Money, money and more money. That is at the root of what IMHO is destroying college sports today, I hate it but IIWII. So not talking about the Bamas or Buckeyes, the Teasips or Wolverines, but the next level down of money, why are we not there? Asking myself the first comment I would make is the value of VT athletics giving in my general giving budget. I would say to the people who think VT should raise 10s of millions more, yes I could give more. But college sports, especially in this NIL climate is not worth it to me. Personally asking me to contribute to paying players is not going to get a return for the asking. That is just me but I am not alone. I have no idea how many have taken that stand but I am not alone. I have oft thought about it and have to wonder, SMU raised the amount of money VT needed to have raised to play the game at a high level right now. Colorado did the same. Why doesn't VT and dozens of other schools do the same? Taking SMU (oil) and Colrado (other mining) some sort of natural resource changes the geography. Ours is coal and it just doesn't not produce the size of an economy now. Next is something like the Research Triangle. What would VT giving look like it that had been put in Roanoke or Blacksburg? tons of folks flock to North Carolina so without real connections, they pick a local sports team to go along with their alma mater. If you took the residence of North Carolina who were born there, my guess is UNC may not be the #1 fan favorite and certainly does not carry the majority against the combination of Duke, Wake, ECU, NCSU and Appy fan bases. But the people who come drawing significant salaries pick the "name". They just do. I have oft said if VT would move their athletics to a NOVA campus, we would get a lot more donations, we just would. And finally, generational wealth from which to donate. Again just a guess but my guess is that UNC and UVA have way more "trust fund" alums and thereby way more "discretionary" funds from which to donate larger sums. Simply put way more old money. Some of these could be totally wrong but there are also probably many more examples that those schools in the P2 and are being considered for admission are mining a much larger seam of coal than the VT peer schools. ** Edited by VTCALS72 at 3/12/2025, 11:17:39 AM