Mountaineers Don’t Cotton to Texas A&M; : Bowls: West Virginia spurns game in Dallas because it’s sweeter to play in New Orleans.

Dollars and sense apparently are the reasons behind West Virginia’s decision to decline an anticipated Cotton Bowl invitation and instead play in the Sugar Bowl, where the Mountaineers will receive about $1.1 million more for making the surprise switch.

Undefeated West Virginia, ranked third in the coalition poll, selected the Sugar Bowl after it became obvious that its chances of winning or sharing a national championship had been greatly reduced by the Orange Bowl matchup between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Florida State. The Mountaineers will play the winner of Saturday’s Southeastern Conference championship game, Florida, which is No. 10 in the coalition poll, or No. 16 Alabama. Had West Virginia not spurned the Cotton Bowl, it would have faced No. 7 Texas A&M;, but for a lesser payday.

The Cotton Bowl is expected to pick Notre Dame (10-1) to replace West Virginia. The Irish are ranked fifth in the coalition poll, but they also generally attract more television viewers, a plus for the ratings-conscious bowls.

“We just learned about it in the last day or so,” said Dick Rosenthal, Notre Dame athletic director. “Obviously, (West Virginia) has the right to do what it wants to do.”

According to sources who participated in the decision, West Virginia Coach Don Nehlen and the school’s athletic director, Ed Pastilong, were in favor of the Sugar Bowl for three reasons:

--The difference in rankings between Texas A&M; and Florida, which is a slight favorite over Alabama in the SEC title game, wasn’t considered significant enough to accept the Cotton Bowl bid.

If Alabama beats the Gators, West Virginia is left with an opponent that might not be ranked in the top 10. It doesn’t matter, said the high-ranking bowl coalition official. Barring a complete reversal in philosophy, the Mountaineers are committed to the Sugar Bowl when official invitations are extended Sunday morning.

“If Alabama wins, that’s the risk they take,” the coalition official said. “Alabama could win and Sunday (West Virginia) could change its mind, but I don’t sense they will.”

--All things considered, the $4.1 million offered by the Sugar Bowl is worth more to the school than the Cotton Bowl’s $3 million and the possible poll benefits of defeating Texas A&M.;

“This becomes an institution’s agenda, too,” the coalition official said. “They’re going to realize a million dollars to go there. As an institution, they’re saying, ‘That’s important to us.’ ”

--Given the choice between Dallas and New Orleans, Mountaineer players and fans prefer Bourbon Street.

West Virginia’s 27 seniors haven’t been to a bowl game. If they can’t play for a national championship, the source said, they at least want to control their travel itinerary. New Orleans was their choice--after Miami, of course.

The decision to bypass the Cotton Bowl for the Sugar Bowl violates no coalition rules. The bowl alliance allows a team to decline an invitation for economic reasons.

But West Virginia’s move doesn’t come without a trickle-down effect. The Sugar Bowl gets the 11-0 Mountaineers, but they also might get 9-2-1 Alabama. This is important because the Sugar Bowl goes head-to-head against the Orange Bowl and its marquee matchup.

“Clearly, we don’t apologize for however it shakes out,” Troy Mathieu, Sugar Bowl executive director, said of Sunday’s coalition draft.

But Mathieu added that the Sugar Bowl has no choice in the matter. If West Virginia doesn’t go to the Cotton Bowl, it is required by coalition rules to take the Big East Conference champion Mountaineers.

“Anytime you’re directly involved in this business, nothing ever really surprises you,” he said. “Right now, we’re not holding the first card, as it were.”