ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601020073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
THE SUGAR BOWL payoff benefits more than the football team.
A Sugar Bowl date means prime-time television exposure for Virginia Tech's football program.
It also will mean a big payoff for some other Hokie athletic teams, too.
According to preliminary figures from Tech's athletic department, the Hokies are projecting new receipts of $2,215,860 from Sunday night's Sugar Bowl date against Texas.
The Big East Football Conference is sharing bowl revenue for the first time this year. As the league champion and Bowl Alliance participant, Tech keeps $3.5 million of the $8.33 million the Sugar pays to the league.
After bowl expenses, Tech will net more than $2.2 million. From last year's Gator Bowl appearance in Florida, the Hokies' net proceeds were $792,455.
In addition to its $3.5 million as the Big East's alliance player, Tech gets another one-eighth share of league bowl proceeds, or about $537,000. So, Tech's Sugar spot means $4.037 million.
The largest bowl expense is $266,000, for a charter flight and housing for the Marching Virginians band in New Orleans.
Because the Hokies reached a traditional New Year's bowl for the first time, Tech coach Frank Beamer and his assistants also will be paid sums equal to two months' salary as bowl bonus.
For Beamer, that's about $25,000. The usual bowl bonus figure is comparable to a month's salary.
Tech athletic director Dave Braine said the Hokies will spend their bowl revenues primarily on capital projects that will be completed in the next two years.
``The thing that I think is neat about it is that other programs are going to benefit from our football success,'' Braine said.
Braine said the building plans that should benefit the most from the Sugar revenue are the construction of a press box, concession stand and restrooms at the English Field baseball facility, a new outdoor track and field oval, and a soccer field.
The Hokies already have $5 million in commitments for the $6 million football facility addition to Jamerson Athletic Center. Braine said some of the bowl profit will go to that facility, which should be open by the summer of 1997.
He also said the reconstruction of a portion of the east stands at Lane Stadium is another possible destination for the bowl bucks, a building plan that also will expand the visitors' locker room under those stands.
``We'll also give something to the university for the academic side,'' Braine said. ``Last year, with the bowl money, we made an endowment to the Black Studies program. Where we'll look this year, we haven't decided yet.''
Braine also said the athletic department still is trying to retire debt the program slid into a decade ago, and that the Cassell Coliseum roof also is in need of additional repair. Tech also will be building a field for its new women's softball program.
``I really think we'll be working on three major projects at the same time, and this allows us to do that, to go ahead and get started,'' said Braine, who came to Tech in 1988.
Braine said the money also will allow Tech to consider lights and an exterior security fence for the baseball field.
``I'd be disappointed if we didn't get the baseball facility done right away, and the track and soccer complex ready by next school year [September],'' he said.
Tech's profit from the first of its three straight bowl bids, the Independence in 1993, was $138,500 from a $750,000 per-team payout.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB