Good afternoon, Atlantic Coast Conference fans.
I made the right decision last night to see my favorite band, Dream Theater, live in concert rather than staying home and watching the Virginia Tech/Vanderbilt football game. My friend, @TalkinACCSports, chronicled that game here.
Jeff is right, of course. It does seem like the end is near for Brent Pry. When I made my ACC football standings picks at the beginning of the season, I was one of the few who thought Virginia Tech would not be bowl-eligible – so I felt the end was near for Pry before the season began.
But we should be asking the same question about Whit Babcock – is he in trouble (and I’ll use the term figuratively thanks to Ratt):
I will be fair to Whit Babcock here, too. There was a time when we thought he was hitting on all cylinders.
With almost a decade passed, though, Babcock’s effect is football is limited at best. In November 2024, we wrote about some big decisions on the horizon for the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. We wrote this:
Whit Babcock, the VT Athletic Director, has a contract that runs through the end of the 2029 academic year. So, if we’re looking at tiers here in terms of longevity in Blacksburg, Babcock has the potential be around longer than either Sands or Brent Pry (who I will talk about below). Babcock missed twice on hiring a football coach. You can’t really blame him for the first time he made a hire to replace a legend, Frank Beamer. On paper, Justin Fuente looked good to the [Virginia Tech Board of Visitors] and the administration – and the press loved the hire. It just didn’t work out. But on the second hire, Babcock went with a first-time head football coach, who was permitted to hire a first-time offensive coordinator – and a first-time defensive coordinator. I question Babcock’s judgement here – I think he should have required his first-time head football coach to hire assistants with more experience. I think Babcock will have to force Pry’s hand at the end of the season to make some changes maybe both of the top assistants as this was a very experienced football team, which drastically unperformed at best. I have to be fair when I talk about Whit Babcock – he’s done a good job hiring basketball coaches. Then men’s team got to an NCAA Sweet 16 – and won an ACC title. Women’s basketball teams have won ACC titles – and got to the NCAA final four. That said, football is important to Virginia Tech fans – and it’s hard for me to think that Babcock will get a third time to hire a football coach. You can be sure that the [Virginia Tech Board of Visitors] has a decision on their hands regarding Babcock’s future.
But Babcock has had a passive approach to funding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL); and the athletic programs in general. As a strategic leader, he had to be ready for the court decision allowing NIL, how to fund it, and stay competitive with your peer ACC schools. Babcock failed here. It’s fair to say that student fees to help fund athletics probably should have been raised years ago – but it’s now going to happen. While I’m happy that Babcock made a presentation to the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors regarding the athletics budget needs, I feel this was years late.
Usually it’s the head football coach (and his staff) who takes the heat for underperforming seasons and Pry does deserve criticism – but it is what it is with Pry at this point because it was Babcock’s decision to hire a first-time head coach, which also included a first-time offensive coordinator and a first-time defensive coordinator. Babcock owns all of this. It seems as though he was not ready to operate in the NIL era – and was far too late in asking for increased athletics budget funding. Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy he is doing this – but it seem passive to me.
If you’re wondering, here’s what the buyout figures are for Pry and Babcock:
Some financials, for those curious:
$5.825M – Brent Pry Buyout
$1.24M – Whit Babcock Annual Comp through 2029, all of which VT is on the hook to pay#Hokies
— Chad Willis (@ChadWillis) September 7, 2025
Stephen Pearcy, lead singer from Ratt, wonders if both Pry and Babcock are in trouble.
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