.
The game against West Virginia, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 23 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, would be moved to Nov. 26 or Nov. 27.
"I'd rather leave [the West Virginia game] where it was," Tech basketball coach Bill Foster said, "but it's not my decision. I'm not involved other than I don't like the idea.
"West Virginia has a veteran team with five senior starters. We will have nine freshmen and sophomores and would have had a better chance [against WVU] later in the year."
The timing of the Virginia game wasn't an issue.
"It's a neutral floor either way, but we've got to travel a heck of a lot farther," said Foster, who faces a trip of nearly five hours to Landover, Md., almost double what UVa has. "I think we'd have a better chance in Roanoke.
"Maybe that's just a coach talking. You know we're all kind of wacky. But the last time we played Virginia in Roanoke, we were able to eat our pregame meal at home before driving up there."
A switch of the West Virginia game to Landover would leave Tech with 12 home games, 12 road games and two games at neutral sites.
"I do have to balance the budget," Braine said. "Sometimes coaches and athletic directors do not see eye to eye, but they have an understanding for what each other is trying to accomplish. Nobody is better about that than Bill Foster and [Tech football coach] Frank Beamer.
"To say we've got a problem here would be terribly wrong."
Braine said both of Tech's games in Landover would be part of doubleheaders, but he declined to reveal the other teams.
"If we do move it up there, TV will be a part of it," said Braine, who is working with a syndicator he declined to identify, believed to be Russ Potts. "Financially, it's a lot more money."
The only time Tech played in Landover was in 1988, when Georgetown defeated the Hokies 87-57 before a surprisingly vocal Tech following.
"The turnout was very good," Braine said. "One-third of our students are from that area and a large [core] of our alumni. It's easier to get a big crowd."
Virginia coach Jeff Jones, who said he was awaiting notification from Tech before releasing his schedule, said it was his impression that the Hokies and UVa would play in Roanoke during the 1994-95 season.
"That I don't know," Braine said. "This has been our home game [when the teams meet in Roanoke]. I can't speak for what will happen next year, when it's technically Virginia's home game, but I'm sure we'll be talking some more about it."
When Tech and UVa played in Roanoke in 1992, late ticket sales pushed the crowd to 8,396 - the first time since 1977 that the game had not sold out at the Roanoke Civic Center, where capacity for basketball is 10,056.
"No way should this be taken as a slap at Roanoke," Braine said. "We've brought the [Metro Conference] tournament there, we've brought North Carolina there, we've played VMI in Roanoke. This was just an opportunity to go to an arena that holds [8,700] more people."
Memo: ***CORRECTION***