Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 9 No. 3 | January 2017

7 / 48

5
While growing up in Waynesboro, Virginia, Kenny Brooks
remembers well the day that then-James Madison coach Lefty
Driesell offered him a scholarship to play basketball for the Dukes.
It was a feeling of relief, more so than anyone could imagine.
“It wasn’t a situation where, ‘OK, I got the scholarship, so my
parents won’t have to pay for it,’” he said. “It was like, ‘OK, now I have
this scholarship, so now I can go to college.’ Otherwise, I wouldn’t
have been able to go. I had two hard-working parents, and as much as
they loved me, they wouldn’t have been
able to afford to send me to college.”
Not much has changed over the years,
as Tech’s current student-athletes echo
similar sentiments, and Virginia Tech
Director of Athletics Whit Babcock
wants Tech fans to understand that. This
is the type of impact that the financial
contributions for athletics scholar­
ships have on student-athletes and their
futures.
With that at the forefront of his
thoughts, Babcock announced the
launching of the “Drive for 25”—a
tag-team initiative by the athletics
department and the Hokie Club designed
to increase the membership of the
Hokie Club from 11,000 to 25,000
members. The increase would make the
school’s fundraising organization the biggest in the ACC, and more
importantly, provide revenue needed to offset the ever-rising costs of
tuition and fees.
The Hokie Club raised more than $20 million during the past
year, but only $11.5 million was designated toward scholarships. The
athletics department projects the scholarship bill for the upcoming
year to be at $14.4 million, creating a potential $2.9 million shortfall.
Thus, Babcock said the Drive for 25 was the single-most important
thing that the athletics department will do this year.
“It is about raising money,” he admitted of the Drive for 25. “We’re
not going to hide behind that. It is specifically for scholarships.
“It provides our foundation and the cornerstone for all that we do.
It is all re-invested back into our student-athletes and our programs.”
Former Virginia
Tech football coach
Frank Beamer has
volunteered to serve
as the spokesperson
for the Drive for 25.
The symmetry is fitting
since Beamer wore
the No. 25 and the top
fundraising organizations in the ACC are approaching 25,000 members.
In addition to be a student-athlete at Tech, Beamer served as a coach
and went into the homes of prospects—many of whom would not be
able to go to college without a scholarship offer from a school like
Virginia Tech.
“When you go in, you think, ‘We’re giving this guy an opportunity
that, if we didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to go to college,’” Beamer said.
“He’d have to go and do something else.”
The goal is certainly ambitious. The Hokie Club hasn’t been
much above 11,000 members over the past couple of decades. As
a result, the amount of money raised for athletics ranks 11th among
ACC schools.
So Babcock and the Hokie Club want to recalibrate the Hokie Club’s
goal, with the central focus being on raising money for scholarships.
“We want to change the mindset,” Babcock said. “We want to
rebrand the Hokie Club to be about philanthropy and opportunity,
not solely a transaction for good tickets. We will educate our alumni
and friends … this is the single-best way for alumni and friends to get
involved in athletics.”
The Hokie Club plans a solicitation of new members through a
mass mailing. Fans and alums can expect to see videos, letters, emails
and graphics to be sent out through the department’s social media
platforms.
There isn’t necessarily a timetable to meet the 25,000-member
goal. The athletics department and the Hokie Club plan on working
tirelessly toward the goal for as long as it takes, but they want to reach
it sooner rather than later.
Rest assured, though, there is only one option in Babcock’s mind.
“We will achieve this goal,” he said. “Falling short is not an option.”
Those interested in learning more about the Drive for 25, please
check out this website —which allows alums
and fans to contribute easily.
critical for
VIRGINIA TECH
athletics
All money
generated from the
Drive for 25 will go
toward offsetting
the rising costs of
scholarships
by Jimmy Robertson