Where other Athletic Directors talk a big game, Tech AD Jim Weaver plays one.   Tech's AD has finally put the hammer to the neutral site basketball games between Tech and UVa (not entirely, as we'll see, but that's okay) that have existed for more than 20 years.

For years and years and years, Hokie fans (and perhaps Hoo fans, too) have groused that the Tech-UVa basketball games ought to be played on campus, and I certainly agree.   Although I witnessed many great UVa basketball games growing up in Charlottesville (including the Ralph Samson years), and I later witnessed more awesome games in the mid-80's in Cassell Coliseum while I was a student at Tech, I  have never seen Tech and UVa play against each other in Cassell or U-Haul - oops, I mean U. Hall.   The two teams have not played at each other's venue since (according to my trusty basketball media guide) the 1975-1976 season, when UVa won the last on-campus game at home.

In the 20+ years that have passed since then, most of the games have been once a year, at neutral sites, generally alternating between Richmond and Roanoke.  The last few years, the ticket prices have been around $20 a game (versus the $10 that Tech normally charges for a home game), and that, plus the distance to travel, has pretty much eliminated the students of either school from attending.  Therefore, although many of the games have been hard fought and exciting, they just haven't had the same zip that an on-campus game has.

For years, every time the subject of moving the games back on campus has come up, all we Hokies have heard is, "UVa won't do it."  A popular and generally accepted school of thought among Hokies was that UVa would move the basketball games back on campus on one condition:  that the Tech-UVa football game be moved from the end of the year to some other time.  The situation appeared deadlocked, and indeed it was just that, for over two decades.

This year's basketball game in Roanoke, however, was the straw that broke the camel's back.  On a night in which the game was lightly attended (only about 6500 people showed up), the Roanoke Coliseum officials and staff somehow still managed to create a parking and traffic nightmare that saw fans sitting in their cars in traffic for over an hour, as the game got underway in the Coliseum.

Among the people left sitting in traffic was the wrong guy to tick off:  Jim Weaver.  Combine the poor crowd management with a malfunctioning shot clock, and let's just say that Mr. Weaver's introduction to the way Roanoke handles the Tech-UVa game was not a good one.  I sat in traffic, too, and missed the first four minutes of the game, and HokieCentral's headline the next day screamed, "I PAID $20 FOR THAT???"

There wasn't much I could do about it, but Jim Weaver, who is shaping up to be a take-no-prisoners reformer of all the little things we hate about Tech sports, wasn't about to let that situation repeat itself soon.  He called UVa Athletic Director Terry Holland the next day, and negotiations got underway to remedy the situation.

A mere four months later, a 22-year-old deadlock has been broken.  It was announced last week that starting in the 1999-2000 basketball season, Tech and UVa will play two basketball games a year.  One game will be in Richmond, and the other will be on campus, alternating between the two campuses from year to year.  And - the coup de grace - the first game, in the 1999-2000 season, will be in Blacksburg (that's pretty good.  It seems to me that every time some sort of home-and-home is announced, whatever the sport, we always seem to travel first).  The on-campus game in the 2000-2001 season will be at UVa's University Hall.

The new agreement is only for two years, and it will be re-evaluated at its conclusion.   I already know what's going to happen then:  bolstered by a sellout crowd in Blacksburg for the 1999-2000 game, Tech will be screaming, "Let's do it again!   Let's do it again!"  Stung by a loss in the 'Burg in that same game, UVa, led by new coach Pete Gillen (who has already expressed his opposition to the new plan), will whimper and say, as they suck on their baby bottle, "No wanna do 'gin!   Can't make me!  Bwacksburg bad!  Bad pwace to pway!   Waaaaahhh!"

I like the idea of two games, with one in Richmond, but I doubt it will last, and it will probably be cut back to one game a year.  Hopefully, when that happens, instead of returning to the neutral site format, the two schools will agree to one on-campus game per year, and we can stop messing around with this stupid series and do it right.

Of note is the fact that Roanoke is not included in the new deal.  That's understandable, and I don't think it's due solely to their poor performance this year, although that didn't help.  It just makes good sense to have a game in Richmond, due to the large alumni populations for both schools in Richmond, Northern Virginia, and Tidewater.  Having the game in Roanoke automatically rules out those crowds from attending, particularly since the game is always held on a week night (go figure).

So, this is yet another job well done by Jim Weaver.  This guy is a do-er, not a do-nothing hand-wringer.  It has been said that his legacy will be based on how he performs one task and one task only - getting Tech into an all-sports conference.   I'm starting to disagree with that school of thought.  I think the guy has already proven that he doesn't mess around.  He goes and gets things done.

For years we heard about how hard it is for Tech to schedule tough out-of-conference football opponents.  Jim came in, jettisoned the excuses, and signed up Clemson and Texas A&M, with others to follow.

For years, we heard that UVa would not play an on-campus basketball game.  A mere eight months after starting on the job, Jim Weaver has gotten us at least one.

Wonder what he'll do for his next trick?

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