"Damage is done; we can't kick VT out of the ACC.
Let's see: I am a talented football player who'd love to stay in-state so that Mom, Dad, and my other family members can see me play.

I can go to Virginia, where the number of students and alumni, and therefore the fan base, is smaller. The classes might just about kill me (academically), and if I get caught with a beer, I most likely get kicked off the team. And for my relatives watching for me on TV, they might have to dig around for an obscure cable channel, or digitally stream the game.

Or I can go to VT, which has more students, alumni, and therefore fans. The academics are slack, and even if I get caught with weed, I probably get a slap on the wrist. Never mind the beer. Plus the team is often on a major network or ESPN's main channel.

Unless I am also a long-term thinker who understands the value of Virginia's education and principles of good conduct, I am unlikely to choose Virginia over VT.

Now, prior to VT's admission to the ACC, we had better TV coverage in most of the state, and the ACC had better bowl tie-ins. Those elements gave us some counterweight to VT's bigger fan base and slacker environment. That gave us a draw of about 50% of the football talent willing to stay in the state. Other than the three decades that we turned our back on big time football (circa 1953-1982), and prior to VT's ACC admission, the record between the two teams was nearly 50/50, with maybe a two game edge to the Hokies. We also had the longest win streak between the two schools, at eight.

With VT in the ACC, even if the two teams had remained close to even strength, television contracts with the ACC would have begun to reward VT with better coverage than us anyway, simply because the students/alumni/fans outnumber us about 2-to-1. Similarly, if we were more even at the onset, the bowls might still have awarded VT a better bid in years where we edged them out in the standings, again because of their bigger fan base...a whole new wrinkle to Rule 2b.

In short, we -- or more properly, Casteen and the state politicians -- sold our football soul when they gave VT the ACC. In 2003, I predicted the resulting deficit that would occur on the field. On a good year, we lose a close one. On a bad year, we get trounced. It doesn't mean that we can't ever win the game, but we have forever had our hands tied behind our backs. The streak is no accident. "