Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 14 No. 1 | August 2021

2 Inside Hokie Sports Dear Hokie Nation, Thank you for continuing to support our student-athletes and Virginia Tech Athletics as we have all faced unimaginable challenges over the past year-and-a-half. The backing of the most loyal and passionate fan bases in college athletics is something all of us greatly appreciate and don’t take for granted. Creating memorable experiences for fans and student-athletes remains one of our top priorities. As we continue this mission, our team is focused on finding new ways for fans to engage with our Tech teams, while embracing the traditions we all know and love. In addition to highlighting a variety of new fan initiatives in this space, I will also aim to communicate with our Hokie Nation on a regular basis throughout the year. I’d like to start by applauding the tremendous job our student-athletes, coaches, medical staff, facilities team and so many others did to make the 2020-21 athletic season a reality. Without their dedicated and tireless efforts, our teams couldn’t have been able to compete, let alone do so at such a high level. Despite the many obstacles we faced, our teams showed great resolve with many of them reaching new heights. A few highlights: • Men’s soccer advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five seasons and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation. • Both our men’s and women’s basketball teams made the NCAA tournament. In addition, Coach Young was named ACC Coach of the Year. •Wrestling claimed an ACC Dual Meet title, their eighth in program history, while eight of Tech’s wrestlers advanced to the NCAA Championships. • The men’s indoor track and field program won the 2021 ACC indoor title by the largest margin in conference history, marking Tech’s 17th ACC track and field team championship dating back to 2004. •Women’s golf made its first ever trip to the NCAA national championship round, an impressive feat for a program that has only been competing for six seasons. • Softball made a run to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time since 2008 and was ranked as high as No. 14 nationally. • Tech’s men’s swimming and diving program also continued its ascent and reached No. 11 in the national rankings. • The Hokies finished No. 32 in the Learfield Director’s Cup final standings, Tech’s second-best finish ever. Looking ahead, we could not be more excited to welcome Hokie Nation back to our venues. As previously announced, plans are in place to be able to host full capacity crowds. Our team is hard at work to ensure all appropriate health and safety measures are in place, while still maintaining the tremendous homefield advantages and environments we enjoy. We are also pleased to offer Fan First concession pricing at Lane Stadium this fall. Through a partnership with a new concessions vendor, you’ll find more affordable prices on the gameday staples, as well as an improved point of sale system that includes cashless payment to speed up line flow. Based on fan feedback, we’ll also be offering beer sales for the first time ever in Lane, but we’ll do so in a responsible way to enhance the fan experience and not detract from it. A new opportunity that is at the forefront of our department is the ability for our student-athletes to now be able to earn financial benefits for their name, image and likeness. We have launched the JumpStart initiative to arm our student-athletes with the knowledge and resources to build their personal brands, seek out business opportunities, and write their futures while living in their present. Lastly, I’d like to provide a brief update on the Reach for Excellence capital campaign that launched in April (learn more at reach. hokiesports.com) . We’ve already made significant progress. We’ve raised over $155 million of the campaign’s $400-million goal. Staying true to our mission of getting every Hokie involved, we’re nearing our goal of 25,000 Hokie Club members with nearly 20,000 individuals on board. Once again, I thank you for your tremendous support of our athletic programs. We’ve come a long way over the past year-and- a-half. We’ll continue to look toward the future and build an athletic program that you, your family, and your friends can all be proud to call our very own. See you back HOME soon. Go Hokies! Whit Babcock Director of Athletics A W ORD FROM W HIT