In a move that sent residents of the nether regions scurrying about to obtain snow shovels and ice melt, the Conference Realignment Season of 2003 has ended with the Atlantic Coast Conference voting to extend membership to Virginia Tech and Miami. It is finally over, both this long and sometimes excruciating expansion saga of 2003, and the even longer and frustrating quest by Virginia Tech to join the ACC.

In May of 1977 I was a young, na�ve and foolish VT alumnus when Virginia Tech last was voted on for admittance into the ACC. I considered it a no-brainer; Tech was the perfect choice to replace South Carolina, which had left six years earlier. I was quite surprised when Tech only received two votes, those of Virginia and Clemson. Twenty-six years later as an older, na�ve and foolish alumnus I watched as another vote was taken. I again considered it a no-brainer, and Tech was the perfect choice for the ACC. Clemson and the Hoos again voted for us, but this time they were joined by Maryland, NC State, Wake Forest and the two schools who did gain ACC admittance since we were rejected in 1977, Georgia Tech and Florida State. The outcome was different this time around.

It is very difficult to put into words what this means to Hokies of my generation and above that endured that 1977 snub. It began a long, seemingly endless search for what most of our peer universities take for granted, the chance to compete at the highest levels of college athletics in a true all-sports conference. After leaving a Southern Conference that our athletic aspirations had caused us to outgrow, we have been on an arduous journey that has included stops in the Metro, then a split membership with the Big East and Atlantic 10, and most recently, a membership in the Big East that carried rather large financial strings attached.

During that entire period of time, we watched as the ACC schools that surrounded us parlayed the financial benefits their league afforded into overall athletic programs that we could not begin to marshal the resources with which to effectively compete. Now we can; for the first time in its athletic history, Virginia Tech will finally be in a conference that places us on equal financial and competitive footing with our neighbors and peers. We have shown what we can accomplish even with limited means when our football program was given a fair opportunity to compete on the national stage by the Big East, and I have no doubt that membership in the ACC will allow us to eventually do the same in most of our other sports, too.

Membership in the ACC has not come easily, for the last fifty years or the last two months. We have had to fight, scratch and claw and employ every means at our disposal to fight a conspiracy which we did not originate and were not a party to that sought to greatly diminish our ability to compete in every sport, including our vaunted and valued football program. I make no apologies for any strategy and tactic used by Dr. Steger and Athletic Director Jim Weaver. We were in a fight for our athletic survival, one that simply had to be won. I feel nothing but contempt for any member of the media who makes any value judgment about Virginia Tech without bothering to mention the circumstances in which we found ourselves. We did not start this, but we certainly finished it.

I sympathize with the plight of West Virginia and Rutgers, victims of a bad situation through no fault of their own. I would point out, however, that in 1994, when Virginia Tech was denied full membership by the Big East, WVU and Rutgers elected not to remain in the A-10 out of any sense of loyalty when we were forced to join it. Instead, they elected to do what was the best for their respective athletic departments. What we have done in this situation is no different.

Connecticut has been put into a very difficult situation, having gambled huge stakes on the word of Donna Shalala and lost. Their former Athletic Director Lew Perkins was correct in pushing their move into I-A football, however, and they are still in a better position to cope with whatever the future might hold. Pittsburgh was a full member of the Big East in 1994 when we were denied the same benefit and, quite frankly, have no legitimate complaint. Syracuse, after stating publicly in 1994 that they would leave the Big East along with the other football schools and form a new conference if Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Rutgers and Temple were not brought in as full members, then turned right around and helped BE Commissioner Mike Tranghese craft the plan that excluded Tech and the Owls.

Boston College deserves no mention or sympathy, other than to point out that Fredo and Syracuse could have ended this at the BE meetings when Jim Weaver requested they join Tech and sign a pledge not to move to the ACC. They elected not to, instead putting their faith in the words and machinations of Miami President Donna Shalala. Enough said.

Every one of these schools have always acted in their own best interests, even when they perceived that interest as conflicting with that of Virginia Tech. After a decade of shabby treatment by the Big East, we were finally in a position to return the favor. I wish the remaining Big East membership [except, obviously, for Fredo] nothing but the best in their future athletic endeavors, but if they find their opportunities reduced, it is not the fault of Virginia Tech.

The Atlantic Coast Conference lies in our athletic future. It is where we belong, and have always belonged, geographically, culturally and philosophically. I have always felt the ACC to be an outstanding conference and a perfect fit for us, even to the point of occasionally being labeled an �ACC guy.� I have always thought as one, and now we all are.

It is an emotional time for me and, I suspect, many of us who love Virginia Tech and have always been on the outside of that conference looking in. It has taken a hard struggle against long odds that at times seemed insurmountable, and even this time, the door seemed closed. It took some very hard work by some very talented people at Virginia Tech, assistance from some very able political figures in our state, and a courageous stand by the man who leads our biggest rival, but we have kicked in the door and gained admittance to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

It took a while, but we are now where we have always belonged.

Editor's Note: For approximately four years, we have run the following information at the end of Jim Alderson's columns:

Jim Alderson, who first made his mark with his biting political commentary on the A-Line email newsletter, also brings a unique, sarcastic, and well-informed perspective on college sports, particularly (1) Virginia Tech sports and (2) ACC sports.  While Hokie fans currently have very little use for subject number 2, Alderson is an entertaining and informative columnist on subject number 1.  For even more fun, visit Jim's A-Line home page.

For future columns, that paragraph will now read:

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