VT Football: Hokies, Alabama could get rematch in 2013 opener ...

While Virginia Tech is taking a break from its recent string of marquee out-of-conference openers this fall – starting the 2011 slate with Appalachian State – the Hokies are hardly out of the made-for-TV business.

Tech athletic director Jim Weaver confirmed Friday that he is in negotiations for a potential rematch between the Hokies and Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff to start the 2013 season, which would be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

“There’s some potential to it,” Weaver said. “It’s nothing that’s set in stone. The executive director of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Gary Stokan, approached us.”

Tech faced the Crimson Tide in the 2009 Chick-fil-A Kickoff, leading that game in the fourth quarter before Alabama pulled away to jumpstart its run to the national championship. It was a wild atmosphere in the Georgia Dome and a ratings hit on TV, so what's holding up the rematch?

“I don’t know that there are any sticking points,” Weaver said. “We just have to go through the process, agree on everything. It’s just a little premature at this point to set it in stone.”

If the deal gets done, it will mark another bold non-conference scheduling move by the Hokies. They opened 2004 with USC, which went on to win the national championship (until the BCS took it away). They played LSU, eventual national champion, in Week 2 of the 2007 season. They started 2009 with Alabama and kicked off last season against a top-5 Boise State team. Tech also played a home-and-home series with Nebraska in 2008 and 2009.

It’s worth noting, though, that other than a sweep of the Cornhuskers (who weren’t quite on the level of those others), the Hokies lost all those marquee games. So why do it again? Weaver said he and coach Frank Beamer have no hesitations.

“We’ve talked about it and we’re on the same page,” Weaver said, noting that even with Tech’s struggles in those games, “It’s good for our program.”

Weaver doesn’t have a timetable for a final decision on the 2013 opener, but if the Chick-fil-A people want it, and Tech wants it and ESPN wants it, you can probably expect this to happen. What do you think of this development, Hokies fans?

* For instant updates on the Hokies, follow me at twitter.com/kyletuckerVP

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