Old Line Hokie

WVU was already Big 12-bound before Maryland decided to leave the ACC. At the time, I was hoping UConn replaced Maryland but FSU and Clemson wanted Louisville who had a much better football program than UConn. Academically, Louisville isn't much better than WVU and WVU had 2 solid rivalries with ACC members Pitt and Virginia Tech. I think it would be wise for the Big 12 to add UConn but UConn men's basketball has done quite well as a member of the Big East.

Both football programs with multiple national championships and a proud football history will be too good for the SEC and ESPN to turn down. Neither ACC schools are AAU members, so the Big 10 most likely focuses on Miami and UNC. Maybe you are on to something with GA Tech going to the Big 10 but that would only happen IMHO if they want to add 4 more members. Maybe UNC, Duke, GA Tech and UVA? If the SEC decides that they don't want to expand, Clemson and FSU are likely stuck in the ACC. If that is the case, those two staying probably keeps UNC, Duke, UVA and GA Tech in the ACC. At this point, Miami seems like the best bet to leave. The Big 10 desires Notre Dame the most but Notre Dame's independent football program will be in the Top Tier with the Big 10 and SEC schools and all of their other sports will remain in the ACC. Congress should've have acted around 2020 before Oklahoma and Texas left the Big 12 and 10 of the 12 Pac-12 schools left for greener pastures. 2026 is a little too late IMHO to prevent futher expansion. Maybe Cogress will put an end to all the expansion craziness but I expect the schools who want out of the ACC or even the Big 12 to do so before the bill is passed. If the ACC loses Clemson, UNC, FSU, Miami, ... the bill may actually hurt the ACC and eventually drop it below the Big 12 in status.

Miami, FSU, Clemson and UNC are my top picks on leaving before the bill passes. Miami seems like they have the highest chances of them all to leave. I think the rest of the ACC stays together. UVA may leave with UNC but I think they'll remain in the ACC and UNC goes it alone unless Duke surprises everyone and goes with them. That likely leaves the ACC with BC, Cal, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, Notre Dame (non-football), Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest. Maybe the ACC adds a 14th football member (most likely from the state of Florida) before the bill passes (if it does pass?). I'd like to see WVU, UCF, USF, and Cincinnati join the ACC but I doubt the Big 12 will let that happen. So, maybe USF is #14? The ACC and the Big 12 will annually fight for "Who's the 3rd best Power 4 conference" which really will mean little since the Big 10 and SEC will be so far ahead.

She's a 5'5" M from Ashburn, VA. Tech lost M/F Samantha DeGuzman and F/D Lauren Carpenter to JMU.

He did get his team to the post season which will give him more time. I thought Szefc would move on after this season since Whit Babcock won't be around next spring. IMHO, Whit has been very patient with him. I think most Power 4 AD's would've let Szefc go a few years ago. Szefc has had more given to him (renovated baseball park, practicing facilities, a very good salary despite running a mediocre program, ...) than Pete D'Amour and D'Amour has been a Top 25 coach during his time at Tech.

most here are expecting (P-2 expansion, football only conferences/leagues,...). From what I've been noticing the past 6-12 months, most of the ACC schools are investing more into football. Miami appears to be finally back. Tech football is on the rise. Georgia Tech, Louisville, SMU are all improving. FSU still has great potential despite their recent shortcomings. Clemson is doing well in recruiting and it seems like they are getting their groove back. NIL money seems to be increasing throughout the ACC. UNC, Duke and UVA have the potential to outspend even the SEC schools in NIL money. Even Cal and Stanford are investing. Maybe everyone in the ACC is doing so to get a P-2 bid, but what happens if the ACC suddenly has 5, 6 or 7 football teams in the weekly Top 25? Winning seems to solve a multitude of problems in college athletics. Is it still possible that the ACC improves so much in football in the next 4-5 years that they become a Power 3 conference? Maybe I've been listening to Josh Pate more than I should be. ;)

That's a message all players from all sports on all levels need to hear.

our bad luck and lack of a NCAA team national championship. So, I post this image. ;)

Who would've thought she would have been our most consistent pitcher in Baton Rouge? Our pitching looks solid going into next season. I'd love to see Tech add another good starting pitcher from the transfer portal, but the $EC will sign most of them.

Olivia Summiel, Kayana Traylor, Rose Micheaux, Matilda Ekh, Kilah Freelon, Mel Daley... wearing a Hokie uniform representing Tech on and off the court but I guess none of them were true Hokies. Georgia Amoore will always be a Hokie to me. She gave Tech 100% effort when she was a Hokie. She got her degree from Tech. She was a fan favorite. We have to accept the reality that we live in the era of the transfer portal. Sure, it would've been great to see Georgia play one more year at Tech but we had a new coach and new system. Georgia had dreams of playing in the WNBA and she felt sticking with Kenny Brooks was her best move. Taylor Soule felt leaving Boston College would help her professionally as did Olivia Summiel who left Wake Forest. Kayana Traylor left Purdue. Kilah Freelon left Texas Tech. Mel Daley left Northwestern. It's just the time we live in, love it or hate it.

it looks like a bad weekend (down 9-3) which is okay if we win or lose today. Still going to post season. Will need to play better to get to host at home in week one.

this time of the season. I can remember head scratchers vs. Syracuse and Pitt in recent years. A win tomorrow wins the series. Like Meat Loaf once sang, "Two out of three ain't bad."

I knew dozens of families in Maryland who had one or more of their children play D-1 men's or women's lacrosse and none of them were the country club type people that is readily stereotyped on this board. Sure there are a few players who come from wealthy families but the vast majority have parents who are carpenters, landscapers, nurses, government workers, teachers, retailers, wholesalers, ... They are hardworking people who provide an upper middleclass lifestyle for their children. They come from the same economic class as Tech's soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball players. Lacrosse is pretty much a suburban sport and I guess some people consider folks in the suburbs to be "country club" people. Tech can be successful in lacrosse if they want to but our athletic department doesn't fund it like most ACC schools do. Clemson is about the least likely ACC school to sponsor D-1 women's lacrosse and yet they have made a serious commitment to running a successful women's lacrosse program. Tech's lacrosse facilities are upper half G-5 at best. JMU and Liberty have better facilities than Tech. I don't expect any improvement in our women's lacrosse program until Tech makes a commitment to compete in the ACC. I don't expect any miracle any time soon. Tech seems to be satisfied with the program's annual lower third conference standings and slightly above .500 overall records.

were just as loyal to the name in front of their jersey. I'd say about half of the players are but the others are just looking for a better deal (financial, playing time or both). If the NCAA could limit the number of transfers to just one, then things would calm down. Right now, we have free agency gone wild. I have no problem with a player transferring after getting their degree to find another school that would give them the master's degree they much desired. I just don't care for the players who transfer 2 or 3 or even 4 times in 4 years.

She wasn't going to get much playing time with Duffy. She's also from Wisconsin. One of my concerns with Duffy is he lack of signess within the 6 hour radius of Blacksburg. Suffren is a Brooks' signee and Sears is the only player she's signed regionally. She's a Midwesterner and she seems more comfortable recruiting in that region of the country. I realize that it takes time to develope relationships with high school coaches and club teams in this region, so I'm hoping she and her staff will eventually sign some talented players from Virginia, the Carolinas, Maryland.... I also realize that players are more likely to play further from home today than just a decade or so ago because of the age we live in, but I always feel you're more likely to hold on to players who live closer to the school they play for. Young people still get homesick and want to see family and friends at their games.

NCAA to wait until next season for the rule changes and use the 2025 rules for this season.

Tech's women's lacrosse facilities easily rank in the bottom third of the ACC. Clemson has a top notch facility, FSU's new facility is really nice. UNC, UVA, BC...have quality facilites. Skiera doesn't attack the transfer portal as hard as most of the ACC and top 40 WLAX programs. I have no clue what kind of NIL money Skiera has to work with but I'm guessing it doesn't compare to the Top 30-40 WLAX programs. Recruiting has slightly improved but Skiera has lost her top players to better programs, notably UNC. As for 2026, I agree that Tech likely finishes in the bottom third. FSU and Pitt are on the road,so those games aren't gimmes. Tech opens up at Mercer, a team capable of beating us. A win there would be in the right direction. I pretty much see the same non-conference teams (JMU, Elon, High Point, Mercer, VCU, Queens) on the schedule. At best, I expect a .500 overall record and maybe 2-3 wins in the ACC. As for Skiera, I kind of agree that this may be "A make or break year" for her, but Whit Babcock will keep her as long as she has a 7-9, 8-8, 9-7 type overall record. Babcock personally likes Skiera and realizes he's not funding her program to succeed in the ACC. His focus is on football and men's basketball. The only way I see Skiera getting fired is if she goes 0-8 in conference and has a losing non-conference record. I feel that Skiera will have a slightly better team this spring than she has last season.

The P-2 has pretty much relegated the ACC and Big 12 to second tier status. In reality, the P-2 doesn't need Notre Dame to strengthen their football schedules. With all their power, why doesn't the B1G and SEC along with all the other conferences simply require that only schools from conferences qualify for the CFP? As for all the ACC, B1G, SEC and Big 12 schools on Notre Dame's future football schedules, why don't those schools opt out, saying they have to focus on their 9-game conference schedules and would rather play a power school from another conference. It has been done hundreds of times. How many schools on Tech's future schedules have dropped the game or series over the past decades? A dozen or more? All I'm saying is the top 4 football conferences are guilty of allowing Notre Dame to have "special treatment". If the top 4 conferences sudddenly went "cold turkey" on Notre Dame scheduling, Notre Dame would either be forced to join a power conference or lose tens of millions annually as a glorified G-5 football independent. I'm sure NBC would eventually part ways since who wants to watch Notre Dame play a schedule filled with MAC, AAC, MWC, new Pac-12, SBC teams.

but all the Power 4 conferences refused to play Notre Dame in football, forcing them to eventually join a P-4 conference for all sports? Notre Dame's schedule would be filled with 12 G-5 games. I guess they'd get in the playoffs as the highest ranked G-5 school but NBC would end their relationship with them when their contract is to be renewed. I doubt this scenario would ever happen but if it did, Notre Dame would have to join a P-4 conference. What I'm saying is Notre Dame needs the Power 4 more than the Power 4 needs them.

him *****ing about the Irish being left out of the playoffs and attacking the ACC makes him and the university look like a bunch of crybabies and further puts Notre Dame vs. the world (Power 4 schools). The ACC has to take care of their "fulltime" members before taking care of Notre Dame. I'm sure the ACC would 100% support a Notre Dame bubble team (basketball or any of their other 21 sports teams in the ACC) getting into the NCAA Tournament. The more Notre Dame *****es, the more disliked they will become. Maybe Notre Dame doesn't care if everyone else hates them (ND Football) but this isn't a good PR move for them. IMHO, what Notre Dame learned yesterday is that they either need to become a fulltime member of a Power 4 conference or go 12-0 or no worse than 11-1 in the regular season as a football independent. ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 12/8/2025, 4:46:53 PM

As for "giving the ACC the middle finger", Notre Dame did it to themselves by losing to Miami. When the playoffs go to 16, a 2-loss Notre Dame will have a much better chance of getting in.

if it is simply based on athletic programs spending more money on football, basketball.... Virginia Tech is doing what every Power 4 school has to do to survive. IMHO, VA Tech is late to the party. What Tech is doing now is preparing itself for the future when the P-4 schools begin negotiating new contracts. I don't like the direction D-1 athletics is heading but it's a necessary evil to survive. Hopefully James Franklin gets Tech back to level it was 15 years ago, just in time when the Big 10 and SEC decide to expand.

Hopefully it will be another 42 years until Wake wins in Blacksburg. I don't expect another win this season but the future looks much more promising now than it did when Pry was the head coach in week 3.

have a child play hoops at Stanford. Cameron Brink daughter of Greg Brink. Her rmother Michelle Bain played on Tech's WBB team.

I think the AD has to go first. I'll be disappointed if no action is taken this week.

I thought that way last season but getting rid of "Enter Sandman" would most likely hurt attendance (younger crowd, students,,,,) and hurt recruiting (all sports) since high school recruits are impressed with the pregame scene at Lane. It's sad that a loyal fan base like Tech has a dud of a football program. For the past decade or so, Tech football fans are the only part of the program showing up and making the grade. IMHO, Pry needs to win 8 of his final 10 games to keep his job. If he doesn't, both him and Whit Babcock need to be replaced.

At this point, it really doesn't matter to me where Tech ends up. Sure, I'd love to see Tech in the Power 2 but if they end up in the second tier, so be it. I'm just weary of all the endless Big 10 and SEC superiority talk. Both those conferences are boring and predictable. Give me a good Sun Belt game any day. ;)

over Tech with instate recruits. Tech will never be able to match UVA's P-2 money. I guess that Tech will only win 9 out of the 10 rivalry games once Tech is non-Power 2 conference member. ;)

were from the Rocky Mountain region (Utah, ASU) and Florida (USF and Miami). Notre Dame got accepted despite low R&D rankings. I think Florida State will get in soon because of their location and future potential. "If" the Big 10 wants FSU, I'm sure every AAU member in that conference will support FSU. Georgia and NC State are two other Southern schools that have a chance of getting in along with Virginia Tech. I'd be surprised if any schools get accepted in the next 2-3 years or even longer.

JMU, BYU, Oregon State, Vandy and Florida are respectable. The rest are pretty much scrimmage games. At least the newcomers will all get a chance to play this fall and early winter. I just hope this OOC schedule doesn't come back to bite us if we're on the infamous "bubble". Let's hope 8-10+ ACC teams are ranked in the Top 50. That's very possible.

would be a good fit with Marshall, JMU and App State. Sun Belt membership would likely help Ohio's football recruiting.

with the Big 12 schools and the Big 12 didn't want anything to do with SMU? If so, Cal and Stanford would've joined the Big 12 when Arizona, ASU, Utah and Colorado did. SMU only joined the ACC because no other P-4 conference wanted them.

I actually enjoy watching some of their conference football games. The Sun Belt has been proactive, not so with the MAC. C-USA has fallen the most among the G-5's and the AAC is getting weaker by the year. MWC has taken a major hit due to the fall of the old Pac-12. The Sun Belt looks like they want to be the #1 football conference among the G-5 unless the PAC is now considered a G-5 or G-6 conference.

then the SEC would have 4 schools that play women's lacrosse. Let's say FSU or Clemson also got an invite, would 5 teams be enough for a WLAX conference? The SEC is getting stronger in women's soccer.

will be renamed "Gonzaga State" so they can fit it with all the "PAC State" schools. ;)

to Tech. MF Sarah Murrell from ODU (Perryville, MD native).

paying their star pitcher $1 million a year. I guess with little enthusiasm, I'll go with Lindsey Grein's team and those ugly yellow uniforms. Tech should get a mention or two whenever Grein pitches.

If so, I hope we have a new AD. IMO, John Szefc is smart enough to know when it's time to go, I doubt he gets fired. Hard to believe he's been at Tech for 8 years now. He's 91-125 in ACC play with one trip to the NCAA's during his tenure. Most ACC schools would've fired him by now. He needs to thank his lucky stars that Whit has been very patient with him.

one of the new members. Oklahoma, seems to never have to leave their metropolitan area for the entirety of the CWS Playoffs. Williamsport, PA would be my choice for the Softball CWS or at least alternate it with OKC and maybe a California site.

As some of the former Hokies at UNC get ready for the semi-finals and finals, I was thinking about which current players on Tech's roster the elite programs are hoping to see in the transfer portal. IMO, the talent level isn't as good as it was last spring, so I'd expect less transfers this spring. Like most WLAX programs, I expect at least half a dozen to transfer for various reasons. "If" Lauren Render and/or Mia Pozzi decided to enter the portal, they'd get serious attention from the elite programs. With an increase in NIL money and a chance to play for a program that has a legitimate shot at a national championship, I wouldn't blame players from programs like Tech to transfer to an elite program. I have a feeling Tech doesn't offer the NIL money that most ACC WLAX programs offer and our recent postseason history doesn't help us retain better players either. I hope that Kristen Skiera can keep her better players this spring but we live in a different college sports world today than we did just a short decade ago (even five years ago). I'm just preparing myself to see some of our better players make decisions that will help them in the near future. I hate to say this, but I can't blame them. Go Hokies!