Virginia Tech AD Whit Babcock, who is retiring at the end of June, will most be remembered for “the shortcomings in football” and how “struggles remain in generating funds to remain competitive” with NIL in several key sports when it comes to his time overseeing the athletic department, according to Damien Sordelett of the ROANOKE TIMES. Babcock made two hires in football following Frank Beamer’s retirement that “didn’t pan out” in Justin Fuente and Brent Pry. The discussion of Babcock’s legacy “needs to include the moment last August when he pushed the Board of Visitors to increase the athletic department’s funding.” His presentation on Aug. 18 showed “how far Virginia Tech had fallen behind its peers in the ACC,” and he asked for a $52M investment and to raise the annual athletic department budget to $200M. Babcock’s tenure also featured him “spearheading fundraising efforts” such as the “Drive for 25” and the “Reach for Excellence.” The “Drive for 25” helped increase Hokie Club membership from less than 10,000 to more than 25,000, and the “Reach for Excellence” is nearing its milestone of raising $400M (ROANOKE TIMES, 4/23). ESPN.com’s Andrea Adelson wrote outside of football, the school has won 30 ACC titles in the 12 years Babcock has been the AD (ESPN.com, 4/23).
NEXT STEP: In Norfolk, David Teel wrote a central question for Virginia Tech “now becomes whether to hire a traditional athletic director from within the industry” or appoint an “executive with more wide-ranging business credentials to navigate the new era of athlete compensation.” Recent Power Four AD searches have “landed on both sides” (Norfolk VIRGINIAN-PILOT, 4/23).
