Two big disappointments of not hosting.
1. Coach celebrated Rouex's birthday by phone or Zoom.
2. Seeing LSU player graduate and receive her degree in uniform.
That was quite a personal price for dedication and commitment to reaching for the brass ring. I heartily congratulate and sincerely thank the staff and players for the joy and pride they provided the Hokie Softball Nation who follow and support their effort and achievements.
14 Replies
2mo
I know some folks like to pick on Mark, but he did a great job researching the hosting issue and even interviewed VT Assistant AD Chris Helms for the story. He uncovered some very good information, most of which had not been previously published.
According to Helms, VT tried several approaches to get approval from the NCAA but were turned down each time. Roanoke is indeed outside the 30-mile radius, but VT even tried using the Moyer Complex in Salem as the Regional host, but that didn't help either, as there was only one hotel in Roanoke that met the criteria.
VT also pitched the idea of hosting the schools in dorms at Radford which Helms called "nice," noting that each room had its own bathroom and that there was plenty of meeting space on campus. But that was a "hard no" from the NCAA.
Tech ended up submitting a bid with hotels in Roanoke, Wytheville, and Princeton, but Helms said he "wasn't hopeful," and it turned out that he was correct.
In the end, VT's resume wasn't considered "good enough" to host, but it does sound like there were efforts made.
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)
2mo
If they had, we would have. They can make it work, if they want to.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
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LTHokie
2mo
(In response to this post by Atlee Hokie)
2mo
They had the same situation with graduation. The difference is their AD wa chair
Many other places had enough hotels within 30 miles because they’re in bigger cities
It was a bad deal timing wise
(In response to this post by VTChip)
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nkhooch
2mo
Why bet? Just to put forth the VT victim narrative? Until Clemson is faced with this situation, we have no way to know.
(In response to this post by hokiepro)
2mo
situation if the events coincided like it did for VT.
(In response to this post by nkhooch)
2mo
(In response to this post by VTChip)
2mo
Graduation is a definite occurrence and making the tournament is not, though a high probability. And are graduation dates set for the (at least, near) future as families book rooms ahead of time as permitted by the facility?
(In response to this post by VTChip)
2mo
graduation date. Besides, even if graduation wasn't a factor, there is no guarantee that VT would even get to host a region. This season could have been a good test case to see to see which way the Committee would have went if graduation wasn't a factor for VT. Obviously graduation wasn't a factor for LSU because 1 of players graduated in her uniform.
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)
2mo
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)
2mo
Not as crucial as hosting the region, but an inconvenience for the seniors.
(In response to this post by VTChip)
2mo
I seem to remember that Clemson and UVA switched tournament hosting years so that Clemson wouldn't have a conflict with hosting.
VT's graduation is the same time as the ACCT next year and it looks like that is the case in 2028 as well.
** Edited by VTChip at 5/18/2026, 11:55:00 AM
(In response to this post by TomTurkey)