Show Me the Money

At long last, Virginia Tech has a new athletics director.

His name is Brian White. He comes from Florida Atlantic, where he served as the Owls' athletics director since 2018. His father Kevin was formerly the AD at Duke, while his brother Danny holds the same role at Tennessee. He has SEC experience from his time at Missouri and has administrative pedigree in his blood.

But the most important thing you need to know about Brian White is that he is not Whit Babcock. Forgive me: I don't mean to pick on Whit, who will be near retirement when you read this piece. Babcock is leaving behind a complicated legacy that was plagued by football struggles, but ended with a better aftertaste following the hiring of James Franklin and the Invest to Win campaign.

White, though, represents a fresh start. He serves not just as a new set of eyes for how to grow revenue streams, but as an almost cathartic release for Hokie fans who had grown tired of an athletics leadership that felt stale and aloof.

This was a hire made with revenue generation in mind. There's reason for cautious optimism: White's résumé suggests he may be the right guy for the job.

F-A-... Who?

Complexities exist in all large organizations.

If you were to tell the story of the decline of Virginia Tech football, you could start by talking about Babcock. But the picture wouldn't be complete without mentioning other factors: the retirement of a Hall of Fame coach, the drop-off of Virginia high school football talent, wealthier programs poaching the best in-state players, bad luck, the challenges of adapting to NIL, and the reticence of the university to invest more in athletics, among others.

So it's helpful to put results into context and judge performance against the weight of program expectations.