I first want to give props to Sam Mostow and Carter Hill, as we spent nearly an entire day back in March sifting through the bookings of every single hotel within the NCAA's 30-mile radius. We quickly discovered that there were blatantly not enough hotel rooms available to host. Around the same time, we also heard rumblings of Virginia Tech possibily facing the problem of being unable to host due to this issue. We kept it quiet because there was nothing DEFEINITIVE to report. However, we did our due diligence through proper channels to receive confirmation. We eventually did not receive what we deemed as enough evidence to report on. I apologize for being vague/elusive on this board when the topic of hosting would arise. There was not enough HARD PROOF to straight up say that Virginia Tech was unable to host. Virginia Tech did its best, but at the end of the day, graduation is the biggest weekend of the year for Virginia Tech/surrounding area (yes, bigger than any football game), and it would have taken planning more than a year in advance to pull off a regional on the same weekend. (You may argue that this could have been done or not.) I am also not coming on here to blast Virginia Tech because I understand that it is a logistical NIGHTMARE to pull off a regional with commencement happening directly across the street at the same time. I have been PA announcing multiple Virginia Tech sports for the past five years, and I have built fantastic relationships with many people in marketing, Hokie Vision and game operations. Many of them have to work on graduation because of the sheer magnitude of the weekend. On top of that, almost ALL of the paid/unpaid interns in the athletic department will be gone for the summer after they take their final exams; therefore, the number of employees for sporting events shrinks quickly. Is it possible to host a regional with graduation happening at the same time? Yes, it certainly is, and could have been possible by preparing for this in the summer of last year. However, Virginia Tech did its best to make it happen, but ultimately the NCAA dug its heels in (for the first time) and stuck to its rules, which are there for a reason. At the end of the day, the NCAA deemed the Hokies as the 17th team in the bracket, and this didn't end up mattering. It's still SEC bias, and the Hokies have shown plenty of times this year that they are capable of not only beating SEC teams like LSU, but also crushing them in the process. ** Edited by Nick Brown at 5/11/2026, 10:20:47 AM