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Based on how often the topic is coming up on the TSL message boards, many of you are wondering what has happened to Virginia Tech's efforts to schedule a 13th game for this coming football season. It has now been four weeks since the Richmond Times-Dispatch broke the news that VT was working o a 13th game, a preseason "classic" that is to be played in Lane Stadium.

The original plan called for the Hokies to play in the Jim Thorpe Classic August 24th or 25th against either Tulsa or Arkansas State. That particular "classic" game has since fallen by the wayside, and in fact, Virginia has signed to play Colorado State August 22nd in the Jim Thorpe Classic, instead of the Hokies being involved.

So, what now? The Time-Dispatch continues to follow the story, reporting last Friday (Feb. 8th) that the "date (Aug. 25), the opponent (Arkansas State) and the game title (Hispanic College Fund Classic) have been worked out for Tech's 13th game in 2002. Missing yet is approval from the NCAA."

The Hokies are scheduled to play in a BCA preseason game against ECU in 2004, and since teams are only allowed to play one such game every four years, Tech must get an exception granted by the NCAA. That has not happened yet, but it is not expected to be a problem.

Players on the Move

Proving that there is news in the offseason, the RT-D also reported that tailback Keith Burnell will be moved to cornerback or wide receiver for the 2002 season, his last with the Hokies. Burnell will work out at corner first in spring football, and will move to wide receiver if it doesn't go well.

Burnell rushed for 708 yards and 9 TD's on 149 carries last season, which saw him get extensive playing time after Lee Suggs was injured. With Suggs back, Kevin Jones maturing, and Cedric Humes creating a lot of "buzz" with his scout team work last fall, there isn't any room left for Burnell at the tailback position.

Doug Easlick will enter the spring as the #1 fullback, and he will be backed up by Josh Spence and a host of others.

Other Football Notes

• The Rutgers game on October 19th, 2002, has been designated as Homecoming. This is now reflected on the various TechSideline.com schedules.
  
  
• The Spring Football Game has been set for Saturday, April 20th at 2:00 in Lane Stadium. Admission is free.
  
  
• Nine Hokie football players were named to the All-BIG EAST Academic Football Team: Andre Davis, Steve DeMasi, Jarrett Ferguson, Billy Hardee, Ken Keister, Chris Krebs, Tim Selmon, Chris Shreve, and Dan Wilkinson. BC, Miami, Pitt, Syracuse, and West Virginia all had 10 players named to the team; Rutgers had 8 and Temple had 6. If that sounds like a lot of players for a "team," it is because the All-Academic Team recognizes letterwinners who have posted a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or better. Student-athletes who have completed a minimum of two semesters of academic work are eligible. For a complete list, click here.

Congratulations to the Hokie men's basketball team, which followed up last week's 76-73 win over Boston College with their first-ever Big East road win, downing WVU 78-63 in a dominating performance.

The 8-15 Mountaineers are in a tailspin, having lost 13 of 14 games after opening the season 7-2. The loss to Tech appears to have sent the WVU team off the deep end, because WVU Coach Gale Catlett, who has been the head coach of the Mountaineers for 24 years, resigned the following day. Immediately after the loss to the Hokies, Catlett made a few short remarks in his post-game press conference, and he then left the podium without taking any questions.

In all fairness, things had been building with Catlett and the Mountaineers for a while, but the loss to "bottom-feeder" Virginia Tech pushed the situation in Morgantown over the edge.

The Tech men have won 2 out of their last 3 Big East games, but they still face a huge uphill battle to make the Big East Tournament. Only the top 6 out of 7 teams in each Big East division go to the tourney, and the Hokies (2-10 in conference play) are still two games behind the Villanova Wildcats (4-7), who also swept Tech in league play this season, in the Big East's Eastern Division. WVU is only 1-10 in league play, but they're in the West Division, so it does the Hokies no good.

Nevertheless, congratulations to the Tech men, who are slowly but surely making progress.

Women Have Now Lost 5 of 6

The story is reversed on the women's side of the ledger, where Bonnie Henrickson's Hokies (16-7) have now lost 5 of their last 6, after starting out 15-2. Early this week, the Hokies lost a road game to Providence, 67-61, to drop them to 7-5 in league play, a far cry from their 6-0 Big East start.

The Hokies have just four games left in their efforts to reach 20 wins. Their next matchup is at home against Seton Hall on Sunday, Feb. 17th, at 2 p.m.

TSL Extra #16

This month's TSL Extra was released earlier today to rave reviews, and it is hopping off our virtual "shelves." Here's what's in the latest issue:

Recruiting Roundup 2002
by Will Stewart
A position-by-position breakdown of how the Hokies did, including grades.

Inside Recruiting 2002
by Will Stewart
Now that all is said and done, here's the inside scoop on what was said and done.

If You Build It, Will They Come?
by Art Stevens
What recruits think of the facilities at Virginia Tech and other places.

Kevin McCadam: A Rover Finds a Home
by Neal Williams
Kevin McCadam traveled distances great and small to finally find a home.

A Hokie Looks at Fifty
by Jim Alderson
Jim Alderson has seen half a century of Tech football. He even remembers some of it.

Inside the Numbers: Ranking the Recruits
by Will Stewart
We mash the recruiting rankings together and rank the new recruits.

Inside TSL: Traffic Jam
by Will Stewart
This year more than ever, recruiting rocked the web site.

If you're a TSL Extra subscriber and want to access the latest issue, or if you're not and want to find out more, then check out our TSL Extra Info Page.

A TSL Extra subscription is $24.95 a year and comes with a 10% discount on all TechLocker.com purchases, plus access to every back issue of the TSLX -- including this month's issue, that's well over 500 pages of Hokie-related reading!

The TSL Extra is a very important part of what we're doing here at TechSideline.com, and we hope that if you're not yet a subscriber, you'll sign up!