Just one dumb fan's opinion of the future VT Football
Yeah it appears Fuentes left the cupboard pretty bare. That doesn't mean another coach wouldn't have fared better. We might be sitting in the same place, Fuentes or no Fuentes. I say that because we're playing in about the least compelling conference division at the FBS level. Our marquee out of conference games always get cancelled (Wisky, Penn State...). And Blacksburg isn't exactly a snazzy destination for the urban, hip youth we seek to recruit to the team.
I attended VT from '93 to '98. It was fun to watch the rise. It's been painful to watch the decline. However, CFB is so different. TV contracts and money drive everything. In the world of NIL, to get top recruits, you need to be able to pass along top $$$ to them through NIL. I don't begrudge them that either. The CFB world is driven by the performance of the teams and top players - we don't tune in to watch slow, small guys have pillow fights.
If we want VT to recover to where we have been in the past, honestly, we need out of the ACC Coastal and into a conference and division that can offer better games and coverage. That way we can offer recruits the viewership and ratings that will get better NIL deals. That means B1G or SEC. B1G already has the DC market presence with Maryland. SEC doesn't have a team with a strong presence there, and VT's popularity there is our biggest selling point right now. Couple it with a game each season at Fedex for VT against another SEC team so SEC teams are actually playing there once a season. Maybe even another non-VT SEC game there each year. Come up with a bowl-game like name for it something - the SEC President's Cup or something.
Overall, VT needs a change in order to offer more than we currently do now to attract the recruits we need to compete at the level we all want to. Miami, UNC, Wake, Pitt, UVA - they're never going to command the viewership and ratings needed for NIL deals at the top level of today's CFB world. Pay the ACC Exit Fee, bite the bullet and get it over with, or be willing to accept VT Football being permanently down a few ladder rungs from where Beamer got it to in the past.
17 Replies
3y
dependent on 'The U' and FSU regaining national status. We need good teams to beat and then be able to do them. Both appear to be a long way away.
** Edited by MidloHokie at 9/29/2022, 7:06:08 AM
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
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VTCALS72
3y
Seems to me the football powers are way more about pulling schools like VT down. It is easy to say we need to be in the SEC or Big and I think you hit the most likely reason we have at least a shot. But, more than likely everything that is happening is to get rid of schools and strengthen a small circle of teams for just about all the money.
And, there is absolutely nothing VT can do about it now nor most likely anything we could have ever done about it.
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
3y
So getting better games and exposure in a different conference is a moot point. We are way down the list for the SEC anyway. NIL at the high school recruiting level is driven by alumni collectives, and local small business, and has nothing to do with athletic revenue its all privately funded.
Yeah, Trevor Lawrence might get a national NIL deal from Nike or something, but not an unknown kid from x- high school. No matter how much $$ the athletic department rakes in from TV deals, we do not have the booster culture to compete with rabid SEC "type" boosters. I hear the going rate for a 5* recruit is $50-$100k and a new car.
To your point however, the only way to push the envelope (pun intended) I see is to restructure the Hokie Club to funnel NIL dollars through it. So instead of going toward new facilities, some goes into cash payments for player "endorsements". Sounds gross just saying it.
I agree that I'm pessimistic of the status quo. I just think Brent Pry has an unbelievable uphill battle. Selling VT football in post-Fuente Virginia / NIL world while losing to the likes of ODU, and probably Liberty...I mean...I guess anything's "possible".
My prescription has always been (and admittedly its a long shot) is to at some point hire a Lane Kiffin-esque type coach. We need a spotlight. We need to be relevant. A big name coach would be a start. A guy that will change the culture at VT, the old school folksy thing just doesn't work anymore.
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
3y
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
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97Hokie
3y
teams in the Coastal should also be getting crappy players, by your estimation, yet we still can't beat them. Our issue isn't the conference. BTW, in a couple of years the conference winner is automatically in the playoffs. Our issues are coaching and recruiting. We've brought in one of the coaches that was killing us in recruiting. So hopefully in a year or 2 we should see some improvement. However, unless your name is Bama, OSU etc it's not about getting top talent but rather getting players you can develop into top talent. That's really where we've been lacking. Time will tell if Pry & Co are the answer.
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
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BobG
3y
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
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fordham
3y
The GOR that the ACC operates under says yes you can leave and pay the fee BUT your tv rights belong to the acc til the end of the agreement so you can’t be on tv in the new conference hit if you get on tv the cash goes to the acc. Thus why nobody is leaving. The sec or big whatever don’t want teams that get them no money for years
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
3y
The ACC membership is actually protecting us right now. I don't get how you jump from we can't beat ODU, Wake, or Liberty to we deserve a better TV contract with the SEC. At some point, you have to play the sport like grown men and stop expecting some magic bullet. We can't even capture the attention span of Hokie fans right now our football is so bad.
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
3y
(In response to this post by WildTurkE)
3y
our fingers. First we have to have a new home to go to. Second, we would need about $120M conference buyout plus potentially another $350-50M for TV rights. Ain't gonna happen, so while I understand your sentiment, just not realistic.
** Edited by hokiesrule98 at 9/28/2022, 12:14:01 PM
(In response to this post by HokieinATL07)
3y
(In response to this post by hokiesrule98)
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fordham
3y
And paying alimony
(In response to this post by 3TechFanz)
