Option play

QB-turned-senator Allen playing tough with ACC

George Allen, the U.S. senator from Virginia, admits that wrangling with leadership in the Atlantic Coast Conference is all about politics and options -- the triple option, in the case of looking out for Virgina Tech. And it appears to have worked.

From the start, Virginia Tech wanted in on the ACC expansion, only to be rebuffed in favor of Big East members from larger TV markets -- Miami, Boston College and Syracuse. So Allen, Gov. Mark Warner and Attorney General Jerry Kilgore played hardball, putting the squeeze on University of Virginia president John Casteen to vote against the expansion plan.

With seven votes needed and Duke and North Carolina likely to vote against expansion, Virginia is in position to kill the latest would-be super conference. Time is also a factor here. Big East bylaws require schools to give one year’s notice by June 30 of plans to withdraw. The required $1 million withdrawal fee jumps to $2 million if that deadline isn’t met.

So guess what? The smart folks running the ACC have reconsidered and, well, the Hokies might be a nice fit after all. Maybe Blacksburg isn’t really such a distant outpost. And if market size were the only factor, Clemson and Virginia might be told to pack up and go home.

Q&A with Sen. George Allen U.S. Sen. George Allen, known for his strong arm as a part-time starting quarterback at the University of Virginia in the early 1970s, still enjoys talking football even as he’s moved into the political arena -- first as governor of Virginia and now as a Republican senator. It’s in his blood. His younger brother, Bruce, is GM of the Oakland Raiders. And his late father, George, coach of the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last August. Allen shared his thoughts on the state of college football with SI.com senior writer Mike Fish. SI.com: College officials might not admit it, but isn’t the proposed expansion of the ACC all about money? Sen. George Allen: Of course, it is. I don’t think someone can honestly say that this isn’t anything other than money. And anyone who says it isn’t [about] money is not being forthright and indeed could be somewhat hypocritical. Because it clearly is, especially when they ignored [Virginia] Tech the first time [in ACC expansion plans]. If they do it now, it will be because of pressure and positioning and so forth. It is all money. ... And it is also occasioned really by the NCAA. If they would ever get to a playoff system, a lot of this would go by the wayside. They wouldn’t have all this jockeying for position [by and within conferences]. SI.com: So you think a playoff would resolve some of the issues? Allen: To some extent, yeah. If you had a playoff system and you had the Southeastern Conference, ACC, Big 10, Big East, Big 12 and Pac 10 -- that would be six and you could have two at-large spots. SI.com: Don’t you then create another problem if you leave out schools like BYU and schools from some of the other conferences? Allen: That is why you would say [six major conferences] plus two at-large. ... It doesn’t matter if you have six or eight or have 10 [teams], really. Just like in the 64-team basketball tournament, whoever is on the bubble -- “Oh gosh, how did Butler get in? Or Morris Brown? Or Gonzaga or something?" You are always going to have that, but it would be a whole lot more integrity. Say you have an eight-team tournament, which is four games. You may be arguing over who should be in the eighth spot, but it is [fairer] than the way it is now. SI.com: How would you then deal with the postseason bowls? Allen: Obviously, they’d have to have further diplomacy and work it with these folks. As it is now, there is the one game that is truly meaningful. And you can start in December. And since they care so much about the academics and the students -- I’m saying that facetiously -- if you’re playing those games in December that is during the Christmas break. SI.com: You’ve indicated that student-athletes deserve better treatment. What specifically do you have in mind? Allen: Well, I wish they’d just be treated like other students. If you have halfback who wants to go to the funeral of his aunt or grandmother, they can’t pay for it. If he is studying in political science, well, that is fine, sure, Someone can pay for it. When one figures out the amount of time they put into it, the risk of injuries for a scholarship, it comes down to less than $1 an hour. So I’d like to see -- maybe not paying them, but greater assistance to them.

Allen chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's subcommittee on European Affairs, which recently debated the addition of Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria to the NATO military alliance. But the college sports arena has been just as challenging, the Republican suggested.

“Having been an advocate of NATO expanding into these Central European countries, it was more simple, more clear and less acrimonious than this. But this is going to be decided much more quickly," Allen said.

And it could be a huge windfall for his Virginia Tech constituents.

“They have gotten in a situation that if Tech is not in, they are probably not going to have the University of Virginia’s vote," Allen said of the ACC. “I played quarterback at the University of Virginia and it’s interesting to be on the Virginia Tech team here, but it is in Virginia’s best interest. This has an economic impact on the Commonwealth of Virginia and jobs and opportunities for students at Virginia Tech.’’

OK, terrific. Tech gets to play with the big boys and bring home a heftier paycheck, but watching this dance it’s obvious that principle meant nothing. Consider:

On May 6, Virginia Tech president Charles Steger visited the ACC office in Greensboro to seek a role in the expansion process, according to ACC commissioner John Swofford.

When it hadn’t landed an invitation a month later, Virginia Tech joined the other Big East schools not named Miami, Syracuse and Boston College in a lawsuit against the ACC, Miami and BC. The suit neatly alleged, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy, unfair competition, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Allen and Virginia’s senior U.S. senator, John Warner, also joined senators from New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in a letter to leaders of Miami, BC and Syracuse, begging them not to break up the Big East. They invoked loyalty, leadership and sportsmanship, suggesting: “Now those very virtues find themselves under assault, not by the corrosive effects of scandal at the student-athlete level, but rather by the decisions of individuals in leadership positions."

The senators further concluded that the bolting schools would not only have a devastating impact on the Big East and its remaining members, but would also “undermine the integrity of intercollegiate athletics."

And, in hindsight, how does Allen view the letter?

“We were just supporting Tech," Allen explained. “Well, you know what it is? It is running the option. If the defensive end comes down on the quarterback, you pitch it. If he goes out with the halfback, you cut it up.

“I’ll just have to use football analogies. It is very difficult to do it on principle."

There’s no telling what the reaction will be from the likes of Sens. Robert Byrd, Joseph Lieberman and Arlen Specter if Virginia Tech now receives an invitation and elects to bolt the Big East. Or maybe they clearly understand and appreciate the political dance.

“But as far as Virginians, if this works out,' said Allen, "our different plays and crack-back blocks will have sprung us for a score."

Mike Fish is a senior writer for SI.com.

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