If Roanoke College men's basketball coach Page Moir hadn't already landed Ferrum for the final vacancy on his schedule, the Maroons might be preparing to face Virginia Tech.

As the result of legislation passed last summer by the NCAA, many Division I men's basketball programs have scheduled Division III opponents for preseason games previously filled with traveling all-star teams. The Hokies will play an exhibition Monday night against one of those traveling teams, EA Sports, but only because of a contract signed two years ago. Otherwise, only Division II and Division III opponents are allowed.

Virginia, for instance, will play the Lehman College Lightning of the Bronx, N.Y., on Friday night in Charlottesville. Lehman won its conference championship last season and went to the NCAA Division III tournament before finishing 22-7.

Lehman is coached by Steve Schulman, who knows UVa assistant Alexis Sherard from their days on the same staff at Binghamton.

The exhibition will not count against Lehman's won-lost record, but it will count against the Division III maximum of 25 games that Lehman can schedule. Such exhibitions don't count against Division II schools' schedules, "and we're hoping to get the same arrangement for Division III," Moir said.

Moir cited the case of Carson-Newman, a Division II program in Jefferson City, Tenn., that will make $25,000 from exhibition games at Clemson and Tennessee.

"That's something I definitely want to do next year, play a high D-I like Tech or UVa," Moir said. "That might pay for a trip to Europe, which we're allowed once every four years. We're thinking of playing in the [Division III] Cactus Shootout they play in Arizona. That would pay for a third of one of those trips."

Moir said he speaks at least once a week with Tech head coach Seth Greenberg or with Hokies director of basketball operations Rick Hall, a former Maroons assistant. Both sides are interested in a game to precede next season.

Unlike Virginia, Tech has only one preseason game, but the Hokies will visit Washington, D.C., next weekend for a scrimmage with former Big East rival Georgetown that, by rule, will be closed to the public and the media.

Recruiting

Isaiah Gardner, rated the No.12 football prospect in Virginia in 2002 as a senior at Salem High School in Virginia Beach, is enrolled at Maryland after transferring from Notre Dame. Gardner, who rushed for 2,311 yards and scored 43 touchdowns in high school, was moved to defensive back by the Fighting Irish but was redshirted in his one season in South Bend.

Help wanted, provided

Reggie Love, expected to provide some much-needed rebounding help for Duke's basketball team, would not have been available if he had not been cut during the preseason by the Green Bay Packers. Love, who led the Blue Devils' football team in receptions in 2003, had not played basketball since the 2001-2002 season but once grabbed eight rebounds against North Carolina in an ACC Tournament game. As a senior at Providence Day in Charlotte, N.C., Love was the North Carolina basketball player of the year in 1999-2000.

Staying close to home

Claire Dickey, a first-team All-Timesland swimmer after each of her first three seasons at Patrick Henry High School, has accepted a grant-in-aid to swim for Virginia Tech. Dickey, who trains with the Carter Center Marlins' year-around program, is a four-time junior national qualifier. She also was recruited by South Carolina and Clemson.

Changes in works

Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden has reacted to a 20-17 upset loss to Maryland by restoring quarterback Chris Rix's starting spot and by benching senior place-kicker Xavier Beitia in favor of freshman Gary Cismesia. Beitia missed three field goals against the Terps and, at 12-for-21, his nine misses lead the ACC.

Since going 13-for-14 as a freshman in 2001, Beitia is 50-for-74. Bowden may have tipped off his decision Sunday, when he holds a breakfast meeting with the media. When asked by a reporter if Beitia was the Seminoles' best kicker in practice, Bowden responded, "Sometimes."

Local update

Blacksburg High School graduate Emily Low, a junior at Christopher Newport, was named USA South women's cross-country runner of the year. Low won her conference championship last weekend with a time of 24:48 for 6 kilometers.