Who at VT is accountable for $95M?

Roanoke Times
LETTERS
July 19, 2026

Letter: Who at VT is accountable for $95M?

I haven’t forgotten my first visit to Virginia Tech.

In the late 1970s, on a beautiful fall afternoon, a friend, a Tech graduate, with whom I taught at Martinsville Jr. High School, took me to a football game.

Even then, I sensed there was something unique about this outstanding university.
Years later, that admiration continued. Our oldest daughter is a successful graduate and diehard Hokie.

As an old North Carolina boy, I cheered when Tech entered the Atlantic Coast Conference. Academically and geographically, this was a win for the conference.

Despite this affection for a university that has impacted the world beyond Blacksburg’s town limits, I do not understand the school’s relentless pursuit of becoming a dominant player in college athletics.

The recent anonymous gift of $75 million dollars to the school is an example of this quest. I appreciate the donor’s twofold focus with the gift benefiting the school’s athletic department and honors program.

However, there are no guarantees that using these millions to buy the best players, coaches, and building state of the art athletic facilities equals automatic national championships.

Founded as a “land-grant” university in 1872, I wonder how many of Virginia Tech’s “land-grant” peers are consumed by this same push for athletic prominence?

My guess is Virginia Tech’s new football coach, James Franklin, is publicly thrilled with this financial gift.

However, I can only begin to imagine the pressure he must feel to quickly develop his team into a national powerhouse.

Speaking of pressure, does the university’s leadership feel any of that stress to succeed?

If Virginia Tech’s athletic department squanders this investment, other than a coach, who will be held accountable?

Where does that accountability apply to the $95 million in debt that the athletic department already has?

The world was less complicated on my first visit to Virginia Tech.

And yet, I suspect the “lunch pail” in Lane Stadium knows this wisdom from Seneca: “It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.”

Hokies, I hope your craving works out.

Bill Pike, Richmond

Note from author: I am always honored when a piece I submit to a newspaper is published. This letter to the editor was published in the Sunday, July 19, 2026 edition of the Roanoke Times. I have many dear friends who are graduates from Virginia Tech. I apologize if the letter offends you. My goal was not to offend. The goal was to ponder one more example of how money continues to rule college sports.