NEW ORLEANS (AP) – All those who turned up their noses at the prospect of Virginia Tech joining the ACC are looking pretty silly right about now.

After begging, pleading, cajoling and even doing some old-fashioned arm-twisting to get into the Atlanta Coast Conference, the Hokies proved in their first season what they’ve known all along: They definitely belong.

“It was an interesting and sometimes difficult process,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said. “Once we landed, I think we’re just blessed that it happened the way that it did and the mix we ended up with.

“In the end, I think not only was it good for Virginia Tech, but I think it’s been a real bonus for the ACC.”

That Virginia Tech wasn’t a member of the ACC years ago has long mystified – and annoyed – the Hokies’ fans. The school was a founding member of the old Southern Conference, and some of its fiercest rivalries were with Virginia, Clemson, North Carolina and N.C. State. Geographically, it’s in the heart of the ACC.

But when Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest split off to form the ACC in May 1953, they didn’t take Virginia Tech with them. Worse, they took rival Virginia seven months later.

The Hokies made other failed attempts at joining the ACC over the years. After leaving the Southern Conference in 1965, they were independent until joining the Big East in 1991.

“There’s no question in my mind – or was there ever a question in my mind – that we belonged in the ACC,” Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said. “No. 1, geographically it makes all the sense in the world. We’d been in the old Southern Conference with many of those schools before the ACC was formed. And we’re a quality academic institution.”

So when the ACC voted in May 2003 to add three schools to the nine-team conference, Virginia Tech had new hope. Miami was a given for one of the spots, with Syracuse, Boston College and Virginia Tech candidates for the last two.

Surely, the Hokies thought, the ACC would welcome them now. Weaver and Virginia Tech president Charles Steger even visited Swofford at the ACC offices, making their case in a 28-minute meeting.

“We believed we were the right fit for the ACC,” Weaver said. “I don’t think they could have expanded the football side of the conference without Virginia Tech. I truly believe that.”

But the ACC wanted to increase its market and exposure, making Boston College and Syracuse more logical fits. When the ACC announced its choices for expansion later in May 2003, Virginia Tech was snubbed once again.

“I don’t think anybody ever felt they weren’t a good fit,” Swofford said. “I think it was more a question of … if it was the right mix from a market standpoint and a business standpoint.”

But the Hokies refused to accept the rejection. Virginia Tech and other Big East schools sued the ACC, Miami and Boston College to derail or at least slow the expansion process. At the same time, Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner and Virginia president John T. Casteen III were lobbying ACC members to rethink their choice.

The wrangling paid off. Virginia refused to accept any expansion that didn’t include the Hokies, and North Carolina and Duke joined Casteen in blocking the original plans. Casteen then proposed a compromise, and Miami and Virginia Tech were invited to join the ACC in June 2003.

Both teams began play in their new league this fall. Boston College, added in October 2003, begins play next season.

“Thank goodness we had a governor and a president in Dr. Casteen at the University of Virginia who hung tough,” Hokies coach Frank Beamer said.

Added Swofford, “In hindsight, I’m appreciative of their aggressiveness and obvious desire to be part of the league. … That’s refreshing. They brought a new energy to the ACC.”

But even after they joined the league, the Hokies were overlooked. After finishing a disappointing 8-5 last year, Virginia Tech was picked sixth in the preseason ACC poll and didn’t get a single first-place vote.

“We have a proud program,” tight end Jeff King said. “We took it to heart that we were picked sixth in the conference and were kind of castoffs in the new ACC conference. We kind of played with a chip on our shoulder.”

The Hokies started 2-2, dropping their opener to defending co-national champion Southern California and losing to N.C. State when a last-second field goal attempt sailed wide.

From there, though, Virginia Tech rolled, upsetting then-No. 6 West Virginia to start an eight-game winning streak. The Hokies clinched at least a share of the conference title in their second-to-last game, then headed to Miami for a showdown that essentially gave the ACC a championship game a year early.

The Hokies won it, giving them sole possession of the ACC title in their first season and a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

Not bad for a team that wasn’t wanted.

“It’s been one of those two or three Cinderella stories you might be associated with in your career,” Weaver said. “We’re just pleased and proud for the university and the community to be able to do what we’ve done.”

AP-ES-01-03-05 1418EST