For the last two years, it's been a bit of a hike for Hokies fans to make it to the team's bowl destinations. This year, the Hokies are staying much closer to home.
Virginia Tech will square off against Cincinnati (9-3) in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland for Frank Beamer's 22nd consecutive bowl game on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 1:00 PM (ESPN).
Considering the huge number of VT alumni in the Washington D.C. metro area, it's no surprise to see the Hokies grab this slot.
"Virginia Tech, from our perspective, they have a great alumni base, very passionate fans and a big base in this area," said Steve Beck, the bowl's executive director, in an interview Saturday. "I think the number for the area around Virginia, D.C. and Maryland is around 50,000 alumni and over 8,000 students from the area. So immediately you look at that."
But Beck and the rest of the bowl's board weren't just drawn to the way the Hokies could put people in the seats. They're also appreciative of the school's military history and the continuing role of the Corps of Cadets.
"We certainly look at that," Beck said. "I was down at the game this past weekend, and noticed that and it was a big plus."
That's not all Beck observed on his trip to Blacksburg. Not only did he get to see Beamer extend his bowl streak against Virginia, but he also got a glimpse of the dedication of Hokies fans.
"Their fans know bowl travel, they know how to support their team, you saw that down against Virginia last week," Beck said. "It was a great environment, and from what I could tell, it looked like everybody stayed until the very end, even though it was very cold down there, like 22 degrees."
Despite these emotional factors, it's hard to escape the influence of corporate sponsors as well when bowl season rolls around. Luckily, the Hokies scored points in that area too.
"They also have a very good relationship with Northrup Grumman, which is our sponsor, in working with security stuff together, which is a great tie-in as well," Beck said.
Beamer's standing nationally, and in the D.C. area specifically, is also an attractive element for the bowl.
"Coach Beamer's popularity was evident two years ago when the DC Touchdown Club (which also is operated by the DC Bowl Committee Inc.) honored Coach Beamer with a Lifetime Achievement Award and drew a capacity crowd to the awards dinner," said Josh Barr, the bow's director of external relations.
Many current Tech players have strong ties to the area as well, like one Kendall Fuller who was earning awards of his own from the committee before he even officially became a Hokie.
"That same year, our player of the year from Maryland was Kendall Fuller from Good Counsel High School," Beck said. "So there's a lot of obvious ties to VT in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area."
But for the Hokies that don't hail from the nation's capital, they'll still get a chance to explore it.
"The teams will stay in D.C. and the kids will get a great educational experience," Beck said. "They'll go to the mall, look at the monuments, tour the capital."
Players and fans alike will also get a mini history lesson by simply attending the game at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, a venue built back in 1959 that's played host to over 50 years of games by the Navy Midshipmen and even some Olympic events.
"There's something special about the place, it's almost like a museum in itself, there are all the plaques they have and battles that they reference," Beck said. "It's a great stadium for our game. With only 35,000 seats, you can walk around the whole place in less than 10 minutes."
The bowl tries to honor that history with large contributions to the USO, and by inviting both Medal of Honor recipients and veterans assisted by the Wounded Warrior project (one of Beamer's favorite charities).
"We're a bowl with purpose, and that purpose is to support our men and women in uniform," Beck said. "It's really a real military flare whether we have a military team in the bowl or not."
Comments
It's time for some revenge. I'm still salty about the 2012 game.
Let's have a repeat of that Orange Bowl!
But with us winning by 50 instead of 6
Didn't we win that game by 13? I think it was 20-7.
Yup
http://www.hokiesports.com/football/stats/showstats.html?9887
Stressful enough that it felt like 6.
If our offense scores 50 points I'll shave my head and change my name to Mike London
Someone already did that...
Keep in mind, the offense doesn't need to score 50 points. The defense/special teams can score half of that and I'd be happy.
I'm a little salty from 1995!
I missed that game because I was on an ecology trip. Apparently it was the worst game ever. Think Wake Forest game, but in the rain and at home. And we didn't score.
But, yay, 10 game winning streak!
My gf is strapping on her running shoes, y'all!
I really wish this was still at RFK, but a 30 minute drive isn't bad.
Make sure she signs up for the 5K!
https://militarybowl5k.ticketsocket.com/event/MilitaryBowl5K
Haha, yes. That is the reference.
Also, she works for NG, so we got that going as well.
Oherro,
I knew you would come through! Now let's go kick some Bearcat ass!
ha. I'm doing jack. She's doing all the work.
From TKP to your girlfriend:
U the Real MVP!!
Damn it, I did not want to face Cincy again.
Better than Radford
Too soon...(and wrong thread)
Good god, did we lose to Raddy?
68-66 today. Woop.
Please tell me this is a joke. Wow.
Yaaaaaaaaawn.
What a first post on TKP
He actually waited almost 2 years to make that post.
He saw his opportunity and he took it.
That's just him waking up from his 2 year slumber.
He picked a good two years to sleep.
Better than an ECU rematch. I was initially thrilled at the thought of the Military Bowl since it's a short drive from my house, but it looks like travel plans will have me out of town that day. Sigh...anyone know any good spots to watch from Jacksonville, FL?
The VT alumni club chapter down here usually gets together to watch all of the games. I forget where, but the president of the chapter should be easy to contact.
Good idea; thanks. I'm going to keep an eye on their Facebook page to see if they announce anything, and luckily VT has a handy list ready for me if I need to get in touch!
With that small amount of seats is it going to e possible to get tickets? I live about 30 from there and would kill to be able to make it to the game.
You're joking, right?
With only 35K seats it'll sell out in no time with just the alumni base in NOVA let alone any Cinci fans.
IF if sells out (and I doubt it does), I'll bet that tickets will be very easy to come by in the secondary market.
Short of the National Championship and the Rose Bowl, tickets to almost every bowl game are generally easy to come by at face value or less.
Yep scored some $250 tix to the Sugar bowl for about $75 after fees. Got hosed though since that game ended in a tie with no OT.
Umm?... we won that game.
There will be. 15000 there.
You'll have no trouble getting tickets to this game, I'm sure. Doubt the attendance is higher than about 15k.
Tickets are on sale now:
http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=BOWL&...
Seating chart:
Thank you for the response and info. My wife and I will be there.
There's 55K VT alums in the Northern VA area. The game is on a Saturday too. I could see it selling out.
It's drawn over 30k the two times Maryland played in it. I don't think it sells out but I think we have the NoVa presence to put asses in seats.
I really should have bought my tickets Friday instead of working to iron out details with my group. Could have had them in Section 5, 7th row. Now we'll be relegated to the upper level but oh well.
When did you buy them and from where? Had no problem getting tickets in LL row 14 30/40 yard line from the school.
Oh, I know I can get them down on the lower level, but I could get them for $50 on the lower level as opposed to the $75 charge now. There's a split at Section 5 between what looks like stadium seats and bleacher seats so the cost changes. All of the bleacher seats which were the $50 tickets are sold except for a few here and there. I found those on the Military Bowl website though.
I thought about buying tickets on Friday as well, but that would've meant that VT would have been selected by another bowl on Sunday.
That's how these things work.
Looks like all ACC teams found homes in the bowl lineup:
thats a pretty good slate. great test of how the acc stacks up
Shocked the Belk Bowl passed on all NC teams and VT
they got a solid match up though.
It irks me that Notre Dame takes up an ACC Bowl slot. Hoping they get curb stomped by LSU.
I think I would've preferred USCe as an opponent, but after this season, I'll be thrilled with a Bowl win against Cincinnati.
Yes indeed. Simply put, #F-KNOTREDAME
Is it just me, or did anyone else give a little chuckle at UNC having to go to Detroit and play Rutgers the day after Christmas?
'We're UNC, we don't cheat, we can get away with whatever......'
Hawt
Damnit military bowl! That Indy bowl vs South Carolina would have been perfect.
What happened to taxlayer? Edit: Nevermind I'm living in the past
I think I see the ACC going 6-6 with that slot. But we could easily go something like 10-2 as well... 0r 2-10... Never mind guys predicting the ACC is harder than predicting the weather.
I have a feeling GT is gonna get demolished.
Where's Virginia?
At home looking at that stupid clock I bet
Moved on to Olympic sports
"Where's Virginia?"
Eighth line down, between the words "MILITARY" and "Tech"
Thanks for the post. That is a fantastic lineup of games, for the most part. VERY intriguing, IMO. I'll be rooting hard for the ACC (well, maybe more AGAINST the ACC opponents) in just about all of the games. Can't root for ND, and the last 3 on the slate...well, just #goacc
EDIT ------> Thanks, Guitarman, for the bowl lineup. I guess I could thank myself for my own post. That would be good.
Wow, Is Houston just perennially in the Armed Forces Bowl? I mean just put it on their schedule for God's sake.
Eeeewwwww....I don't think the ACC is going to stack up very well this year in the bowl games. I see Clemson, us, UNC, maybe Louisville and Pitt getting a win.
Retribution for the 4-0 day against the SEC and the media frenzy that followed?
#SECRevenge
/sarcastica
When is the game? Did I miss it in the write up?
Saturday, Dec. 27 @ 1:00 PM
Saturday afternoon...aka Jim Weaver Time
I really thought it would be at 2 pm on a Tuesday.
My sportscenter app notification says 8 pm. Any chance ESPN has bargaining power to change the time since they air it, or is this just a mixup on their part?
ESPN's website lists it as 1:00, and the 8:00 game is Nebraska-USCw, so I doubt we'd trump that for primetime.
Darn. Got excited when I got the notification thinking it had been moved.
WE BOWLIN' NAO.
Went to the Navy-Rutgers game earlier this year, am really excited for this game.
Annapolis is HIGHLY underrated as a drinking town, and the harbor is really cool. The stadium is a bit away from the downtown/harbor but it is surrounded by empty fields and school parking lots for tailgating.
Was probably one of the few bowls I had no interest in us going to. Bad opponent, in a tiny stadium where there probably won't be many fans there even when it's in our backyard.
But Annapolis is a great place to get hammered. And they now have uber. And for the day they'll have the hokies.
Yeah, this isn't quite worst case scenario, but you can see it from there.
Cincy is also.....,,,how do you say it......better than us.
That's where you're wrong! Cincinnati < Ohio State < Virginia Tech #flawlesslogic
Until you look down and see Cincinnati > East Carolina > Virginia Tech.
So we're stuck in an endless loop.
Looking at their results, they put up some points this year, including 28 vs. OSU and 34 vs. Miami (both losses), as well as 54 in their win over ECU. I am sure Bud is already watching film.
Endless loop =
Dork Magic!
always +1 for Bo.
#goacc
I'd prefer a small stadium for a bowl. Better atmosphere than some 1/4 filled 65k behemoth.
If you are a Hokie Club member, buy your tickets through the Tech ticket office. You get three priority points per ticket!
Guys, WE'RE ON TO CINCINATTI
No complaints. We are in a bowl game, with practice time for a young team. Against an opponent we can beat. In a town close enough to our fan base we can have good fan showing and maintain our reputation as good traveling fans, which always helps get a better bowl game in the future. Personally speaking, I won't spend the money to travel to a bowl game I don't think we can win - just can't have good time before if think we'll lose, and can;t enjoy after if we don't. Maybe I need to relax more, but rather be here against Cinci than in Detroit or Armed forces. Some other match ups would have been better, but not intriguing enough to travel to see it unless Belk or Music City, which we did not deserve.
If you are affiliated with the military, the USO is giving away vouchers for tickets. I doubt the seats will be good, but for free tickets...
Fantastic.....get in and find a great seat. You deserve it!
The stadium's so small it won't matter how good/bad the seats are.
Cinccy again!? I would of gone here though:
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl
Central Michigan vs. WKU Nassau, Bahamas
Thomas Robinson Stadium Wed., Dec. 24
12:00 p.m. ET
We would have a big turn out here! Early dive in the morning. A few cocktails at the Tiki Bar then on to the game! I am not going to Annapolis. It is a cool town though.
Safe to say that no matter who wins the national championship, Central Michigan and Western Kentucky are the winners of bowl season.
My question for this is that you have to have a passport to go to the Bahamas, did every member of those conferences have to get a passport or is there a waiver process for events like this?
Good question. I would like to know how they deal with this, too. I couldn't find any info about this specific game, but apparently NFL players have to have passports for games in London, which has caused some headaches for some teams. The Jaguars GM wants to make passports mandatory for every player.
If you pay to have your passport expedited, they guarantee a processing time of 8 business days, so in theory if a player got the application in tomorrow, they should receive a passport before the game. But that's cutting it really close...
Homebrew...love your comment! 2 on a Tuesday!
Wife bought out tickets through the school while waiting in line for kids Santa pictures. Site crashed twice but still got good tickets. We need a TKP tailgate.
#Babcockbowl
I think Loeffler can come up with a pretty solid game plan for this bowl. Really hope we have the other QBs prepared too, just in case (hope they won't be needed). We all remember how losing Logan hurt us badly in EP.
These extra practices and game experience are extremely valuable for this very young team.
Agree, We need a TKP tailgate. Just got tickets for my son and I. I just watched the Cincy vs. Houston Game, and I'm confident we will be favored. Cant see them blocking our d-line. Fuller time for a pick 6.
I think me and the fiance will be going. I work for Northrop Grumman so we get tickets (usually discounted) to the military bowl made available to us every year.
Just a reminder that even if you are unable to go, the Military Bowl (and other bowls possibly) have a feature where you can purchase a ticket and donate it to active duty military members for them to go to the game. Our company encourages us to do this every year and it usually gets a decent response.
I live in Cincy and have watched many of their games. Their defense is soft (outside of Nick Temple forme vt recruit that we chose not to pursue) and if we don't score at least 28 pts.i will consider us totally unimproved. Bud SHOULD eat their offense up. As we all know it depends on which Hokie team shows up.
There's no way we're putting up 28 or more on them. If we can get 18-21 points and our defense holds up we'll be fine.
We should be able to run the ball not that we will but we should. We put up 28 against the Buckeyes and BC. Their defense is about on par with UNC from what I have seen. Of course they could have improved significantly but I doubt it.
Gah, when are we going to get emails about student tickets? Either that or I'll just pick them up off the secondary market. While $75 isn't too bad, I spent about $300 on tickets to bring my cousin up for the Thursday night game, so I'm inclined to be a little stingy now.
I wanted Terrapin Revenge Bowl, but I guess I can live with the FedEx Field Choke-Up Redemption Bowl.
And they're playing in Maryland, so...there's that.
#FEFCURB
Will Trey be healthy by then?
Tix already selling well. We got 3 in Sect 3 earlier, but, best available are near the goal line now. Sat in Annapolis and close to a huge alumni base should result in a good showing of Hokies. Not to mention, Navy-Marine Memorial is a historic stadium without a bad seat. Now, if the Hokies that played so emotionally against the hoos show up we'll be fine.
Was hoping for the Independence Bowl and Florida/South Carolina, but a bowl is a bowl and can help develop some positive momentum heading into 2015!
Well, a very disappointing season - understatement, there. But the silver lining, if you want to call it that, in having a 6-6 record is that we have a bowl venue that we are certainly not used to having.
Annapolis would be a great weekend visit, and there are lots of places to eat in DC, where I assume the non-NoVa crowd will be located. The stadium even looks interesting, if quaint. The military tie-in is there for the game, and if you attend the bowl games for the atmosphere, it should be great.
There's no reason for DC area Hokies to not attend this bowl game if they're ever going to a bowl. So the crowd will be heavily pro-Hokie. Cincinnati will be a good matchup for us, and this is a golden opportunity to end the season on a positive note.
I'd say we got the best bowl for us that was available! I expect it will indeed be a sellout, despite the W-L record. It's a great semi-local bowl destination, with no real pressures about the game. You can go, do the touristy stuff, and top it off with Hokie football. Sounds like a nice weekend!
Just saw where Tech has already sold half of our allotment of tickets for the bowl. If you're going to buy - you better buy!
My wife bought us tickets last night just after they came available but we are not sure if we can both go, she is pregnant, but does anyone have recommendations. Stay in Baltimore or DC? Tailgating scene?
The Annapolis Chapter of the Alumni Association is looking to put something together for a tailgate. (Not sure about a TKP one...but I'm sure it won't disappoint.)
As far as staying, both Bmore and DC are going to creep towards an hour away. There's a lot of hotels just outside Annapolis that should run cheaper and closer than the other options.
I'd have to guess Annapolis, being a tourist type town, would have lots of options for dining, too?
Yessir. Fresh catch, and chains. Down towards the water are some very awesome joints with killer bars and solid food options. Neat little City.
Was thinking though with flying into Bmore staying there would mean no hotel required minimum number of night stays.
I know everyone has their own budgetary concerns, and this isn't about that. I'd just say that a bowl trip just isn't nearly as good if you don't take one day prior to visit the sights of the locale and the night of the game to celebrate, or detox. A two night minimum is almost necessary. Again, just as an experience value.
Plan is to fly in morning of game and fly out day after late, still get to see things but pregnant wife wont be away from two current kids too long.
Flying into BWI will probably be cheaper than DCA and there are a lot of hotels around the airport that are not that expensive.
However, with a 1pm kickoff, flying in the morning of seems a bit risky. You'd basically be going from the airport straight to the stadium. If you are looking for a one night excursion, I would fly in on Friday, hit the town that night, get a good night's rest before the game. Then leave the evening after the game is over. Obviously, this means you should stay closer to the stadium.
That said, my brother pulled this during the baseball playoffs last year. He flew in from Los Angeles, met my parents in VA, then they picked me up (in DC) on their way to Baltimore for a 12:00 game (JW would've been proud).
Yea finding that out with flights, getting into BWI at 1145 am doesnt seem like a good idea.
Oy. Weekend after Xmas and a 1 pm kick? I shall light a candle and pray to the airline gods for no delays on your behalf, good sir.
I think this is a very good result for our Hokies. Bowl game that we've never been in, against a foe that I know we are all interested in watching for the revenge factor and familiarity. When I saw the projections of us going to Detroit to play Illinois I thought that would be one of the worst bowl games in my memory.
With all this talk of the Military Bowl, I wasn't sure if you noticed official Bowl T-Shirts for our game are now on sale:
Special savings on 2-pack.
Better hurry up...THE GAP IS CLOSING!
Less than a 1,000 left to buy through the school. Does not see like 7,500 was a very big allotment for both schools that's less than half the total seating for the whole stadium combined. Seeing trash talking Cincy fans saying they are buying tickets through VT site. Any news on how their ticket sales are?
You've got to remember that the stadium is half the size of a typical bowl stadium. So that would be equal to 15K for a game in a regular size stadium. The amount of tickets that go to local businesses & state/municipal officials would not vary like that. it is static.
I will say this - if there were actually only 7500 tickets allotted to Tech, then I think the bragging about selling over half the tickets in one day seems pretty misleading.
They only sold a 1,000 to the last bowl game total. They also have sold almost all of them as of this writing, 1752.
There are now less than 1K left, so they've sold a little over 6500. That's a much more respectable number than 3800. I imagine people have had time to check travel logistics, etc. It would be great if we actually could sell enough to request more tickets. if we got 10K sold through the VTTO that would be great.
Also not a lot of tickets from the bowl website itself are left
If they've already sold out, good on them.
If they're buying from our ticket office when their own school has seats available, then they're advanced stupid.
BREAKING NEWS! VT will wear the Stars & Stripes VT helmets (white) in the Military Bowl!
Great decision!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B4XOSCrIQAASls4.jpg
OH GOD DOES NO ONE REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME WE WORE THAT HELMET AGAINST AN AAC TEAM?
/freakout
Nice choice. I do like that look.
Yep. It is the only alternative look helmet that I like. I like the maroon VT helmet, the white VT helmet for away games, and this one for military theme games. Continuity in the branding.
When we wear that helmet 'Merica wins! ...you're welcome 'Merica!
Thank you for the opportunity:
He too much 'Murica in his hair, so he had to shake it out to share with the world. He calls it "Letting Freedom Ring."
He is my hero...could you imagine him AND Rogers??? I don't know if the world could handle it....
I concur. I love the helmets. But they're already drenched in bad juju...
Guys, did you see what they're getting in their swag bag for this bowl???
Military Bowl Swag
If I was a player I wouldn't want to go to the Music City or the Sun bowls. A watch at Music City, and a hair dryer and a fleece pullover at the Sun Bowl (Cause you need a fleece pullover in Texas).
They also get a gift suite where they get to choose what other gifts they want based upon a point value assigned to each gift.
You know, I said that, but on further thought. If I was a player, I'd be glad to be at a bowl and not care IF there was a gift at all, not be fussing over if it was any good or not.
Absolutely. I mean other than Motuapuaka, none of our players would have much need for a hair dryer from the Sun Bowl. BUT, that's the perfect Christmas gift for your girlfriend or mom. Sure, they may not need every gift, but they can do bigger things with them like when Exum helped buy some kids an PS3 at the Russell Athletic Bowl. The gifts are just a nice addition to having one more game for the season.
Virginia Tech allotment SOLD OUT!!!!!
Tickets are still available on the Military Bowl website. There are also a lot of $20 standing room only tickets available for the hill in the endzone. It would be awesome if we could turn that area into a strong Hokie student presence and make it like the North Endzone or the Corps seating area with a loud frenzy of fans.
One thing I could not figure out, why on Tech side of field lower level tickets are going for 50 while on Cincy side all lower level tickets are 75.
The stands are split there. Half of them are stadium style like you'd see in a professional stadium, while the cheaper ones are bleachers like in our stadium. Those bleachers are where the Midshipmen are located from my understanding.
TKP community comes through again.
Based on the rapid sales, I would expect an announcement later today that we have requested an additional package of tickets. I'm sure the Military Bowl people will be glad to do that. It gives them more prestige and interest by other potential teams in the future.
We could easily absorb another 2500-5000, I'd think. If we make the announcement quickly. Otherwise, a lot of people will be buying off the bowl website that would typically buy through VTTO. We'll see what happens today.
I think we only get more tickets if Cincy fails to sell all of theirs.
Just read that in previous years schools were given 10,000 tickets, why lower this year? Seems like VT is missing out on some money.
I'm willing to bet that the size of the stadium has something to do with it.
I bet the bowl organizers are wishing they didn't move it from RFK now...
Last years game was at USNA and Marshall and Maryland got 10,000 tickets.
David Teel answered it, says its part of new bowl contracts because too many bowls had too high of ticket requirements of schools thus costing schools money.
welp - I'm glad that I didn't actually make that bet.
For those watching on TV....
Game is at 1pm ET. Announcing crew has been assigned as Beth Mowins, Joey Galloway, and Paul Carcaterra
I've never heard of any of them. I hope they're better talent than the typical ACC announcing crew.