Sands stepping down as president, football and basketball might be back
30 Replies
3mo
They'll hire an AD sometime in the 2026-2027 academic year. Then they'll hire a new basketball coach for 2027-2028.
New AD will want to make his/her mark on revenue sports and a football hire will be off limits as long as Franklin is working out.
2026-2027 will very likely be a retirement tour for MY
(In response to this post by Hokies2023)
3mo
** Edited by HokieJack at 4/10/2026, 4:27:51 PM
(In response to this post by sdawg)
3mo
The new VT president probably starts in Summer of 2027
(In response to this post by GCHokie34)
2
2hhoop3
3mo
near that long. There are a lot of factors involved in contributing to whether a search is long or short but, one common factor in shorter searches is expected turnover that has been planned for. Everyone paying attention knew Sands' date was June 2027 at the latest and I would expect there has been work already done in advance. That does not mean it occurs tomorrow or that circumstances might not occur to draw it out but, it does reflect my opinion that there has already been thought and planning given to the transition.
(In response to this post by UpperQuad)
V
Va AandM
3mo
and Sands had an incredibly long tenure. Just confirmed ave top 100 ranked US university term for a president is under 6 years. Took UVA only 5 months to land Ryan.
(In response to this post by 2hhoop3)
3mo
Steger announced his resignation in May 2013. Sands was announced as the winner of the search process in December 2013, but didn't start at VT until June 2014. That's a 6-7 month search process, and then the new president starts after they finish out the academic year at their current university, which will also need time to go through a search process for a successor. That's why I predicted Summer 2027 for the new VT president.
(In response to this post by 2hhoop3)
3mo
The time line you laid out is the same as if Sands formally announced he was leaving in June 2027.
(In response to this post by UpperQuad)
2
2hhoop3
3mo
the difference is the timing when the search was initiated and what may have already been done and the likelihood a candidate, for a variety of reasons, MAY NOT have to finish out an academic year at their current university.
(In response to this post by UpperQuad)
V
Va AandM
3mo
Speaking from experience, Rutgers is a horrible bureaucracy compared to VT with NJ politics mixed in. Can’t believe we’d take longer. Don’t know how long it would take to get the official search committee formed. I have to believe this is a very appealing position with VT’s general situation on the upswing.
** Edited by Va AandM at 4/10/2026, 8:43:26 AM
(In response to this post by UpperQuad)
H
Hokie`79
3mo
(In response to this post by UpperQuad)
3mo
However, academic searches are very formal processes that involve a committee formed from faculty from a cross the university, with a few alumni and other university employees thrown in. It will take at least through the summer to form the committee, run the process, and then pick the winner, who will start at VT on Jan 1 at the earliest, but probably not until Summer 2027, because their school will also then need to do their process to pick a successor.
(In response to this post by Hokie`79)
3mo
"assessing his future", which basically states that he is retiring/leaving and it then triggers the BoV to begin the search process. That gives them runway before he actually gives them a resignation letter. Didn't the BoV meet this week? This is all coordinated stuff.
Just like the Board of Directors and executive leadership of major corporations. These things are almost always coordinated.
(In response to this post by Hokie`79)
R
RJHokie
3mo
(In response to this post by BleedinOandM)
V
Vippie1
3mo
Does that mean we also drop precipitously in national academic rankings, size of endowment, and the overall prestige of the university also?
Im not sure exactly what Dr Sands didn't do that was requested of him by the "stewards of VT athletics " and within his powers?
(In response to this post by Hokies2023)
3mo
(In response to this post by Vippie1)
K
KCHokie2
3mo
But a few have their reasons.
** Edited by KCHokie2 at 4/9/2026, 7:03:42 PM
(In response to this post by Vippie1)
3mo
and of course the Virginia Tech logo rebrand for starters.
(In response to this post by KCHokie2)
3mo
doesn't even make the top 3. Good riddance!
(In response to this post by WildTurkE)
V
Va AandM
3mo
Youngkin said in a statement in January that he believed “admission to Virginia’s universities and colleges should be based on merit.” Just staying ahead of the wave that was obviously starting capped with the SCITUS ruling. But you do you.
(In response to this post by WildTurkE)
3mo
then new coach? Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
(In response to this post by Hokies2023)
3mo
Does coach report to GM? That is new news to me.
(In response to this post by Zanderhokie)
3mo
GM in college deals with the business and logistical stuff that the coach doesn't want to deal with.
(In response to this post by HokieDelNorte)
3mo
(In response to this post by HokieDelNorte)