In an extraordinary turn of events, Virginia Tech announced at a 3:30 press conference today that Coach Frank Beamer will be staying at Virginia Tech and will not be leaving for North Carolina.

"We have a very special announcement to make," said Tech Director of Athletics Jim Weaver. "Getting straight to the point, I am delighted to inform those of you in attendance, those listening by radio, and those of you watching on television that Coach Frank Beamer will be at Virginia Tech in the future."

The press conference was held in the Bowman Room of the Jamerson Center at Virginia Tech. It followed an early afternoon meeting between Beamer, Athletic Director Jim Weaver, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger, executive Vice President Minnis Ridenour, and former President Paul Torgersen.

Virginia Tech offered Beamer a new contract with pay raises for him and his assistants late last week, but Beamer refused to sign the contract. According to sources, during today's meeting, incentive clauses that tied the raises to performance were eliminated, and the pay raises for Beamer's assistants were increased over what was offered last week.

The announcement puts to rest strong and persistent rumors that Beamer was headed to UNC. Beamer met with UNC Athletic Director Dick Baddour Sunday, and many media outlets, including The Charlotte Observer, reported that Beamer's exit to UNC was a near-certainty.

"When all is said and done," Coach Beamer said, "what I really want to do is just continue to build this program and be the best program in the country, or at least attempt to, year in and year out. And that's what I want to do."

Sources say that Beamer's primary concern all along was pay raises for his assistant coaches, and that his attempts to get those pay raises were causing a growing rift between Beamer and Weaver.

Beamer eventually got what he wanted for his assistants. The new contract contains $100,000 in additional salary money for the assistant football coaches, as well as significant bowl incentives (the incentives and increases kick in immediately):

• If Virginia Tech appears in the national championship game, the assistant coaches will each receive a $25,000 bonus, plus an additional $10,000 if Tech wins.
  
• If Virginia Tech appears in a BCS bowl game that is not the national championship game, the assistant coaches will each receive a $20,000 bonus, plus an additional $5,000 if Tech wins.
  
• If Virginia Tech appears in the Gator Bowl, the assistant coaches will each receive a $15,000 bonus, plus an additional $3,750 if Tech wins.
  
• If Virginia Tech appears in a bowl game other than those listed above, the assistant coaches will each receive a $10,000 bonus, plus an additional $2,500 if Tech wins.

The new package makes the Tech assistant coaching staff the third-highest paid staff in the country.

"I'm very appreciative to the university for helping out coaching staff," Beamer said. He added, "It's very important to me that our coaching staff and the people who work with us here are compensated in a manner that they deserve. I believe they're the best group of people that you can possibly imagine."

Beamer himself gets a "guaranteed" raise to $1,025,000 per year, with incentives of $100,000 for a non-BCS bowl appearance and $200,000 for a BCS bowl appearance. All other performance incentives from his previous contract remain in place.

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