Thread by @VT4L_Joe

The Devil you know 🧵🪡

January 14, 2014 Whit Babcock was hired after Jim Weaver retired as Athletic Director. At the time, he was young promising AD from Cincinnati. What went wrong?

One of the very first things Babcock did was sign the worst apparel contract of all the P5(now P4) schools. The Nike deal was written up and sitting on Whit’s desk ready to sign when he got there.

Shortly after being hired, Whit Babcock fired James Johnson and hired Buzz Williams from Marquette. Things looked to be progressing nicely at the time

However, Frank Beamer decided to retire Nov 1, 2015. After many years of fans thinking Bud Foster would be the next head coach, Whit flew with Bud to meet the next hire. One that would begin the downfall of VT athletics, Justin James Fuente the HC of Memphis.

Upon arrival, Fuente faced immediate resistance from John Ballein. Many in the program felt Ballein was like the wizard of Oz and pulled the strings from behind a curtain. Whit allowed Ballein to run unchecked and sandbag the program

In 2017, Whit’s right hand Desiree Reed-Francois would leave to become the AD at UNLV. She is now the AD at Arizona. Many inside the building believed she was the glue that was holding things together. VT football has not seen a 10 win season since she left

In 2018, VT would unveil one of its worst uniforms of all time. A lot of the design was selected by none other than Whit Babcock himself, who I’m sure was very proud of the hideous uniforms

In 2019, after making the sweet 16 for the first time in school history, Buzz Williams would leave to become the HC of Texas A&M

We would later learn that Buzz Williams had issues with Whit for YEARS. some stemmed from a riff with Justin Fuente over Chris Clarke. Whit Babcock would never fully support Buzz and he left the program completely depleted especially in the recruiting department

In 2017, Kevin Dresser also left to become the HC at Iowa St after having many issues with Whit Babcock. Whit’s tenure had began to take a downward turn at this point

Then it happened. Bud Foster retired. Fuente had to hire a new DC at VT for the first time in 25 years. Fuente wanted to hire Barry Odum, a proven DC. However Whit wouldn’t approve the salary and Fuente went to the bargain bin to hire J Ham

VT would decline to a level most fans had never seen before. They had lost on the road in Norfolk against ODU and after a Fuente and J Ham blunder they would lose to Liberty at home for the first time in history. Some say the program never recovered from this day

Then in 2020 after a putrid 6-7 season, most thought Fuente would be fired. However, Whit held a press conference where he looked like he ate gas station sushi earlier. He retained Fuente for another year. He didn’t just shock the fanbase, Whit insulted them as well that day

Whit Babcock insulted VT fans at the presser saying they didn’t want to donate enough although VT was in the top third of the ACC in donations CC @MikeMcDanielSI

@MikeMcDanielSI In February Whit would announce “Reach for Excellence”. A $400m initiative that never came to light. This left many wondering where the money went

@MikeMcDanielSI Whit announced the school had already raised $75m and it would include many Cassell improvements. However, none of those would ever happen. The initiative appears to have died in recent years

@MikeMcDanielSI In 2021, Justin Fuente was finally fired. VT was forced to pay the highest coaching buyout in school history. This buyout was put in place after giving Fuente a contract extension only one year into his deal. This blunder shed light on Whit’s ineptitude

@MikeMcDanielSI After a long coaching search and being outbid by Florida for Billy Napier. Whit narrowed down his list to Mike Elko and Brent Pry. Brent Pry was hired on Nov 30th, 2021. Mike Elko would go on to revive Duke football and become the HC of Texas A&M

@MikeMcDanielSI It was later revealed that Pry was hired due to his time as a GA at VT and his connection to none other than John Ballein. Pry has went 3-8, 7-6 and 6-7 in his 3 seasons at VT.

@MikeMcDanielSI Then it would happen, ESPN would release an article highlighting Whit Babcock’s failures during the Fuente era

espn.com/college-footba…

It was revealed that not only was football understaffed, but they didn’t even have enough equipment. Stipend checks were late or withheld. The football dorms didn’t have AC at the time forcing a change. And the weights from the weight room were stolen. Whit didn’t buy brand new weights stating “weights weight the same”

@MikeMcDanielSI After much discussion, VT tried to cancel the ODU series and was unsuccessful. Whit and Ballein booked the series early in Whit’s tenure. VT will continue to have to play at ODU although in 2022 the locker room was robbed during the game and the coaches stuck in an elevator

@MikeMcDanielSI In 2022 VT football would get a $5m donation for a football locker room upgrade. However, Whit bungled the bidding and plans. Prices continued to rise for materials and labor and the project has never began. It is now 2025

@MikeMcDanielSI VT still has the old wooden lockers with no padding. The carpet hasn’t been replaced since the Vick brothers were in Blacksburg ( literally ). They have fold up chairs in the lockers. Compared to *checks notes* UTEP.

@MikeMcDanielSI Here are the UTEP lockers for comparison

@MikeMcDanielSI After a Final 4 run at VT, in March of 2024 Kenny Brooks would leave to become the HC of Kentucky. Brooks left after lack of support with budget and NIL from Whit Babcock as well as pay

@MikeMcDanielSI After many safety concerns, Lane Stadium is still one of the few P4 stadiums without WiFi. Whit has tried many antenna projects wasting large amounts of money with little to no success

If all of these compiled mistakes weren’t enough, as every other P4 team in the country adopted LED lights to boost fan experience, save energy and player morale, Whit has seemingly fell behind this trend with no mention or even a whisper of care that our Stadium Is falling woefully behind in technical advancement. The lights are on most nights at Lane Stadium leading to an exorbitant power bill and a massive waste of energy. In fact many of the old lights are actually burnt out as they sit today.

Sadly, the Jumbotron is also in disarray. Some panels were damaged in a hail storm and the speakers appear to be burnt out in areas as well. Whit Babcock has sat on the sidelines and watched Lane Stadium decay

To make matters worse, Whit Babcock replaced beloved Bill McChain after many years on the mic as the p.a. announcer. Bill was completely blindsided as he had become a staple of Hokie Culture

After Kenny Brooks left, Whit finally realized that he had neglected the football program. He decided to go all in just to go 6-7 this past season. In return, Whit completely gutted men’s basketball. He left Mike Young with a budget smaller than A-10 teams and virtually no NIL. This was incredibly disrespectful to the only VT men’s basketball coach to EVER win the ACC Tournament

It also appears that we will never see the Cassell Coliseum upgrades under Whit. This is very frustrating and has once again left many fans asking “where is the money?”

After many decades, Whit decided to change the section and seat numbering. There has also been increases in ticket prices and donation levels going forward. Many are upset as they are being displaced and the culture is being dismantled as they once again make the student section even larger just for them to leave at halftime

To make matters worse, they have restricted the ticket gates at Lane Stadium. The student gates are a complete disaster and it has spilled over creating issues for alumni and fans. Once again, another Whit failure

In the summer of 2024, it was rumored that VT football was getting new uniforms. Whit fumbled the timeline after much back and forth with Nike. After trying to be secretive and have a selective release, the uniforms were leaked in the EA College Football video game by a streamer

Whit Babcock has invested over $25m in the baseball program including LED lights and a pitching lab. Last year they let the software subscription run out on accident leaving coaches scrambling. Other programs have invested less and are having much more success.
The baseball team has never made the College World Series

Babcock appears to be enamored with directors cup although he has never came close to winning it. VT finished 55th in 2023 in the standings and 50th in 2024.

There is plenty of blame to be passed around, but at the end of the day the head man is always responsible for what happens under his watch. Whit Babcock has been a failure of epic proportions #FAIL

In 2024, Whit Babcock chose to spend over $1m on seat backs in Lane Stadium . This turned into a massive debacle with horrid fan feedback. The seat backs had a multitude of issues including hitting the knees of the person behind the seat, limited space and uncomfortable seating. Many ticket holders demanded their be removed and some people even broke their seat backs off entirely.

Whit Babcock and co tried orange smoke with the entrance in 2019. This was abruptly stopped as fans in the sections near by immediately developed coughs and those with asthma were affected.

Not only is Cassell Coliseum empty most game days now, but there are glaring issues. The food quality is horrible, the are long wait lines and they are typically out of most options.

In 2019 the “Turkey Bacon” article was released by Sports Illustrated. The article described the football team being divided the previous year and arguments stemming from a lack of turkey bacon. In recent years it was discovered that the anonymous source was actually SID Pete Moris. Whit Babcock wanted a cleansing article to be put out for PR and to attempt to turn the program around

si.com/college/2019/0…

Unlike most schools, VT does not have a director of the Hokie Club. There is a lack of fundraising initiatives across the board. Many alumni have asked Whit for almost a decade to implement a system like Clemson’s IPTAY. This has greatly hindered VT and fundraising behind the times