Whit is retiring June 30. This is great news for softball.
30 Replies
3mo
Had a nice statement about Whit retiring today. Again maybe that is just what he had to say.
(In response to this post by HolidayInnHokie)
3mo
I am sure that his statement today was from the heart.
(In response to this post by Hokie_Forester)
3mo
say things he does not mean. Hopefully this doesn't make Pete look other places now that the guy that hired him is gone. Hopefully me hire an AD that sees the positives around this program and funds it well.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
3mo
(In response to this post by VTChip)
3mo
He has personally thanked me for the fundraising that i have done on behalf of softball.
He did make one rather surprising comment to me at last year's Roanoke Valley Hokie Club kickoff meeting. While speaking to him, I shared that we had raised over $350,000 through TSL and our softball auctions and he responded "Thank you so much for sharing that information - no one has ever told me that."
I was rather shocked at that.
(In response to this post by Atlee Hokie)
3mo
I've always wondered what Pete's view is on the state of TSP. My guess is that he hasn't made a big deal about it because a) the team doesn't play a lot of its games at home, b) their indoor facility is more important to him in terms of team development, and c) it has minimal impact on his ability to recruit good players.
I could be completely wrong, but if Pete had made the facility an issue with Whit, then it may have been higher on the AD's priority list. Instead, Pete got the indoor facility he really wanted and that's made the biggest impact on building his program.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
3mo
(In response to this post by Raleigh Hokie)
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RJHokie
3mo
No one told him that which leads one to wonder who in “middle management” suppressed that info. Ballein or one of the others in charge of revenue enhancement, or the equivalent?
Financial and related info at the micro level has been suppressed for about ten years or so. It will be interesting to see what info is actually released when Babcock’s replacement is in the house.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
3mo
He should not have to be told -
He should have been seeking and gathering info, always trying to get better - get more donations, better fan experience, etc...
He needed to be an extrovert and not the natural introvert he is...even if he had to fake it for a bit.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
3mo
Just another shortcoming for WB.
That info was easily found right here on TSL on a FREE board. Nobody had to tell him - he should have known.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
3mo
If we believe Whit that he didn't know you had raised $350,000, then he hired the wrong people, and that's an indictment of his management skills.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
3mo
for softball? One would think the physical means and method of Chips fundraising being unique as it is would stick out rather prominently for everyone in the entire athletic department to see. I mean really, how did he miss it? Wasn't it his job to know what goes on?
(In response to this post by Atlee Hokie)
3mo
By the time it had grown so large, the momentum was overwhelming. The key is the HC takes credit as they send the official acknowledgement cards. My hat is off to Pete as he drops off the checks. Wonder how uncomfortable that was at first. Knowing Coach D'Amour from the Petecasts, he just pragmatically turned them in for use by the team. VTAF knew not to make waves, so they've probably reached a symbiotic state of reality. And Chip's SB Army is on the march.
(In response to this post by laphroaig)
3mo
the SB Army and SERTC are incorporated into the Hokie Club 2.0's mission statement.
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)
3mo
Got my popcorn ready for the comments....
(In response to this post by HolidayInnHokie)
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nkhooch
3mo
funnel more money/focus to/on softball. Do you know that? I don't see how you can make that statement. I think it's kind of a wait and see. The grass is not always greener on the other side.
** Edited by nkhooch at 4/23/2026, 3:10:58 PM
(In response to this post by HolidayInnHokie)
3mo
can’t get much worse. There’s low-hanging fruit that the new AD can use to score some easy goodwill points with the softball crowd: charge for admission!
(In response to this post by nkhooch)
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nkhooch
3mo
softball crowd? I think there may be some higher priorities first. I'll leave it at wait and see.
(In response to this post by RVAHokie05)
3mo
I assume he will see the clear and obvious benefits of not only charging for admission but selling season tickets with a premium seating option. Then he will gradually upgrade TSP starting w converting those 3 hideous broadcasting booths into Hokie Stone. I could go on, we all have a ton of ideas, but we need to get the revenue engine flowing first. Oh and selling tix also helps this little thing called NIL.
It would be very, very hard to argue that Whit’s retirement is not in some way positive for the softball program. It most definitely is.
(In response to this post by nkhooch)
3mo
I don’t think the future AD will have much to do with football. In my opinion, Franklin won’t be reporting to that person. He’ll be largely autonomous.
(In response to this post by HolidayInnHokie)
3mo
Spreading it around just dilutes its influence and benefit for any one sport, including the one that raised it.
(In response to this post by HolidayInnHokie)
3mo
The concession stand Wednesday was manned by Hokie Club Baseball. According to the sign any tips went to that team so I gave them a tip to support the cause and reward the effort. The minor sports should be rewarded for every effort they can make to help their own program.
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)
3mo
And the reason it should be allowed to do so is, the VTAD has been going along all these years without a single dime from softball. So I don’t see why it wouldn’t be allowed to keep any future gate revenue. Ditto should be true for baseball - right now, I believe the money made from baseball tickets does go into the VTAD general fund.
There should only be 3 sports where ticket revenue goes into the main VTAD fund: football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball.
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)
3mo
(In response to this post by HokieAllMyLife)
3mo
very good.
** Edited by HokieAllMyLife at 4/23/2026, 3:24:37 PM
(In response to this post by VAHokie89)