BLACKSBURG -- After showering positive attention on Virginia Tech athletics for much of the fall, sports media Goliath ESPN was responsible for some negative publicity for the university in Sunday's "Outside the Lines" program.

The network has visited Blacksburg several times this season for prime-time football games and special programs such as "Cold Pizza."

On Sunday "Outside the Lines" interviewed Hokie football players living in Section 8 housing in Blacksburg as part of an exposé on student athletes nationwide that included the universities of Iowa and Nebraska.

The program said 19 Virginia Tech football players live in federally subsidized Cambridge Square Apartments in Blacksburg, thanks to a loophole that allows students to apply for free or reduced housing regardless of financial aid or the income of their parents.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development expanded the definition of "low income" housing in 1995 to allow people with low incomes to have an easier time earning their degrees.

But Sunday's show questioned whether student-athletes, many of whom are receiving housing stipends, were unfairly taking advantage of the low-cost housing -- at the expense of taxpayers and the poor.

The program interviewed Tech senior Jeff King, a tight end from Pulaski living in the complex, and Justin Hamilton, a senior safety from Clintwood who is also living in Cambridge Square.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker told ESPN producer Arty Berko in a Nov. 10 e-mail that school officials would not be interviewed.

Hincker said in the e-mail that the players must qualify for the assistance. He said it appeared that ESPN was taking an editorial position on the subject and would put the school at a disadvantage if officials were interviewed.

Berko said Monday that he couldn't comment on the piece without the approval of the station's public relations department.

Hincker did not see the piece, but said Monday that, if there's a loophole, it's up to the government to change the rules, not universities.

"The problem is, so many people in so many walks of life want universities to oversee all of the problems associated with students, employees ... ticket-holders," Hincker said.

"This thing is totally outside of the purview of the university."

The issue first received national attention in 2004, when the Des Moines Register wrote about several Iowa State football players, including the son of the Iowa State football coach, who were living for free thanks to the loophole.

Hincker said it was his understanding that the loophole had been closed since then and the only students benefiting from it were grandfathered in by the program.

National and state HUD officials did not return calls about the issue Monday.

Brett Rader, who administers subsidized housing vouchers in Montgomery County for a nonprofit subcontractor, would not comment.