THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 17, 1995 TAG: 9501170396
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The Metro Conference presidents say they can oust Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University just because they want to.
VCU athletic director Dick Sander says a judge will be the judge of that.
The interpretations of the conference constitution are acrimoniously split, but the financial motive behind the Metro's reemptive strike to VCU's threat of a lawsuit is clear.
So is the black eye the Metro has affixed upon itself and college sports, according to VCU officials.
``This sets an incredibly bad precedent for college athletics,'' Sander said.
Said Dr. Eugene Trani, VCU's president: ``Any attempt to force VCU and Virginia Tech out of the Metro is shabby behavior. When the NCAA tells young men and women to abide by the rules and to act responsibly and ethically, it should expect its member institutions to do the same. These are clearly issues the NCAA should seriously examine.''
VCU last week threatened legal action to collect its share - along with Virginia Tech - of accumulated league revenues and a $500,000 per school default fee from any member that left to join the proposed new conference with most of the Great Midwest, as well as Houston from the Southwest Conference.
(Of the Great Midwest schools, only Dayton was not invited. It, too, is threatening legal action.)
Upon hearing of VCU's idea, the Metro presidents, acting without the knowledge of commissioner Ralph McFillen, elected to invite in North Carolina-Charlotte and South Florida and merge with the five other schools for a 12-team league. That will keep the Metro together and leave the two Virginia schools without a conference or any remuneration.
UNC-Charlotte and South Florida were invited Monday.
``It really forced us into getting a legally defensible position ready quickly,'' UNC-Charlotte chancellor Jim Woodward told the Charlotte Observer.
``We were afraid VCU did not properly understand their legal position.''
The presidents say the constitution allows them to do anything with a two-thirds majority - even kick out members in good standing.
VCU begs to differ, saying cause must be shown, and plans to sue for unspecified damages. Virginia Tech has not made clear any plans other than athletic director Dave Braine's comment ``this university will not go quietly.''
Tech and VCU are on different footing. More than one Metro source said Monday that Virginia Tech was asked to join the new league a few months ago.
It declined, to the surprise of no one, because the invitation insisted the Hokies play football in the new league that includes Louisville, Memphis, Tulane, Cincinnati, Houston and Southern Mississippi.
Tech plays football in the Big East and is intent on gaining admission to that league in the future.
Non-football VCU, though, was never invited and apparently spurned , in part, because of its smaller TV market to Charlotte and Tampa. Sander insists that VCU has greater market penetration, however, than South Florida has in Tampa.
Apparently, the mess might go away with the right financial settlement to Tech and VCU.
Woodward said in a fax to the schools last Friday that the constitution does not require a financial resolution, but that the Metro would try to reach one with the schools.
``If you disassociate a member without cause, of course, there's got to be fair settlement,'' Woodward said. ``If that were to be done, then everybody wins.''
However, Woodward said his first attempt was met with ``a ridiculous response.'' by CNB