Hokies or Cavaliers? Cavaliers or Hokies?

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

If you like this read, take a look at my blog, The Atlantic Coast Constant at acconstant.blogspot.com.

With ESPN.com's Heather Dinich asking fans to vote on the best college sports program in the history of the Old Dominion (that's Virginia, folks), I decided I would help the sports nation out.

Contrary to popular belief, the term "best" in a rivalry is not a matter of opinion.

It's not about perception. It's about facts. Cold, hard facts.

So come with me. Let's take a look at the current rivalry of the Commonwealth Cup.


Overall records

OK. So believe it or not, head-to-head numbers play a pretty crucial role in determining the ultimate winner in a rivalry discussion. And while the match-ups in revenue sports are the most important, Olympic sports cannot simply be pushed aside.

While the Hokies hold the edge in football (48-37-5 in 90 games since 1895), perhaps the most highly regarded competition in the rivalry, the Cavaliers claim a significant advantage in men's basketball (79-50 in 129 games since 1915). So let's call it a near-wash so far, with the Hokies holding maybe a slight edge.

Now comes the interesting part. In the 12 non-revenue sports in which the Hokies and Cavaliers compete head to head, the Wahoos dominate.

Paced by 23-1 and 22-1 records in men's and women's swimming and diving, respectively, UVa. has taken 349 out of 530 contests, including holding a series advantage in 10 out of those non-revenue sports. When excluding football, Virginia Tech has bettered UVa. historically in just wrestling and softball.

All-in-all the Cavaliers maintain a 465-279-8 record against their rivals from Blacksburg. So even though Virginia Tech is the consistent football king of the commonwealth, the historical advantage in sheer numbers has to go to to UVa.

Advantage: UVa., 62-37 (out of a possible 100 points, with one percentage point going to ties)

Recent success in revenue sports

While the history of each program is important when answering the question of who holds an advantage in any rivalry, let us not forget that with each aging generation—and new and energetic one that takes its rightful place as the ultimate UVa./Va. Tech fans—records of old (save for a few historical contests in major sports) are all but forgotten.

So that women's tennis contest in 1988 doesn't hold as much water now as it would have in '88. In fact, it is nearly irrelevant.

In football, this only strengthens the Hokies' dominance, as they have won five in a row and nine out of the last 10 in the battle for the Commonwealth Cup, thanks in no small part to 22-year head coach Frank Beamer.

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