Anybody Wanna Watch TV?

Remember the old days, when Tech being on TV was a big deal? We weren't in a conference, so the only time we showed up on TV was when Jefferson Pilot or somebody else got radical and decided to run one of our games. And national TV was almost totally out of the question. Remember what a big deal it was to be on ESPN in 1990, when we waxed the Wahoos (ugh) in Lane Stadium?

Well, this year's TV schedule will show you how far the Hokies have come in just a few short years. According to The Roanoke Times, here are Tech's scheduled television appearances in 1996 (I hope your browser supports tables):

Isn't that something? Maybe we should win the Sugar Bowl every year. But seriously, a lot of the added exposure has to do with CBS's return to college football broadcasting, and their deals with the SEC and the Big East. Now you've got two major networks (ABC and CBS) broadcasting football, so, yeah, there's going to be a heck of a lot more of it. Notice that ESPN2 is now in the mix as well.

You can see, though, that Tech couldn't have picked a better time to win the Sugar Bowl. Now we're somebody, so any time we play WVU or BC or Miami, it's going to be on major TV, no questions asked.

And let's give a big round of applause to ECU, also. They finished the year ranked 23rd at 9-3, and I'm sure that ECU's record and ranking played a big part in that game being slated for broadcast. I mean, you don't see the Akron and SW Louisiana games showing up on TV, do you? Of course not, because they're not any good. ECU's good, ergo, the date on ESPN2.

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