Those weren’t just wins — they were moments that felt bigger, louder, and full of possibility. For a generation of Hokies, the years under legendary coach Frank Beamer ’69 defined what Virginia Tech football could be — resilient and fearless.

That legacy still lingers in every echo of “Enter Sandman,” but the Hokies’ ability to “do more with less” has long since changed. In fact, the collegiate athletic environment that existed then is little more than a memory.

Consider this: The average Virginia Tech first-year student in 2026 was a toddler the last time the Hokies won a conference football championship.

As the financial realities of the new world order of college sports became clear, the university had a choice. It could step back or rise to meet the opportunity.

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors made its decision clear last fall, announcing the investment of an additional $229 million over four years in athletics, designed to align the Hokies with top-tier programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference and across the nation.

“At Virginia Tech, intercollegiate athletics is foundational to our regional economy; creates indelible connections between students, alumni and the university; expands our national brand; and illuminates the importance of the durable skills that the student-athlete experience reinforces as a foundation for leadership and well-being in later life,” President Tim Sands said in this year’s State of the University address when talking about athletics as a strategic priority.

For Virginia Tech, investing in athletics isn’t about chasing wins. It’s about nurturing a successful athletic program that will benefit the entire university. While winning games doesn’t directly fund classrooms, labs, or faculty salaries, it can be a powerful factor in awareness.

And the move to invest could not have come at a more critical time.

In June, the House v. NCAA settlement opened the door for institutions to share revenue directly with student-athletes, along with allowing third-party NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) payments for student-athletes.

As part of the university’s investment in athletics, Virginia Tech will rely upon donor support for an incremental $30 million annually to fully realize the plan. Although Virginia Tech donors have given generously, the university still lags behind top ACC peers in philanthropic support. Historically, the university has ranked 11th out of 14 ACC members in annual scholarship fund dollars raised.

Less than two months after the approval of the budget resolution, a donor who asked to remain anonymous stepped to the plate with a $20 million gift, the largest ever gift to Hokie sports.

Until the recent investment, Virginia Tech athletics has been a self-supporting athletic department, which is rare in today’s collegiate sports landscape.

During the summer of 2025, Athletic Director Whit Babcock made a presentation to the Board of Visitors, making it clear that the old “do more with less model” was obsolete in an age where funding — particularly in football — had skyrocketed nationwide.

“With the evolution of college athletics and all the change going on, it would only make sense that our funding model and partnership with campus couldn’t be a 30-year-old model as well, said Babcock, who recently announced his plan to retire from his position in June.

The board, under the direction of Rector John G. Rocovich, organized a task force to work with athletics and campus leaders. Their goal: To move Virginia Tech Athletics into the most competitive position possible while remaining focused on the academic mission of the university.

Like most Division I athletics programs, Hokie athletics contributes to the overall health of the university and local community. Most notably, athletics attracts more than 500,000 visitors annually, supporting the local and regional economy — speaking to the brand awareness and national recognition of a successful athletics program.

“Competing at the highest level in college athletics brings significant visibility to Virginia Tech,” said Julie Ross, Virginia Tech’s executive vice president and provost. “It raises the profile of the university, which helps us recruit top talent — not just outstanding athletes, but students, faculty, and staff as well. As we continue to build enrollment and expand our reach nationally, doing well in athletics matters.

Per a recent third-party economic impact report, a nationally televised football game with over four million viewers provides about $21 million in media exposure, equivalent to Virginia’s entire annual tourism promotional budget. With that in mind, athletics support becomes essential.

Virginia Tech leaders agree that the question isn't whether academics or athletics matter more. They are both essential. It's about whether Virginia Tech is coordinating all visible parts of the university in service of academic excellence. By shoring up athletics resources, it created major momentum.

The investment in athletics paid immediate dividends as the Hokies sought new leadership for the football program after moving on from fourth-year head coach Brent Pry. The move helped the university attract James Franklin.

Franklin was candid when asked if the increased financial commitment influenced his decision to come to Blacksburg. Having most recently led Penn State to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in 2024, he understands exactly what is needed to compete against the nation's top-level programs.

"They knew kind of where they needed to be from a ballpark perspective," Franklin said. "When I started to get into the specifics and details that were important to us and to me in terms of building Virginia Tech, we weren't far off. I think that was very helpful and sped the process up.

"But I will also say this: I think it was the right move for the university as a whole and specifically for the athletic department when you talk about football being the front porch of the university. It's a tremendous opportunity to advertise the school nationally and attract not just student-athletes, but students as well. It's all the reasons why people understand the importance of major college football."

With an investment in place, Franklin was able to hit the ground running in recruiting. Prior to his arrival, the Hokies' high school recruiting class was ranked outside the top 100 nationally. After a whirlwind recruiting effort, signing day composite rankings now consistently put Virginia Tech in the top-30.

As important as financial investment is to football, there are 21 other intercollegiate sports at Virginia Tech that will benefit as well.

The Hokies' women's basketball program is three years removed from a Final Four appearance. In 2022, Virginia Tech's baseball and softball programs each fell one win shy of their respective College World Series. The Hokies' wrestling program is regularly ranked and has produced two individual national champions in the last seven years.

"It definitely matters in our sport," Hokies wrestling coach Tony Robie said. "There are programs that have $1 million in revenue share, like Iowa and Iowa State. So, it's real. NIL is real in our sport. It's made an impact."

Winning a team national championship is important, but it's equally important to provide facilities to help athletes prepare for the Olympics and other global competitions.

One doesn't have to look too hard to see how a significant financial investment can change the fortunes of a program.

Just three years ago, Indiana University — traditionally one of the nation's worst football programs — completed a 3-9 season. Two years later, it went undefeated, winning a national championship for the first time ever. Not coincidentally, Indiana's annual football budget nearly tripled over the last four years.

And this fall Hokies saw a Vanderbilt University program that once occupied the bottom of the SEC standings rise to a winning program led by a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Longtime athletics experts agree that Indiana and Vanderbilt are examples of success in this new modern era. Utilizing revenue share, NIL, coaching and the staffing, creates more parity.

The transitions made this year position Virginia Tech to lead in this new era where resource alignment, coaching investment, and roster-building play an even greater role in competitive balance.

The moment is now.

Ask alums about their earliest memories, and they'll recount laughter shared with friends over meals at Dietrick Hall, the sounds of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets forming up on the Upper Quad, or walking across the Drillfield at dusk while the Pylons stand quiet guard.

These stories do more than entertain. They are part of a personal mythology — a way Hokies understand who they are, how they serve, and where they belong.

A two-time Hokie grad, Ben Goetz '24, M.Eng. '25 still lives close to the university he called home for five years. Living in Christiansburg and working as a software engineer for Peraton Inc. Goetz credits Virginia Tech Athletics for riveting childhood memories, a family-like community, and even introducing his now fiancé into his life. Goetz attends Hokie sporting events year-round and even includes his dog, Noodles, in some of the experiences.

"Both of my parents graduated from Virginia Tech, so I grew up coming to many football games and other athletic events which made me fall in love with the school," he said.

Rituals light up the brain

Collective traditions, especially high-energy ones such as jumping in Lane Stadium, can trigger a surge of endorphins and oxytocin. Oxytocin is a hormone that contributes to trust and social bonding.

"When thousands of people move together, chant together, or sing together, the brain interprets the experience as belonging — and belonging feels good," said Joanna Culligan, advanced instructor of human development and family science and director of the Engagement Center for Creative Aging. "Research suggests music can increase people's ability to connect and engage socially. Music can also help bypass hypothetical clogs in the brain that otherwise would depress a memory."

James Hawdon, professor and director of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, added "Rituals point us toward the group and away from the individual. They remind us that community prevails."

Synchrony creates connection

Synchrony — moving in rhythm with others — produces a measurable "shared high."

"Collective music making and movement create so many opportunities for getting in sync," Culligan said. "Heart rate variability and breathing synchronize. Stress hormones drop. Our sense of isolation dissolves. This is why jumping to 'Sandman' — or singing as part of a choir — becomes a kind of emotional glue: it's rhythm and music as relationship."

Third down in Lane Stadium carries weight. That's when Hokie fans reach for their keys—a tradition born in the late 1980s. The sound builds: thousands of keys rattling in unison. Then comes the gobble over the loudspeaker—sharp, unmistakable, rooted in history.

More than noise, it's disruption. It's chaos. A calculated push to rattle the quarterback, shift momentum, and give the defense that extra edge. It's loud. It's precise. And it works.

For those who've done it a thousand times, it's muscle memory. For first-timers, it's instinctive from the moment you hear it.

When it's third down, the keys come out, and the decibel level hits a new high.

Symbols shape identity

Physical symbols — like the Pylons or the unmistakable Hokie Stone — act as anchors. They help shape "place identity," grounding people in shared values. It's why alumni returning to Blacksburg often describe it as coming home, even after years away, Jessica Taylor, associate professor of oral and public history, explained.

"As an oral historian who has spent some of my time here interviewing people on and off campus, I am struck by how people form relationships with each other and with a place by caring for, restoring, and visiting together some of Virginia Tech's iconic must-sees. In the long-term, these campus spots, emblematic of different pieces of Virginia Tech's history, also become more important for residents as Blacksburg and campus both change and grow. Preserving pockets of history contribute to our sense of rootedness," Taylor said.

"Architecture isn't just a backdrop," said LaDale Winling, associate professor of history. "It shapes how we move, gather, and form meaning every day. The Drillfield, the Torgersen arch, and the use of Hokie Stone — where history is literally etched in stone, from the Pylons onward — carry generations of shared experience, embedding personal growth and collective memory into the campus."

"This is home. You can't be a fair-weather Hokie — if you love this place, you love it in the rain, and the snow, whether the team is winning or not.  Just being here, back in Lane Stadium cheering alongside generations of alums rekindles that Hokie connection. No matter where we go, this will always be home.” 
— Paige Cash '88 and Jon Cash '89

Community forged through adversity grows stronger

Sociologists note that communities bound together through hardship develop uniquely strong cultural ties. "People come together to reassure one another that the community will endure," said Hawdon. "At Virginia Tech, that can look like thousands chanting 'let's go, Hokies' in the aftermath of great loss — or students gathering at Cheesy Nights during exams. This shows us we're part of something larger, and that's what adds to our resilience."

More than a fandom — a family

The science explains how the bonds form. The history explains where they came from. But the soul of Hokie Nation comes from the people who are part of something bigger than themselves.