The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

(Virginia Tech) in

intercollegiate athletics College athletics encompasses non-professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des É ...

. The Hokies participate in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division I

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, swimming and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, indoor and outdoor

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. Virginia Tech's women's sports are

, cross country,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

, soccer,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, golf, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. Virginia Tech teams have never won an NCAA championship, but individual athletes from the program have won 18 individual national titles in various

events and in

. Though not affiliated with the NCAA, Virginia Tech won the 2007 national championship of bass fishing. The Hokie men's basketball team won the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

NIT tournaments and went to the Sweet Sixteen of NCAA tournament in 1967 and 2019. The Hokies football team lost to

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in the

2000 Sugar Bowl The 2000 Sugar Bowl was the designated Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game for the 1999 NCAA Division I-A football season and was played on January 4, 2000, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The Florida State Se ...

(BCS National Championship Game) and finished the 1999 season with a #2 ranking in the

BCS Poll The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American football, American college ...

Name origins and history

Virginia Tech's sports teams are called the "Hokies". The word "Hokie" originated in the "

Old Hokie "Old Hokie" is a spirited cheer, often used by fans of Virginia Tech's athletic teams. It was coined by Oscar M. Stull (Class of 1896) in a winning student body contest entry to mark the changing of the university's name from Virginia Agricultural ...

" spirit yell created in 1896 by O. M. Stull for a contest to select a new spirit yell when the college's name was changed from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC) to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI) and the original spirit yell, which referred to the old name, was no longer usable. Stull won, and received a $5 award.

Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy. Techs, Techs, VPI! Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah. Polytechs—Vir-gin-ia. Rae, Ri, V.P.I

Later, the phrase "Team! Team! Team!" was added at the end, and an "e" was added to "Hoki". Stull later said that he made up the word as an attention-grabber. Though he may not have known it, "Hokie" (in its various forms) has been around at least since 1842. According to Johann Norstedt, now a retired Virginia Tech English professor, " okie wasa word that people used to express feeling, approval, excitement, surprise. Hokie, then, is a word like 'hooray', or 'yeah', or 'rah'." Whatever its original meaning, the word in the popular cheer did, as Stull wanted, grab attention and has been a part of Virginia Tech tradition ever since. The official university school colors—Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange—also were introduced in 1896. The colors were chosen by a committee because they made a "unique combination" not worn elsewhere at the time. Lane Stadium fireworks 2005

The team mascot is the

HokieBird The HokieBird is the official mascot of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The successor to Virginia Tech's Fighting Gobblers, the HokieBird was created in 1981 and has retained its curre ...

, a

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

-like creature. The teams were originally known as the "

Fighting Gobblers The HokieBird is the official mascot of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The successor to Virginia Tech's Fighting Gobblers, the HokieBird was created in 1981 and has retained its curre ...

" and the turkey motif was retained despite the name change.

Traditions

The stylized VT (the abbreviation for Virginia Tech) is used primarily by the athletic department as a symbol for Virginia Tech athletic teams. The "athletic VT" symbol is

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

ed by the university and appears frequently on licensed merchandise. During the early years of the university, a rivalry developed between the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

and Virginia Tech, then called VPI. This rivalry developed into the original "Military Classic of the South," which was an annual football game between VMI and VPI on Thanksgiving Day in Roanoke, Virginia. This rivalry continued until 1970 when Tech's football program became too large and too competitive for VMI. Today, Tech's major athletic rivalries include the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...

(see Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry), the West Virginia Mountaineers, and the Miami Hurricanes. Virginia Tech's

fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

, ''

Tech Triumph "Tech Triumph" is the fight song of Virginia Tech. It was composed in 1919 by Wilfred Pete Maddux (class of 1920) and Mattie Eppes (Boggs). The song is noted for beginning with the opening notes of ''Reveille'' — a nod to Tech's past as an all-m ...

'', was written in 1919 and remains in use today. Tech Triumph is played at sporting events by both the Virginia Tech band,

The Marching Virginians The Marching Virginians are one of two collegiate marching bands at Virginia Tech (the other being the Highty Tighties, the regimental band of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets). Because the Marching Virginians draw from the general student bod ...

, and the Corps of Cadets' band, the

Highty Tighties The Virginia Tech Regimental Band, also known as the Highty Tighties, VPI Cadet Band, or Band Company was established in 1893 as a military marching band unit in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Unive ...

. The ''

'' spirit yell, in use since 1896, is familiar to all Tech fans. Many of Tech's more modern traditions were adopted after the construction of

Lane Stadium Lane Stadium is a college football stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The playing surface of the stadium is named Worsham Fi ...

in 1964. Virginia Tech's football traditions and the school's fans are the subject of a 2007 full-length documentary called ''Hokie Nation'' which features a mix of interviews with coaches, players and fans as well as a look at Hokie football history and the direction of the program.

Conference affiliation

Tech teams participate in the

(ACC), which the school joined in 2003 after a tumultuous trek through five different conferences in the previous decade, most recently leaving the Big East in the controversial ACC expansion. In 1921, Virginia Tech joined the Southern Intercollegiate Conference (now Southern Conference), which contained 19 schools by 1922, all current members of the ACC or

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). In 1932, thirteen schools left the then-gigantic Southern Conference to form the SEC and in 1953, seven more teams left to form the ACC.

Frank Moseley Frank O'Rear Moseley (April 22, 1911 – July 31, 1979) was an American football player and coach, baseball coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University fr ...

, Virginia Tech's director of athletics and football coach, believed that the new Southern Conference was a lower tier of competition and sought membership in the ACC, but was turned down. In 1965, Tech left the Southern Conference to become independent. In 1977, Virginia Tech once again sought admission to the ACC and was once again rejected. In 1978, Virginia Tech joined the

Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did n ...

, winning the conference men's basketball championship in their first year. In 1991, Virginia Tech was invited to join the Big East Conference for football only. Members of the Big East football conference included

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Rutgers,

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, Virginia Tech, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. In 1994, Virginia Tech was turned down for full membership in the Big East. In January 1995, Virginia Tech and

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

were ousted from the Metro Conference and subsequently filed a lawsuit against the conference. The lawsuit was settled when Metro agreed to pay the Hokies $1,135,000 and Virginia Tech joined the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

, along with fellow newcomers

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

and LaSalle in June 1995. In 1999, the Big East agreed to accept Virginia Tech as a full member in all sports. Virginia Tech ultimately paid $8.3 million to join the conference, $1.1 million of which was actually paid after the school left. In April 2003,

Mike Tranghese Michael Tranghese (born 1943) is the former commissioner of the Big East Conference and helped create the conference as founder Dave Gavitt's right-hand man in 1979. Tranghese retired as commissioner in the spring of 2009, with John Marinatto succ ...

, commissioner of the Big East, dropped a bombshell — that the ACC was secretly trying to lure away Big East members. Over the next several months, the ACC held meetings and discussions. Ultimately, Virginia Tech was invited to join the conference, along with Miami. Boston College was added the following year. Virginia Tech finally had achieved what Frank Moseley had sought so long ago — membership in the ACC. When Virginia Tech was invited to join the ACC, former

Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

sports editor

Bill Brill William Brill (June 21, 1931 – April 10, 2011) was an American sportswriter and author. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attendeChristchurch Schoolin Middlesex County, Virginia. Brill attended Duke University before began his spor ...

expressed his displeasure, saying "Virginia Tech will not win an ACC championship in my lifetime." When Virginia Tech's football team proceeded to do precisely that in their very first season in the league, Brill's house in Chapel Hill, North Carolina received hundreds of mocking phone calls from angry Virginia Tech fans, curious to learn when the funeral arrangements would be held.

Football

Virginia Tech's football team plays home games in

. With a capacity of 66,233, Lane is relatively small in comparison to many other top FBS stadiums, yet it is still considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country. In 2005, it was recognized by

rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

as having the best home-field advantage in college football. Since the 1995 season, the Hokies have finished with a top-10 ranking five times, won seven conference championships (three Big East and four

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

), and played once for the national championship, losing to

46–29 in the

. Annually, Virginia Tech plays its traditional rival, the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, for the Commonwealth Cup, a series which Virginia Tech leads 59-38-5.

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane ...

was the Hokies' head coach from 1987 to 2015, and was the winningest active head coach in FBS football with 280 wins following the 2015 season. Coach Beamer ended his tenure as head coach with a win in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA, where the Bowl streak began in 1993. Beamer's teams were known for solid

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

play (called "Beamer Ball") and for tough defenses headed by defensive coordinator

Bud Foster Robert Eugene "Bud" Foster Jr. (born July 28, 1959) is a retired American college football coach and former player. He currently serves as a Special Assistant to Athletics Director Whit Babcock. Following the 2006 season, he received the Frank Br ...

. In 2018, Beamer was selected to join the 2018

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

. On November 29, 2015, Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced that Justin Fuente was hired from the University of Memphis to succeed the retiring Frank Beamer. In Fuente's first season, Virginia Tech won the ACC Coastal Division and he was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

Men's basketball

Virginia Tech's men's basketball team plays home games in

Cassell Coliseum Cassell Coliseum is a 10,052-seat multi-purpose arena in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, that opened in 1962. It is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling team, and volleyball team. History Built as a ...

. They have enjoyed moderate success in the postseason, making the NCAA Tournament 11 times. Virginia Tech's men's basketball team saw a resurgence of fan support since the arrival of coach

Seth Greenberg Seth Vincent Greenberg (born April 18, 1956) is an American college basketball broadcaster who works as an analyst for ESPN. Prior to taking the position at ESPN he was a coach for 34 years, the last 22 as a head coach. Greenberg has been the he ...

in 2003–04 and the university's entry into the

in 2004–05. Prior to Coach Greenberg's arrival in Blacksburg, the men's basketball team had not had a winning season since the 1995–96 season, when they received a bid to the NCAA tournament. In 2003–04, Greenberg's squad made the Big East tournament. A year later, in their first season in the ACC, the Hokies scored their first postseason berth in nine years when they made the NIT in 2004–05. In the 2006–07 season, Greenberg's Hokies finished with a 10–6 record in the ACC and a 22–12 record overall, earning their first NCAA tournament berth in 11 years, reaching the NCAA second round before losing to

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

. In March 2014, Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced the hiring of Buzz Williams as the Hokies' new head men's basketball coach. Williams spent the previous six seasons as the head coach at Marquette University, where he compiled a 139–69 record and led the Golden Eagles to five NCAA appearances and a Big East Conference regular season title. During Williams's tenure, Marquette tallied a 69–39 record in the Big East Conference, and six Marquette players made it to the NBA. In the Buzz Williams era, Virginia Tech made NCAA Men's Tournament appearances in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons, making it the first time in school history that Virginia Tech has made the NCAA Men's Tournament three years in a row. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Virginia Tech advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1967. In April 2019, Whit Babcock announced the hiring of Mike Young after Buzz Williams left to become the head coach at Texas A&M. On March 12, 2022, Young led the Hokies to the ACC Tournament title for the first time in school history. The tournament final was played against Mike Krzyzewski's

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

in Coach K's final ACC tournament game. Tech, the seven seed, won 82-67 and only reached the final after beating Clemson, Notre Dame, and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in consecutive nights. The Hokies were the first seven seed to win the tournament in its long history.

Women's basketball

Virginia Tech's women's basketball team is led by coach

Kenny Brooks Kenny Brooks (born December 20, 1968) is the current head coach of the Virginia Tech women's basketball team. Career Brooks played his collegiate basketball for the James Madison Dukes basketball program. During the 2013–2014 season the James ...

and competes in the ACC. Under former coaches

Beth Dunkenberger Beth Dunkenberger is a basketball coach with the University of Miami. Previously she has had coaching roles at Virginia Tech, Western Carolina University, the University of Florida, and the Tulane Green Wave. Background Dunkenberger was born in Ro ...

and

Bonnie Henrickson Bonnie Henrickson (born April 13, 1963) is the head women's college basketball coach at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to becoming the head coach at UC Santa Barbara, Henrickson was the head coach at the University of Kansas fro ...

, the program was a fixture in postseason play. The Hokies have received nine berths to the NCAA tournament since the program's first in 1994. Virginia Tech's women have also earned five NITappearances during that stretch including back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017. They play their home games in

Soccer

Women's soccer at Virginia Tech began in 1980 with two club teams under the guidance of Everett Germain and his two daughters, Betsy and Julie.

Kelly Cagle Kelly Cagle (; born August 22, 1974) is an American former professional soccer player who featured as a forward and midfielder and was a member of the United States women's national soccer team. Early life Cagle was born in Tucson, Arizona, an ...

was head coach from 2002 to 2010, leaving with a record of 76–70–15 and three consecutive NCAA trips. She was succeeded by Charles "Chugger" Adair. Under Adair the Hokie Women's Soccer quad has spent numerous weeks ranked in the top 25 during their 2012 campaign. During the 2013 season Virginia Tech ranked in the top 5 making it to the Final Four for the first time in school history. The women's team has now been to 6 straight NCAA tournaments 2008–2013 having two Sweet Sixteen finishes and one Final Four finish. Virginia Tech's men's soccer team has improved greatly since the arrival of Oliver Weiss, who has coached the team since 2000. Under Weiss, Tech has made four NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the College Cup in 2007. The Hokies' trip to the College Cup is the equivalent of men's basketball Final Four and was the soccer team's most successful season. The Hokies finished the 2007 regular season ranked third nationally.

Baseball

Chuck Hartman, who retired as the Virginia Tech

coach in 2006, finished his career as the fourth winningest coach in Division I baseball history with a 1,444–816–8 record, including a 961–591–18 mark in his 28 seasons at Tech, the best record of any baseball coach in history at Tech. The team is currently coached by John Szefc.

Softball

Since starting its varsity program in 1996, the Virginia Tech softball team has played in six conference championship games, winning both the ACC regular season and tournament titles in 2007. Under head coach Scot Thomas and behind the strength of one of the nation's best college pitchers, senior All-American

Angela Tincher Angela Tincher O'Brien (born Angela Susan Tincher; December 16, 1985) is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired professional All-Star softball pitcher and coach. She most recently served as the pitching coach at Virginia Tech. She ...

, the Hokies made their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance in 2008. On May 25, 2008, they defeated the fourth-seeded

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

to advance to their first College World Series, though the Hokies were held scoreless during that appearance and were quickly eliminated in two games. Virginia Tech Softball upset the USA national team in a 1–0 no hitter in 2008 and advanced to the Women's College World Series for the first time ever. Scot Thomas helped start the program in 1996 and celebrated his 600th win during the 2012 season. He was fired following the conclusion of the 2018 season after two consecutive losing seasons. Since joining the ACC, the Virginia Tech Softball team has won two Conference Titles in 2007 and 2008. On May 31, 2018, Pete D'Amour was announced as the new head coach of the Virginia Tech softball program.

Golf

The men's golf team has won 12 conference championships: * Southern Conference (4): 1956, 1961, 1963, 1965 *

(2): 1993, 1994 *

(2): 1996, 1997 * Big East Conference (3): 2001, 2002, 2003 *

(1): 2007 (Co-Champions) In 2007, Virginia Tech golfer

Drew Weaver Drew Weaver (born May 18, 1987) is an American professional golfer. Weaver was born in High Point, North Carolina. He grew up playing at nearby Willow Creek Country Club. He won the 2007 Amateur Championship with a 2 & 1 victory over Australian ...

became the first American to win the

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

golf tournament since 1979. Weaver edged out 2006 Australian Amateur champion

Tim Stewart Tim Stewart (born 15 February 1985) is an Australian professional golfer. A former Australian Amateur champion, he turned professional in November 2008 and played primarily on the Asian Tour. Personal life Stewart was born in Sydney, Austral ...

and earned an invitation to the

2007 Open Championship The 2007 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 136th Open Championship, played from 19–22 July at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Pádraig Harrington defeated Sergio García in a playoff to take the title and his firs ...

. Former Hokies that have won at the professional level include:

Johnson Wagner Montford Johnson Wagner (born March 23, 1980) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Wagner was born in Amarillo, Texas and grew up in upstate New York, where his father taught computer scien ...

(three

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

wins), Adam Hunter (one European Tour win), and

Brendon de Jonge Brendon de Jonge (born 18 July 1980) is a professional golfer from Zimbabwe. He currently plays on the PGA Tour. He played collegiate golf at Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech career De Jonge was a two-time All-America selection by the Golf Coaches of ...

(one

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental golf tour, tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at tha ...

win).

Wrestling

The Virginia Tech

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

program was founded in 1920. The team holds its matches at

and practices in the training room on the third floor of the football locker room facility, renovated in 2010. In 2006,

Kevin Dresser Kevin Dresser (November 9, 1962) is a collegiate wrestling coach, currently at Iowa State University and formerly at Virginia Tech (2006-2017). Dresser had also been a coach at Christiansburg HS, Grundy HS, and an assistant at the University of ...

was named the head coach of the wrestling program. The team won the 2014 ACC Tournament, led by captain Devin Carter, who was named ''Tournament MVP''. The Hokies finished 8th overall in team standings at the 2014 NCAA Championships. Devin Carter was the runner-up at 141 lbs and Virginia Tech's first ever NCAA Tournament finalist. During the 2014–15 season, a few select matches were held for the first time at the ''Moss Performing Arts Center'' on the Virginia Tech campus. The Hokie Wrestling team won the 2015–16 regular season ACC dual meet title, after beating previously undefeated

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

in the last conference dual meet of the season. The team took second place at the 2016 ACC Tournament. The 2015–16 team also set program bests with six All-Americans and a fourth-place finish at the

2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships took place from March 17 to March 19 in New York City, New York at the Madison Square Garden. The tournament was the 86th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and featured seventy two teams acros ...

, which is also the highest team finish for an ACC team ever. Kevin Dresser was named the 2016 ''NWCA Coach of the Year'' at the tournament. In 2017, Tony Robie became the wrestling program's head coach, following Kevin Dresser's departure to Iowa State. In 2019, redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis became the first Hokie wrestler to win a national championship for Virginia Tech. Before his 7–1 victory over two-time defending national champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State in the 165-pound finals, Lewis dispatched the number one seed Alex Marinelli of Iowa in the quarterfinals and the number four seed Evan Wick of Wisconsin in the semi-finals. For his remarkable three-day performance, Lewis was named ''Most Outstanding Wrestler'' of the tournament.

Non-varsity sports

Ice hockey

Virginia Tech Ice Hockey was formed in 1984. They joined the newly formed ACCHL in 1995 and have competed there ever since. The team won the regular season champion title during the 1996–97 season with a record of 13–1. The Hokies play out of the

Berglund Center Berglund Center (originally called the Roanoke Civic Center) is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to the Roanoke Dazzle basketball team, ...

in Roanoke and drew the biggest crowd in team history of 5,200+ to the VT vs. UVA game on January 19, 2007. They became the first non-Carolina team to win the Canes Cup on January 14, 2007 by defeating the

Duke University Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

, NC State University Wolfpack and the

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

Pirates. During the 2010–2011 season, the Hokies turned towards a more competitive conference, the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA), where they play in the same division against Liberty, East Carolina, Maryland, and UMBC. In the 2011–2012 season, the Hokies earned a berth in the ACHA Division II National Tournament for the first time in program history, finishing 12th in the nation. The Hokies captured their first MACH championship in 2013 by defeating (3) Liberty, (2) UMBC, and (1) Penn State in succession.

Rugby

The Virginia Tech rugby team was founded in 1968, although the first recorded college rugby match in Blacksburg dates back to 1891. Virginia Tech rugby plays in the Big East conference against its traditional ACC rivals. Tech rugby plays an annual rivalry match against

for the Commonwealth Shield. The Hokies are supported by the Tech Rugby Alumni Association, which has established an endowment managed by the Virginia Tech Foundation that provides for limited scholarships for rugby players. The Hokies are led by head coach Carlos Dominguez. The Hokies have been successful in rugby sevens. The Hokies finished third in their conference in spring 2012. The Hokies won the college division of the July 2012 Cape Fear 7s tournament. The Hokies also defeated other ACC teams to win the 2012 Virginia Tech 7s, beating NC State 22–5 in the final. In 2012, the Hokies defeated Virginia 33-31 to win the Atlantic Coast Rugby League 7s, automatically qualifying for the 2012 USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships. Winning the 2012 ARRL 7s also qualified the Hokies for the 2013

Collegiate Rugby Championship The Collegiate Rugby Championship (CRC) is an annual college rugby sevens tournament. The CRC is the highest profile college rugby sevens competition in the United States, with the tournament broadcast live on NBC from 2010–2017, on ESPN News an ...

, the highest profile competition in college rugby, broadcast live on NBC from PPL Park in Philadelphia. The Hokies most recently won the D1AA National Championship with a dominant tournament run with wins over Salisbury (91-0), Boise State (27-11), and West Chester (37-15)

Bass fishing

The Virginia Tech College Bass team was founded in the 2006–2007 school year, and won their first national title that same year.

Field Hockey

The Virginia Tech Club Field Hockey team was founded as a replacement of the D1 team in the 1990s. The team competes in the club-level National Field Hockey League, and won the league's championship in fall 2017.

National Championships

Virginia Tech, along with Kansas State, is one of only two

Power Five conference The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiate ...

schools that have not won an NCAA-recognized national championship in any varsity team sport. The Hokies listed below have won individual National Championships. *Wrestling (1) ** Mekhi Lewis - 165-pound weight class, 2019 *Men's Track & Field (11) **Spyridon Jullien - Weight Throw, 2005 **Spyridon Jullien - Hammer Throw, 2005 **Spyridon Jullien - Weight Throw, 2006 **Spyridon Jullien - Hammer Throw, 2006 ** Marcel Lomnicky - Hammer Throw, 2009 **Alexander Ziegler - Hammer Throw, 2011 **Marcel Lomnicky - Weight Throw, 2012 **Alexander Ziegler - Hammer Throw, 2012 **Alexander Ziegler - Weight Throw, 2013 **Tomas Kruzliak - Hammer Throw, 2013 **Vincent Ciattei, Greg Chiles, Patrick Joseph, Neil Gourley - Men's DMR, 2018 *Women's Track & Field (8) **

Queen Harrison Queen Quedith Claye née Harrison (born September 10, 1988) is an American hurdler and sprinter who competed in the 400 metres hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She was a six-time collegiate All-American at Virginia Tech where she was elect ...

- 60m Hurdles, 2010 **Queen Harrison - 400m Hurdles, 2010 **Queen Harrison - 100m Hurdles, 2010 **Dorotea Habazin - Hammer Throw, 2011 ** Irena Sediva - Javelin, 2015 **Irena Sediva - Javelin, 2017 **Rachel Baxter - Pole vault, 2022 **Lindsey Butler - 800m, 2022

Non-Varsity Championships

*Bass Fishing - 2007 *Women's Gymnastics (NAIGC Level 8) - 2015 *Field Hockey - 2017 *Club Baseball - 2021 *Rugby - 2021

Radio network affiliates

Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network Station List

Footnotes

References

;Notes

External links

* {{Virginia Sports