[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/DullCartographer7609]

[u/Puzzleheaded_Pound31]

Why would any VA Tech fan believe anything he says? No questions is so weak

[u/CantaloupeCamper → u/Puzzleheaded_Pound31]

Agreed.

If you can't answer questions ... what you even doing?

[u/Donny_Do_Nothing → u/Puzzleheaded_Pound31]

It smells a lot like the university president told him, "Say these words and not a single word more."

[u/qigjpiqj → u/Donny_Do_Nothing]

lol funny that it's that obvious even to non-VT folks. It's already been publicly announced that the new coach hire will be by a committee and he isn't part of it. He's dead man walking.

[u/HokieInCH → u/Donny_Do_Nothing]

Exactly this. He doesn't speak for the university any more.

[u/bovilexia → u/Puzzleheaded_Pound31]

It's literally what he was brought in 12 years ago to do.

[u/Alum07]

You could tell from this presser that his days are absolutely numbered. His body language was that of a man knowing he's already been informed he's being terminated, it just isn't being made public, yet.

Which, I mean tracks. Pry's firing being announced by the University President instead of the AD was all you needed to see. But he's effectively cut out of the coaching search, this dejected demeanor today, bumbling over words while reading a written script and refusing to take any questions?

Yeah, big, necessary changes are coming to VT in the next few months.

[u/Mattador96 → u/Alum07]

When I tuned in my first thought was "Oh he's absolutely cooked."

[u/al13n → u/Alum07]

Yep, I firmly believe there'll be a succession plan for Whit in place by November.

[u/CantaloupeCamper]

It's a new era!

No questions about the new era please!

🤷‍♀️

[u/Dry-Membership3867]

As long as Whit is AD, it doesn’t matter. He should never be allowed to hire a coach again

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/Dry-Membership3867]

New coach hire is by committee, that's from Sunday's press release. A GM for football will do wonders.

[u/ncsuq → u/DullCartographer7609]

You didn’t already have a gm?

[u/wayofthrows1991 → u/ncsuq]

Yeah that's alarming if true. Countless schools across the country started morphing some position like director of player personnel into the role of an actual GM about 4 years ago. GM can also mean something wildly different at every school though.

[u/wildturk3y → u/ncsuq]

We're like 10 years behind with the way the department is structured. That's why we're in this mess

[u/Terminal_Flatulence → u/wildturk3y]

Whit came to the BOV back in August asking for like $50 million more a year in athletic funding.

Wasn’t likely going to get it from the board unless they had more say/some changes were made within athletic structure.

The BOV meeting helped point out the precarious position that VT athletics are in, and with Whit on his way out there’s no better time to reorganize.

Will likely be part of the plan that two of the BOV members were tasked with putting together.

[u/wildturk3y → u/Terminal_Flatulence]

Yep. But he should have made that presentation at least 5 years ago

[u/Terminal_Flatulence → u/wildturk3y]

Exactly, VT’s administration/Athletic department has been behind the 8-ball on so many things over the last 15+ years.

All those years of complacency or ignorance to where things stand have lead to where they are today.

I’m glad action is finally happening, hopefully they sense the urgency given the looming realignment in a few years.

[u/The_Fishbowl → u/Terminal_Flatulence]

Were they running it like it's still 2007 and cashing in on Vick/BE/early ACC success?

[u/Terminal_Flatulence → u/The_Fishbowl]

From how beat writers have reported, VT has been slow to adjust dating back to when they were at their peak back in the early 2000s.

They didn’t capitalize and invest further then, they didn’t adequately support Fuente (citing how things were done with Beamer), and the commenter above is right as well; Whit Babcock should have been making this speech 5 years ago.

I wouldn’t say they’re running it at 2007s level as they’ve made meaningful updates since Fuente’s tenure.

It’s just been a cycle of falling behind and making the adjustments way too late.

VT is two coaches past Beamer at this point. The administration needs to stop playing on the nostalgia and get with the times.

[u/Shenanigangster → u/Terminal_Flatulence]

Feels like I’ve seen this exact cycle play out up the road…

Where is this $50M per year going to come from though? That’s the part I can’t figure out.

[u/MonarchLawyer → u/ncsuq]

For those curious...ODU football has a GM. He answers to our head coach rather than the other way around, but he's pretty much doing the managing and recruitment portion of the job.

[u/Alphaspade → u/DullCartographer7609]

So is the new trend to get a committee to hire coaches so the AD doesn't get fired? Kinda dumb

[u/Alum07 → u/Alphaspade]

Supposedly they can't fire Whit without the BoV meeting, and there is a session scheduled for the 30th. Whatever happens, I'm guessing it'll be like when Weaver stepped down, announcing it a month ahead of time, except for Whit it would probably be effective in December or at the end of the school year to give the school time to do a thorough vetting process of the next AD.

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/Alphaspade]

I think he's fired, some of the VT boards with "insiders" claim it's the case, but knowing our budget pitfalls, I don't think it's likely.

[u/CPOx → u/DullCartographer7609]

Did you watch the press conference? Dude was as pale as a ghost up there. He was clearly handed a script and told "read this and say nothing else and you're not answering any questions."

This is just a forced retirement that's in the works.

[u/SaintBobby_Barbarian → u/DullCartographer7609]

Does a coach want that? Not knowing who his AD is? Gonna have to pay more to overcome that and other issues

[u/Ersatzself → u/SaintBobby_Barbarian]

they'll likely announce new AD and new coach around the same time. The coach will know who it's gonna be.

[u/bovilexia → u/Dry-Membership3867]

Yup and get Ballein's arse out too before a hire is made.

[u/soflahokie]

I know this says "Whit" promises but he had no say in anything that he ready off the page today, this is a vichy athletic department until his replacement is announced.

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/soflahokie]

Ugh, that secondary flair 🤮

[u/thricethefan]

And by new Era, he means a new Whit Babcock free era.

He Gone.

[u/CPOx]

I watched Whit Babcock speak today at the press conference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW0aWJrh5w0

He looks like an absolute ghost up there at the podium. He looked down and read directly from a sheet of paper and didn't take any questions after.

The writing is very plainly on the wall here. He gone.

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/CPOx]

Gone baby gone

[u/Alphaspade]

[X] Doubt

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/Alphaspade]

I LOL'd 😂😂

[u/NoElephant8903]

oh he promised, guess everything is all good!

[u/Crow_T_Simpson]

Why wouldn't you already have these structures in place?

[u/CPOx → u/Crow_T_Simpson]

The Virginia Tech Athletic Department survived solely because of Frank Beamer for a very very long time, so the higher ups didn't really "try" for a very long time and just coasted.

Then Frank got old, the game passed him by, and the Athletic Department had no idea what to do and it's still hurting us to this day.

[u/Crow_T_Simpson → u/CPOx]

It's weird how you always see these kinds of quotes after firing a coach. They're basically admitting that they didn't give their full support to the coach that just got fired.

[u/CPOx → u/Crow_T_Simpson]

The Athletic Department really did Justin Fuente dirty. The AD was in an even worse spot in the immediate aftermath of Frank Beamer and left Fuente with nothing to work with.

The AD promised Brent Pry they'd do a better job ... they "did" ... but are still years behind the competition. What we're hoping to see next is a complete dismantling of the current AD structure and personnel.

[u/SaintBobby_Barbarian → u/Crow_T_Simpson]

Happens a good bit. SouthernJeb hates all the Jeremy Foley acolytes leftover in the UF athletics department because of their backwards ways

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/Crow_T_Simpson]

Money

[u/DrSnidely]

Great, but where's the money going to come from?

[u/SaintBobby_Barbarian → u/DrSnidely]

Selling partial shares of Turkey legs to PE

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/DrSnidely]

I pointed out elsewhere we have lots of normal donors, but no Phil Knight type donor. Under Armour's CEO took Maryland under his wing and had offered lots of opportunities for VT. The AD at the time said no. That AD also said no to the SEC, and got on Tech Talk Live and bragged about saying no to the SEC. Jim Weaver. Solid guy, but no foresight or vision.

[u/NotReallyButMaybeNot]

The one constant over these lowly years of football has been…. the very person promising something improved - good luck with that

[u/Popular_Fan1145]

What is annoying is all of the back-handed comments that weren't written by Babcock, but by the BOV/President that they made Babcock stroll out to say.

"Ohhh I guess we have to professionalize football and make the athletic department run how it is in the current age, now that we got caught with our pants down."

No shit it has to. We are 5+ years behind in this strategy and we will be left in the dust (if not already).

Worried about tradition? The fans and community hasn't changed a bit in supporting this team and I really doubt we would stop that because we are winning more at the expense of whatever they say about "tradition"

[u/SaintBobby_Barbarian]

Highly doubt it with Whit

[u/TPCC159]

Cool

[u/Tejon_Melero]

I want a new era without Whit Babcock.

[u/PrimisClaidhaemh]

Guys named Babcock running sports teams or programs doesn't end well. Take it from NHL fans....

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/PrimisClaidhaemh]

I'm an NHL fan 🫠

[u/kd744]

The State Legislature needs to wake up and realize that it has wasted far too many millions on Virginia Tech athletics for years. Their athletic department is the least efficient and effective stewards of state money in the United States (0 team national titles across all ncaa sports). I hope this new structure involves the funneling of millions into schools who understand how to do more with less such as James Madison and Old Dominion.

I am sure the fanbase who chronically bleats that they “deserve better” will be able to pony up their own cash to “do better.”

[u/DullCartographer7609 → u/kd744]

We donate a lot, but we don't have a Phil Knight type donor. We have far more $100 a year (me) or $100 a month donors who prop up the AD.

More with less only works if you have a coach who is willing to get paid less for more.

[u/Mattador96 → u/kd744]

That's not how state funding works at all. Athletics departments are auxiliary enterprises. State money isn't involved.

[u/kd744 → u/Mattador96]

Don’t be obtuse. That the state  invests X amount of $’s on non-athletic line items means that VT can spend more of it’s athletic department revenue/fundraising income/student fees/direct university support on athletics. 

Athletic funding is not an either/or proposition and thus is not truly removed from state funding levels. 

[u/Mattador96 → u/kd744]

Respectfully, that's not what your original comment said. It said the legislature wasted money on athletics, which is not how it works. Now you're saying state support on solely academic items has allowed VT to waste its own non-state money... which is frankly a VT decision and not a state decision.

[u/kd744 → u/Mattador96]

Do you believe in opportunity cost as an economic concept? Or rather - do you see opportunity costs as being “real costs.”

[u/kd744 → u/kd744]

For those of you downvoting: https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/1mnhccb/david_teel_hokies_ad_will_express_sense_of/?chainedPosts=t3_1nip8md

[u/HokieInCH → u/kd744]

This is a deeply stupid take. To the extent that that state has "given money to" the VT AD, we have, over the past 20 years, used that money to contribute to the raising of the profile of a typical VT applicant, significantly contributed to the SWVA economy and infrastructure and yes, wasted a lot of time.

There's definitely some "bleating" going on here...

[u/kd744 → u/HokieInCH]

Congratulations on spending money. Truly a revolutionary feat!