Wednesday, July 11, 2001
Virginia Tech AD works to bring in tougher football opponents
Weaver defends schedules by looking ahead
North Carolina State and LSU are the latest additions to the schedule in the next 10 years.
By RANDY KING
The Roanoke Times
A series with North Carolina State in 2005 and 2006 will be played. A two-game set with LSU in 2002 and 2004 is all but scheduled.
At least now, Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver will have a fighting chance when the national media soon starts launching scud missiles toward Blacksburg in regards to the Hokies' Charmin-like 2001 football schedule.
Weaver already has heard plenty of complaints about a squeezably soft schedule that includes two nonconference lightweights (first-year Division I-A member Connecticut and Central Florida) and nonleague middle-of-the-roader Western Michigan. Throw in perennial Big East sadsacks Rutgers and Temple, and many will contend Tech has five "gimmes" on its 11-game schedule.
If the phone lines and email ports leading to Weaver's office are busy now, just wait until the potentially powerful Hokies gobble up a September all-you-can-eat buffet of UConn, Western Michigan, Rutgers and UCF. It's safe to predict that no resident of college football's top 10 will have its posterior parked on such a hot plate for the national media to fondue.
If that's indeed the case, so be it, Weaver said. The man who replaced Dave Braine as Tech's AD on Sept.24, 1997, is no pale-skin. He doesn't burn easily.
"People can give me all the crap they want," Weaver said. "I told folks two years ago at Hokie Clubs that I don't want to hear any garbage that our 2001 schedule stinks because we had to give up some stuff to get stuff."
When asked how he would describe Tech's nonleague menu this fall, Weaver refused to turtle.
"I think it's the least attractive nonconference schedule that we've had since I've been here ... and will have," he said. "But I can't do anything about it, you know. We had to give up something to get a lot."
To Weaver's credit, he has bolstered Tech's nonleague schedule for coach Frank Beamer in his almost four years on the job. In addition to picking up Clemson in 1998-99, Weaver has secured home-and-home series with Texas A&M (2002-03), North Carolina (2004-07), Wisconsin (2008-09) and Auburn (2010-11). Those deals, parlayed with the additions of LSU and N.C. State, have added some much-required beef to a program that shows no signs of fading from national prominence.
Ideally, Weaver said Tech would like to have "an equity conference opponent" opposite Virginia every year on its schedule, with its other two non-Big East dates filled with tuneups against less worthy opposition. The ouster of Temple from the Big East at the end of this season has created more openings, including the two dates filled by LSU, until UConn joins the league in 2005.
"By equity conference opponent, I'm talking about ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC or Pac-10," Weaver said. "Unfortunately, when games are scheduled out at distances as they are in football in upwards of 10 years, when you're trying to make schedule changes a year or two out, sometimes it can be very difficult because there are not many people available.
"And you can't buy your way out of games because it's lost revenue, plus it saddles somebody else without a game. I can't spend money to buy out of a lot of games just to get a name opponent in here.
"So I kind of feel like we've done a hell of a good job, quite frankly, of getting equity opponents opposite Virginia. We weren't able to do it in 2000 or 2001, but, my God, if we get LSU in there, that balances it out."
Weaver said the LSU deal, which arose when when Brigham Young recently canceled a two-year series, is all but completed. "We've still got to dot some I's and cross some T's, that's about it," Weaver said.
The deal calls for LSU and Tech to meet in the 2002 opener in Blacksburg on Aug.31. Tech will travel to Baton Rouge in 2004, most likely on Sept.4.
Weaver noted that the addition of LSU will give Tech three "equity conference" nonleague opponents in both seasons. Texas A&M and UVa are the other two next season, with UNC and UVa fitting the bill in '04.
"I kind of look at that and it makes up for the lack of a second one in 2000 and 2001," Weaver said.
Others may not necessarily share that opinion. Should the Hokies go 11-0 this season, it will be interesting to see what kind of final number grade they get from the Bowl Championship Series formula that puts a lot of emphasis on strength of schedule.
"You can't do anything about it ... there just wasn't a lot available for this year," reiterated Weaver. "Central Florida was already previously scheduled by Dave Braine back in the 1990. Western Michigan came into the equation because I had to have a two-for-one game. You've got to do two-for-ones in order to make sure you play six at home every year."
"The recent schedules were done before the factors came out that dealt with the BCS. We'll have to take our chances and see what happens.
"And now isn't it ironic that the schedule happens to be, looked to be from perception-wise, tailor-made to develop a new quarterback?"
Despite all the criticism of its schedule, the bottom line is Tech has nary a single ticket available for this year's six home games.
"In late 1998 and early 1999, Frank and I kept preaching on the Hokie Club circuit we have got to worry about having our fans come and see the Hokies play, not who we're playing," Weaver noted. "Which has happened, it started in '98 and really took ahold in '99 long before Michael Vick even took a snap.
"Our fans have believed in that, and along with that belief, we've lived up to our commitment to get better teams in here. It just couldn't happen overnight. So I think we can defend what we're trying to do by virtue of what we have done with our future
schedule."http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story114668.html
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I think VT will have a hard time drawing top nonleagues teams to play with. Established 1-A powers don't want to mess with the Hokies, it is easier for them to lock in the middle tenn. states of the world as their own conf. games offer a strong strength of schedule. OTOH - I suppose if the BSC format remains intact, ADs with ascendent programs will make the adjustments to schedule stronger nonleague opponents. An interesting dichotomy. Personally, some fun regional matches would be Tenn., SC and Marshall.
Denis |
