Reports: Tide unlikely to agree to season-opener with Tech

While there are hints that a proposed Virginia Tech-Alabama football game to open the 2009 season may not work out, Tech athletic director Jim Weaver remains "cautiously optimistic" the Hokies will open against the Crimson Tide or another SEC team.

On Wednesday, it appeared a deal pitting the Hokies against Alabama in Atlanta's Georgia Dome was imminent. It was billed as a "made-for-TV" game, and Weaver confirmed that his team had committed to the contest. He said negotiations were ongoing with the Crimson Tide.

Later Wednesday, however, The Birmingham (Ala.) News cited a source close to the Alabama program who said it was unlikely the Tide would agree to the game. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported similar sentiment from an unidentified source.

The News' source noted two major sticking points. First, Alabama is already under contract to open 2009 against Florida International. Also, the Tide will be losing its veteran quarterback, John Parker Wilson, after this season and might not be eager to break in a rookie against Tech.

Gary Stokan, president of the Atlanta Sports Commission - which, along with ABC/ESPN, is helping put on the game - said Thursday that it was more about the scheduling conflict.

"(Alabama) is very interested in playing the game," he said. "The scheduling issues... have ramifications for other schools. There's a trickle-down effect. It's very delicate, but they're very interested in the game. It's just a matter of whether it works for them."

Weaver said he's still hopeful that if Tech doesn't play Alabama, the Hokies will face another SEC opponent "that we would be comfortable with." Weaver declined to name other teams, but said it would be fair to say a top 25-caliber program fits the bill. He said he had not spoken directly with anyone at Alabama, nor was he negotiating with any other potential opponent for the game.

Weaver said the organizers of the event are handling the selection of Tech's opponent.

Said Stokan: "Our priorities are the SEC, but we're not limited to that. Our goal is to put the best college football game on TV for the first weekend of the season. Whether that includes the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten or Pac 10, we don't know."

Weaver said he negotiated a contingency plan, however, if a suitable upper-echelon opponent can't be found for the Atlanta game.

"The group putting this together has assured us they'd give us a home game in Blacksburg to take its place," Weaver said. "So we've covered ourselves there. But we're hoping this game works out, because it's a lot of exposure and awfully good for us to play someone in the SEC."

Mal Moore, Alabama's athletic director, did not return multiple requests over the past three days to be interviewed.

If the Georgia Dome game does happen, Weaver said the neutral-site event would not be part of Tech's season-ticket packages. This year's game against East Carolina, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., is part of the season-ticket package.

Weaver said the school would get an allotment of tickets to sell for the Atlanta game. He guessed it would be in the 25,000-30,000 range, but said those details have not been finalized.

The biggest detail, an opponent, will be resolved "as soon as possible," Stokan said, adding, "We'd probably need to know by the end of this football season."