Old Line Hokie

FSU has clinched the series and #1 ACCSBT seed and they are itching to go back to Tallahassee while Tech will be more focused than the Noles, trying to avoid a sweep on the last home regular season game for the seniors.

Then you have to include 5-6 other ACC schools that are better than Tech along with 4-5 Big Ten schools and probably 2-3 extra Ivy League teams. There are only 29 teams in the tournament. I'm not saying it's impossible, just feel like Tech had to be Top 6 in ACC to get in.

and SMU to build on campus broadcasting studios like the other 15 ACC schools? To be fair, all three new members joined within a year of acceptance.

Tech football and basketball games he called. This was my favorite. Even Craig James paid a compliment to Tech midway through this broadcast saying how beautiful Tech's campus was and how it didn't get the recognition it deserved. Said something like "Virginia Tech is how a college campus should look."

makes a lot of sense and if it comes down to Tech and Oregon for the 16th spot, that may be a major consideration. Plus it gives the mighty Big 10 another team as a regional host. Then Tech gets placed as a #2 in some SEC school's regional.

It usually takes 30-45 days for most transfers to sign and some take 60+ days.

and get to ACC Tournament semifinals. My concern is going 3-3 vs. Cal (2-1) and FSU (1-2) will drop Tech out of the Top 16 or even Top 20 and a few SEC teams or even a team like Clemson sneak into spots 15 and 16. Emma Lemley had a terrible series. They showed earlier that they are a hosting quality team with the 21-0 win but seem to be uncomfortable when trailing after the 6th inning. This is a terrible time to go into a slump. Did not playing a mid-week game hurt? Did all the favorable publicity (which was much deserved) get to their heads. The ACCN has been talking about how great Tech and FSU are and how everyone is looking forward to that series while assuming Tech would easily sweep lowly Pitt. Maybe too much pressure? Or Pitt simply is peaking now and gaining confidence?

Tech has had some close games vs. Cuse over the past decade or so. Last win was in 2018 in 2OT. Tech can jump UVA "if" they can find an upset win in Hooville. Tech was #27 in the RPI last week. IMHO, Tech would have to beat UVA and then win a game in the ACCWLAX Tournament to be seriously considered for a NCAA tournament bid.

but he wanted another challenge. Kentucky had the SEC cash and UK resources. I don't feel sorry for Kenny. He knew that more pressure came with his new job. The UK fanbase will not be as patient as Tech's and will have higher expectations. Kenny set the bar high at UK when he as named their new head coach. Like most coaches, Kenny is a politician and BSer. He says things that the fans and donors want to hear. A week before taking the UK job, Kenny said that the ACC was the best women's basketball conference in the land. During his UK introduction, he said the SEC was the best women's basketball conference. The Cassidy Rowe article shouldn't surprise anyone who has been familiar with Kenny Brooks.

when he departs in 5-6 years, it will be easier for him to sell his house since he'll likley live in a neighborhood where all the houses are worth a few million dollars. ;)

is pretty common for any men's or women's D-1 basketball team these days.

competing with the upper half of the conference. Seeing some of our top talent transfer the past 2 seasons set the program back to year #1. Skiera has a young team but I agree that her teams at Tech have been sloppy (unforced TO's) and slower and less physical/athletic than most of our ACC opponents. The program is stagnant. Our players give effort and don't quit but those long scoreless droughts 2 to 3 times during games almost always leads to a loss. I wonder if Skiera is on the hot seat after this season or she is forced to find new assistants. She was a little behind on dealing with the transfer portal since she never had to deal with it (as far as bringing in new players) since she had spent all her coaching time at Navy and Army. I have no clue how much NIL money she has to work with. I doubt that she has much NIL money to play with. ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 3/23/2025, 10:19:45 PM

WBIT worthy. Not surprised that they lost to Texas Tech today. Now that the season is over, we can all bungle in the jungle.

Just add UConn (for all sports) and add St. John's (NYC), Georgetown (DC) and Villanova (Philly) as non-football members. IMHO, it makes more sense to not merger with any Big East school. Maybe if the ACC loses 4 to 8 members in the future but not now.

I agree that lacrosse is largely a Mid-Atlantic/Northeastern suburban sport. Most college lacrosse players that I knew while living in Maryland (27 years) were upper middle class, some middle and some wealthy but most college kids who play D-1 lacrosse (men's and women's) come from upper middle class families where both parents are college educated earning a combined income between $50,000 to $150,000 per year who live in the less affluent suburbs. You could say the same for college soccer players, cross country runners, golfers and tennis players. It even takes a lot of cash to have your kid(s) play travel ball in basketball, softball and baseball. I'm just saying that I knew dozens of kids from middle and upper middle class families that played D-1 lacrosse (Maryland, UMBC, Towson State, Mt. St. Mary's, St. Francis -PA, Cincinnati, Louisville, Penn State, Long Island U., VCU, ...) and not one of them came from affluent familes. They were living comfortably but not what I would consider "affluent" unless you're comparing them to kids from families dependent on welfare or if their parent's combined income was less than than say something like $40,000 per year.

Here's how the ACC's WLAX programs are doing recruiting-wise for the 2025 high school class commitments. The same old story, the rich get richer however Clemson put together another Top 10 class. Newcomer Florida State had a respectable first recruiting class. The points are calculated with 5 points for each 5-star commit, 4 points for each 4-star commit and 3 points for each 3-star commit. UNC, BC, Syracuse, Clemson, UVA, Notre Dame, Stanford and Duke all had Top 25 recruiting classes. Pitt, Tech, Cal and Louisville's classes were very similar (ranked between #35 to #45). These rankings may slightly change before signing day in November.

and decided to spend the rest of the time watching Tech softball sweep the Cardinals in a DH in Louisville. The only positive thing about the blowout loss at Stanford was the team getting to take to trip to California. This conference realignment mess should've only dealt with football and kept all the other sports in their regional conferences. Mkaes no sense for USC/UCLA/Oregon/UW to play softball in the Big 10 or Cal/Stanford to play volleyball in the ACC. Just my opinion. Tech has 2 ACC games that they have a chance to win. UVA and Clemson (who lost to Mercer last week) but I'd put those chances at 25% at best. I agree that Tech WLAX needs players with the "it" factor but those players are gobbled up by the elite programs and if Tech did get a few, they'd probably transfer. I'd guess that Tech has had half a dozen players who had that "it" factor. Tristan McGinley was one of them back in our 2018 5-2 ACC season. Paige Petty was another.

Hoping Tech can find another ACC win. I agree with you about our ACC Tournament chances. Tech will be a heavy underdog in most of their remaining ACC games. Too bad the UVA game is in Charlottesville this year. Syracuse has had some close wins in Blacksburg over the years. Duke and Stanford are on the road. UNC is in Blacksburg as is Clemson. Clemson is pretty good this season but they may be our best chance for an upset.

surprise. Duffy did a good job in her first year at Tech. In October, I expected Tech to make the NIT and win some games that they weren't suppose to and lose some games that they were suppose to win. Duffy had a young team and no true center and no experienced PG. Tech would've been a Top 25 team with Amoore and Strack and right there with UNC and Louisville and Duke. I'm just saying that Tech was a player or two from being a solid lock for the NCAA's this season. If Duffy can keep her returning starters from entering the transfer portal and find a quality power forward/center and a senior PG with P-4 experience to challenge the three PG's we already have, I see Tech making the NCAA Tournament next season. Duffy has a talented freshmen class coming in too. I expect that a few players will transfer since almost every team has to deal with that these days. I hope that we get a "nice surprise" and slip our way into the Big Dance. If not, we had a pretty good season in Duffy's debut. I ain't complaining.

Vergano is doing her part too even though her role isn't as important as it was when she played for Tech.

BC hurts more because their fans don't even care about their basketball teams. BC is an ice hockey and women's lacrosse school. It's hard to get motivated with a few hundred fans in the stands. I'd place Wake Forest second on my painful or unexplained loss list.

Sorry for the negativity. 3 or 4 years ago, I tought this ould be the year that Skiera's program would be at least a middle of the pack ACC program going to the NCAA Tournament. Instead, Tech is in a rebuilding mode. She brought in some good players during her first 2-3 years but most of them are playing elsewhere today. Our talent isn't good enough to compete with the top 6-8 teams in our conference. The problem .... recruiting, NIL, transfer portal, culture ..... Maybe a mix of all 4 and maybe other issues like how serious is Whit Babcock about competing at the highest level in all sports. It's not just WLAX, it other sports like volleyball and men's golf.

Have to give credit to Stanford's defense. Tech had a difficult time finding space to get an open shot. Plus Clardy? had her best game of her career. Team looked lost at times, especially in the final minutes of regulation and OT. Rose Micheaux had a great game but she couldn't carry the team all by herself. Both teams didn't do well at the foul line. Too many TO's tonight. Tech likely is on the wrong side of the infamous bubble now. Making the NCAA Tournament would be a major accomplishment for this team since I thought last October that a WNIT would be a good accomplishment considering what the program lost from last season and the youth and inexperience we had on our roster.

in October, but now it seems like 6-12 is more realistic in the tough ACC. I just hope the fans can be patient because this is not going to be a good basketball season. Our PG situation and lack of size has to be addressed in the off season. If the ladies can go 8-10, that will be a nice surprise. That means they would've defeated a few Top 25 teams and have a good chance to play in the WNIT. Just remember those early years when Brooks was coach. I remember some bad Januarys in ACC play but once Brooks got a quality center and PG, things started improving quickly. Let's hope Duffy can bring in a quality PG and center from the infamous transfer portal. ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 1/2/2025, 11:26:33 PM

NIL, transfer portal, ESPN/Fox Sports domination, Power 2, demise of Pac-12, blah blah blah BUT I'm also getting older and focusing on the more important things in life as my days on this earth are numbered. I don't blame the college athletes for wanting more and more money. I think the transfer portal and NIL are destroying college sports but "if" I were a college athlete today, I'd honestly be getting as much money as I could get like almost every other college athlete these days. Virginia Tech needs to pay every one of their softball players a million plus dollars a year so they can win Tech's first NCAA team national championship. Tech softball could bring in the best pitching staff in NCAA softball history and the best offensive and defensive players. After going undefeated for three seasons and winning a string of national titles, Tech can go back to they way they are presently paying (NIL) their softball players today. Football and men's basketball would have to suffer for a few years but would once again receive the most money for all their NIL deals. Let's be honest, Tech will most likely never win a national championship in football or men's basketball. 1999 and 2000 were Tech's best chances in football and we have to thank our lucky stars that there wasn't NIL/infamous transfer portal back in those days because Alabama, Ohio State and other $$$$ schools would've offered Michael Vick an offer that Tech couldn't possibly match. Both soccer programs made the Final Four but I'd place my money on Tech's softball program. If Penn State wasn't so dominant in wrestling, I'd think about wrestling too. ;)

Probably not good for Tech recruiting efforts in Virginia and the Carolinas. Likely makes Pry's job a little tougher but yeah... good for the ACC's football image. How it works out for UNC is still unknown. It will be much easier if Belichick can find another Tom Brady. ;)

fund or back a non-Power 4 football program but are willing to go all out now that they're in the ACC. It's also interesting that newcomers Arizona State, Oregon, SMU, and Texas made their Power 4 conference championship games as did Army-West Point of the G-5 AAC.

Syracuse is better than #12 Miami IMHO and GA Tech had numerous oportunities to beat Georgia. Bama lost to Vanderbilt. Pitt started off 7-0 and lost their last 5. Except for the Clemson game, Tech had a chance to win every game this season but ended up a mediocre 6-6. Ohio State lost at home to Michigan. Illinois and Indiana are having very good years but I don't think they would have more wins if they played this season as a member of the ACC or Big 12. Notre Dame at 11-1 deserves one of the 12 playoff spots. ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 12/1/2024, 2:07:33 PM

non-blueblood football programs will do the same? Rutgers has already beaten Tech twice in two years and Tech lost at Vandy. Heck, Tech lost to Purdue in Blacksburg last season. I assume there will be pressure in West Lafayette to compete with Indiana in football so Purdue will likely open up their wallet that is storing all those Big 10 TV dollars? It's sad but that's reality of big time college football today. Who thought a decade ago that Maryland would also be better than Tech in football in the 2020's? The reason FSU and Clemson and a few other ACC schools who are keeping quiet want out of the ACC.

matter as much as it used to? For Army, Air Force and Navy it will but for all the other FBS schools (especially the non-blueblood programs like Tech) how many of your star recruits will be with you after one or two years? I guess the goal for Tech in recruiting high school players will be to find kids who believe in loyalty who want to be at Tech for 4 years and then use the transfer portal to find your 4 and 5 star players who want more playing time or/and who desire to be closer to home. Of course that will in most cases be determined by NIL $$$. It would also benefit Tech to get those transfer portal players as red-shirt freshmen, sophomores or juniors instead of one and done seniors or graduate students.

would lose him to the transfer portal after one season since some SEC or Big 10 program would offer him better NIL money.

Hawaii football only Pac-12 member to get to 8? Not too many geographical choices remaining for either the Pac-12 or MWC. Does Grand Canyon play football? Idaho, Idaho State? Would Montana or Montana State or UC-Davis move up to FBS level? North Dakota State or any of the other FCS Dakota schools? Even Simon Fraser out of British Columbia? Not much left. ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 9/29/2024, 7:50:08 AM

Schools like Tech will never be able to compete with the blueblood football programs. That was true even 30, 40, 50 years ago. Unless Tech can strike gold with another Michael Vick, our chances of winning a football national championship or even making the quarter or semi-finals are extremely low, maybe 1 in a 1,000 chance at best. Tech has tried to keep up but the P-2 schools have 2 or 3 times the resources now. NIL money has further complicated things and furthered lowered our chances of competing with the so-called "big boys". Let's be realistic, Tech has lost two home games to mid-tier Big Ten schools the past 2 years. BC, GA Tech, Syracuse. Wake, Duke, ... are just as competitive as Tech on the football field these days. Maryland, yes the Twerps, have even passed us in the pecking order. Losing to the SEC's worst football program Vandy hurt too. Some years, JMU and/or Liberty are the state's best football programs. I don't think our ptrogram is as bad as some say it is but it isn't a top third ACC program or a Top 40-50 national program. Tech needs a Michael Vick-type player and with NIL, that player would leave Tech after one season to maximize his earnings.

It's been a long time since Lane was a home field advantage for Tech. No team fears Lane anymore. Going to be difficult to find 4 more wins to bowl eligible. Have to stop all these slow starts too.

Sounds like the announcers are in a closet with the 67,000 Tech fans being muted. I can hear the band but the crowd sounds like Duke's football crowd. Terrible production crew at ACCN. The ACCN is at one of the conference's best football sites and they don't take advantage of the fan experience (crowd noise).

and has a lot of unknowns and a new coach and staff, it's not surprising to me. Tech is a young team in the top women's basketball conference. I expect a lot of growing pains. A NCAA tourney bid would actually be a major accomplishment. I'm expecting a competitive team but no better than a WNIT bid based on talent and experience. I hope that I'm wrong.

Here's how I rate ACC Football brand ratings: 1. FSU 2. Clemson 3. Miami 4.-Tied: NC State UNC Virginia Tech Louisville 8.-Tied: GA Tech Pittsburgh Syracuse UVA Cal Stanford SMU 15.-Tied: BC Duke Wake ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 9/20/2024, 4:02:05 PM

I expect plans are delayed for another 3-5 years unless someone makes a heck of a donation? Like other posters have said, NIL is the focus now. As for construction projects at Tech, they seem to always run 1-2 years behind schedule to begin with even when they have the funding.

in football and Duke and UNC in men's hoops. I kind of see Tech, UVA, NC State and Louisville in the middle followed by Pitt, Cuse, GT and then BC and Wake at the bottom. Cuse could join the group with Virginia Tech if men's basketball is Top 25 again. Not sure where Stanford, Cal and SMU fit in. I agree with what you wrote but Tech is responsible for the product they put on the football field and basketball court. Tech is going to get a lot of ACCN and CW time with what they have now. The ACC needs to do a better job promoting the CW football and basketball games. SMU-TCU is actually a nice game for The CW. IMHO, I think Jim Phillips is trying his best to bring stability to the ACC is reaching out to FSU and Clemson. I expect most of the ACC presidents will agree to "pay" FSU, Clemson and UNC more money if it can bring stability to the ACC for the rest of this decade. I just wonder how many ACC schools will take a paycut?

Tech's athletic department is more stable and better funded than G-5 JMU. Heck, ODU has 9 women's field hockey national championships (1982 to 2000 - I know a different era but still they won). It all comes down to the will to compete at a high level. I feel like Clemson is doing that with their new sports (softball, women's lacrosse and women's gymnastics). Tech appears to be satisfied at being lower half ACC in most Olympic sports. Tech has invested heavily in baseball and IMHO, has fallen short. Softball needs more funding since it has proven it can compete at a high level despite lower funding than ACC/B1G teams with lower rated softball programs. Whit has done well with the women's basketball program - funding-wise. Lacrosse, volleyball, cross country, tennis and golf seem to only "exist" for Title IX or to provide scholarships (which was the original intent before college athletics became a business). Men's basketball also seems to be underfunded (compared to other ACC schools) or lagging behind in NIL money. ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 9/17/2024, 11:00:38 AM ** Edited by Old Line Hokie at 9/17/2024, 11:01:24 AM

Utah State, Idaho State, New Mexico State and San Jose State will be the next 4 to join the State 10.