“It costs money to win, It also costs money to lose.”
We've heard the stories about potential coaches when Pry was hired that weren't interested in coming here. College sports have changed drastically from when Whit was hired here in 2014. NIL, the transfer portal, TV contracts, schools paying players. As Chris Coleman has said this needs to be a deep clean.
This all begins with a renewed financial commitment to football. The Hokies’ $122 million dollar budget ranks 14th in the ACC.
From HokieSports.com - "Board of Visitors members J. Pearson and Ryan McCarthy have been charged by the rector, John Rocovich, to work with university leadership and AD Whit Babcock to develop a financial, organizational and leadership plan that will rapidly position the Virginia Tech football program to be competitive with the best in the ACC. That plan will be presented to the Board of Visitors later this month. The new framework for college sports will be fully established for next season, so this is the time to make a major move."
This plan needs to be finalized in order to show perspective coaches our commitment to football success.
We also need an AD who grasps the importance of football in the ever changing conference environment.... where the existence of the ACC in a decade isn't guaranteed. We also need an AD who understands paying players & the transfer portal & out of the box financial sources.
Then with a new AD & coach we need to clean house with the Hokie Club & modernize it.
I watched Coach Elko at Duke make the right coordinator hires, hit the transfer portal strategically & become competitive right out of the box. I watched Vandy build a program from scratch to look like world beaters in year 2. Obviously we can rebuild & do so quickly with the right plan, the right finances & fundraising, the right AD & the right coaching staff & players.
ALL the pieces have to come together to get back to being relevant again.
9 Replies
V
VaPoly07
10mo
It’s obvious they have zero clue how to compete in big boy sports when they crapped down their leg by not joining the SEC. Even if we were the worst SEC team we’d have more money and be better than our current squad.
Feed the football beast and the money will come.
(In response to this post by CyberHokie)
10mo
Being a rich program doesn't guarantee success every single year. Lots of programs richer than Virginia Tech floundered for several years, Michigan, Texas, etc. But, once they had the right coach, they quickly achieved greater heights than VT ever did.
(In response to this post by CyberHokie)
10mo
Vandy built that program with transfers & I don't think they came for free.
(In response to this post by Synaesthesia)
10mo
They were point in time comparison and left out some relevant information that I would have included. Several things to consider:
- total athletic dept budget is different than football budget. The 14th ranked ACC budget is the big picture.
- VT football specific budget is actually fourth best among ACC public schools.
- comparing VT to other schools assumes that other schools are spending smartly. We should challenge everything for spending and value add. We may not need more money to be better in football. We might just need to better spend our money.
(In response to this post by CyberHokie)
10mo
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
R
RJHokie
10mo
And to me, that’s a pretty bad look on Babcock when you consider the football results over the years.
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
10mo
Pry has done a lot of things that make you scratch your head. He wasn't the right guy. It DOES seem Whit sees what needs to be done & it remains to be seen if President Sands lets him see that vision through. A lot of people don't seem to think he will. And the Hokie Club needs serious updating. But even if he stays there really needs to be some house cleaning in the AD & Hokie Club.
There is SOME reason coaches aren't interested in coming here.
There is SOME reason players aren't transferring here.
I just really hope they make the right moves this time. It's such a crapshoot.
(In response to this post by RJHokie)
R
RJHokie
10mo
Lack of funding for Fu and lack of strong guidance for Pry highlight his significant football related issues.
Hokie Club definitely needs better management and guidance. There’s been a lot of money left on the table for quite a while.
(In response to this post by CyberHokie)
