Frank Beamer has been a pillar of the Blacksburg community for over 29 years. His friendliness and good nature is as revered as his coaching acumen and accomplishments (both stellar). I'm sure many TKPers have bumped into Frank around town. If you have a non-football Frank Beamer story, please share it with the crowd.
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Every morning I and my roommate would walk to McComas and our path would take us behind the stadium by the practice fields and up towards then Spring St, now Beamer Way. Most mornings we would be a little late to catch Coach, but sometimes we would get to the parking lot as he was parking for work that morning. He would take the initiative to say hi and ask how we were doing whenever he saw us. He completely recognized us and made an effort to show us that he did. By far the best part of my day when that happened.
My AP US Government class took a field trip to the Virginia Capitol. Beamer was there for the day (I forget why), and my class swarmed him. I got to shake his hand, and even my classmates heading to c'ville the next year were starstruck. He was happy to chat with us for a bit about football. I knew the fact that he just got a commit from Macho Harris meant he had special talent getting ready to play for him; Macho repeatedly torched my high school on the gridiron.
I wish I did. I remember walking past Burruss Hall 2 or 3 years ago heading to class and Frank Beamer was heading in my direction. It was noon and I think he was doing a power walk. He had his head down, shades on and he was walking/talking with another older gentleman very quickly. He seemed fairly focused...I wish I said something to him or stopped him, but I didn't want to bother him.
Funny part is that even tho I had no actual communication with him, I told the story to everyone that day with glee. "GUYS, FRANK BEAMER WALKED PAST ME ON THE SIDEWALK. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT" *swoons*
I had the same thing happen to me around the same time, it was cold and snowing and I will always regret not saying hi, but I told everyone I had seen him. That's my only Frank story, but I love the one scobeard (Scott Beard) tells on Twitter, I'll let him post it on here if he wants. It's similar to all these stories, a great man, a great person who goes out of his way to be nice to friends and complete strangers alike, even if it inconveniences him, even though he's being paid millions of dollars and has name recognition nation-wide. This one specifically always gets me
This is the kind of person I want to be.
Thinking about this thread and all these great stories, I just realized Frank is like a real life Leslie Knope. He's incredibly kind and giving to the point where most people will do anything for him. All he asks for in return is hard work, loyalty, and friendship. On top of that he's wildly successful, which makes you wonder how does he manage to do it all? How could anyone do all of those things? Leslie Knope is a fictional character who does all these things that would be impossible for a actual human person to do, or so you thought. Just a random thought from a student who is pulling an all-nighter.
Met him and Shane at a baseball game and he was with his grand kids, I felt bad butting into his family time but he was so polite and took the time to speak with me and take a picture with me. To this day one of my favorite moments as a student
Was it the zen milkshake game?
baseball! haha I wish though I want to put that face on everything its so priceless
I met CFB when covering sports for the Collegiate Times in 1988-89, then didn't come back to school. In 2004, I started working for NASCAR, and ran into CFB more than once at the race track. He was always being a grand marshal, pace car driver, etc. when we were in Richmond, Martinsville, Bristol. And he always remembered my face, and asked how things were going. Usually he was near Marty Smith or Jeff Motley (VP Of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and fellow Hokie).
In 2012, I had the opportunity to return to VT as staff. I was walking into Merryman one afternoon, and none other than CFB held the door open for me. He did a double-take, and he asked me why someone from NASCAR was here on campus. I told him I worked here now, and his comment was VT was lucky to have me and welcome to Hokie Nation.
He is, IMHO, a great coach - but an even better person and the best possible representative SWVA could have ever hoped for. Thank you, Coach.
I attended VT at same time as Frank, just a nice guy even then. Never had the pretension of being a football star, I have a lot of emotion over this and hope he was treated with the respect he deserves in this process. He is the greatest Hokie of them all, may God bless him and his family.
I was fortunate enough to interact with Coach a good amount during my four years, thanks primarily to working on Tech Talk Live. But my favorite memory comes from the '08 ACC Championship in Tampa.
About two hours before the game, my buddies and I from the VT Drumline were walking down the tunnel towards the field. Coach was standing at the of the tunnel just passively watching a couple players warm up with a big smile on his face. He turned around, saw us and struck up a conversation that lasted about 10 minutes. He was also kind enough to take a picture individually with our group of 10 or so.
Coach was always a big supporter of the band, coming to numerous preseason rehearsals to talk to us or sometimes just listen to Tech Triumph.
There will never be another Frank Beamer. I doubt you would see a thread like this about any other coach in the nation. Thank you Frank!
My wife took a position with Ohio State's extension service after she graduated. I extended my contract with the National Guard to take advantage of Ohio's 100% tuition waiver for Guardsmen and found myself deployed to Indiana guarding a VX depot after 9/11 with a bunch of obnoxious OSU fans and a smattering of Marshall idiots. A friend of mine asked what she could do for me and I kiddingly asked for a poster autographed by the football team to hang in my aid station. A couple of weeks later, I got mail call with a thick envelope from Virginia Tech. It had been a couple of years since I was a student, so I remembered being perplexed by what the envelope could be. Coach Beamer sent an autographed copy of the 2002 media guide. It was a cool morale boost to say the least!
I must have been about 8 or 9 years old. I was at a VT basketball game with my dad in 2004/2005. We had noticed earlier in the game that Frank was in attendance and sitting in a section across from us. He and Cheryl got up to leave a little early so my dad ushered me around Cassell to see if we could get an autograph. He was getting ready to walk out the doors when I ran up to him with my hat and a pen in hand. He gladly signed the hat and even shook my hand. I'm sure the last thing he wanted was some little kid coming up to get his autograph as he was heading home. But, he signed my hat without a 2nd thought. I was on top of the world for the rest of that week. The hat is still hanging in my room. Thank you Frank for being a hell of a football coach and an even better person. You are the definition of everything this school and community has and will continue to stand for.
I think you're wrong. That was the thing about Frank Beamer. I bet he was thrilled to have a fan & I bet it made his day to meet you. Frank always seemed like he felt blessed to have fans...but we were blessed that he was our coach.
#humility
I got to meet him and hear him speak at the Bristol Public Library back in 2009. He stood there for over an hour, just to take pictures with as many people as possible. Glad I'll have that memory forever. As if we don't all know, he was the nicest guy I've ever met.
During my time at Tech, I spent a lot of time at Blacksburg Pipe and Tobacco on N. Main. One particular afternoon, he was walking out as I was walking in. I didn't stop to talk to him, but gave a quick "Hey, coach." and he responded with a sincere "Hey, how's it going?" as he walked through the door. That's my only one-on-one interaction with CFB.
Another funnier moment as told by my buddy who worked at the cigar shop: Frank was known for coming into the shop and purchasing several Ashton ESGs (running about $20 per cigar). One day, he came in with two or three of his aforementioned cigars in his hands unraveled, broken, cracked, etc. According to the cashier, his comment was "I...I just don't know what happened to 'em." Since then Frank kept a personal humidor at the shop, maintained by the shop owner. God bless you, Frank.
There were two favorite non-football memories for me. One was running into Frank Beamer on the sidewalk power-walking to Williams Hall in my corps uniform and him taking the time to say hello even though he was walking with someone else. The other was having him and his wife present with the Virginia Tech community in Cassel Coliseum during George Bush's speech following the April 16th shooting. He was always a classy and genuine man. Thanks Frank.
I've seen a few people mentioning seeing his daily walks around the drill field and through campus. my senior year i had a class in williams and he would pass me and just take the initiative to say hi and hope you're having a good day. it would always make my day because coach beamer would actually say hi and was just super friendly.
as frustrating as the past few seasons have been, we as fans, alumni and students could not be luckier to have had such a great leader of the program. i wish he could've gone out on a higher note, but thats the way sports are.
My first year as a Hokie Club member, my wife and I went to the Roanoke Hokie Club kickoff event. I remember being really upset at the missus because she made us late to the dinner. By the time we got there, all the seats were taken except for 2 where the organizer placed us. Man I was not happy with her.
I looked around and we were sitting at the table with Lu Merritt, Bill Roth and a couple of donors whose names escape me. Jim Weaver came over and was talking to everyone. I remember him saying that expanding the East stands would make the ticket costs too prohibitive to buy ($2k/seat) etc.
While he was talking, everyone turns and looks past me. I feel a hand come down on my shoulder. Everyone says hello to Frank, who is now standing next to me still with his hand on my shoulder. I manage to stammer out a "Hello Coach Beamer" somehow. I look at my wife with big eyes - she has this look that she just KNOWS she's no longer in trouble because if she had been on time we would be in some corner table and not right here, right now.
To this day she'll bring that up if I dare to say anything about her dawdling while getting ready to go out.
My favorite memory isn't mine, but is my husband's, and since he isn't on TKP, I will share for him. My husband is a K9 handler with the VSP and has worked every home game with his explosives K9 since we came "home" in 2007. My husband's first day working Montgomery Co was 4-16-07. He and his K9 Madison, VSPE 68 searched Norris Hall right behind the first officers in to ensure no bombs were set. Husband and many fellow K9 officers spent the next month on campus working 16 hour days. CFB took those handlers in his office, thanked them for their service and had Lester get some hats that he signed for them all. CFB cared about people first. He embodies the best of Virginia Tech. Thank you for starting a thread to celebrate him.
I sat on the same plane as him on a flight out of Roanoke once. That's the only time I've ever seen the man outside of football.
After a couple of failed attempts to get a handshake my freshman through junior years at away locations (New Orleans, and Atlanta) through no fault of Frank's, I finally got to meet him before a basketball game this last spring in Blacksburg.
Me being in the pep band, I had to park in the Lane parking lot and walk to Cassell, no big deal I've done it before. I see a couple of my friends on the sidewalk parallel to the northwest corner of Lane, and start talking to them. They're doing something for some potential incoming Freshman that are about to show up and want me to sing Tech Triumph. Me not being a fan of this situation I try to come up with any excuse to not have to do a solo in front of a bunch of people I don't know. Then I see him. Frank is walking towards the sidewalk ahead of where I'm going to be eventually anyways. I say something along the lines of "That's Frank Beamer, I need to go." to my friends and begin speed walking to meet up with Coach at just the right time. I then remember that it's junior day which would explain why he was near the practice fields during a spring weekend. Coach has someone with him who wasn't a recruit him, and had a half eaten Italian sausage in one hand, and a packet of rolled up papers in the other. He was clearly busy but he actually initiates the conversation by asking how I was doing. His voice was still clearly affected by the surgery he had the previous winter. I say I'm doing well, and then Frank sees my pep band stuff, and asked if I'm in one of the bands. I tell him that I'm in the pep band currently, but I had also been in the Marching Virginians for the last 4 years. He begins to thank me and the Marching Virginians for all that we do. I try and thank him for all he's done for our school and football program, and he just shakes it off and continues to compliment the Marching Virginians. Before we go different ways in front of the Merriman Athletic Center, we exchange final pleasantries and Coach gives me a fist bump with the rolled up papers hand since he is unable to give me a handshake. I proceed to be the most amped up I've ever been for a basketball game.
TL;DR A tired and busy Frank Beamer who is recovering from surgery compliments me, refuses to take my compliment, and continues to compliment me. Just the usual Frank Beamer story.
This was actually the only time I met him in person, didn`t communicate with him though.
HA, I can't think of a more perfect response. Unfortunately I don't think the dates match up.
It was my first week of college and I went to a volleyball game in Cassell with some friends of mine because we had nothing better to do. A friend and I left the game around halftime and went walking towards Lane Stadium to check it out and then head to a men's soccer game. As we got close to Lane, Frank Beamer was walking towards us. He said hey to us and I geeked like a preteen girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
My wife worked in the floral department at the Ghetto Kroger circa 2001, and Frank would come in to buy Cheryl flowers every week. He was always super friendly to my wife. Also, dude bought his wife flowers himself rather than having them delivered. Frugal and classy.
Seriously, or else he would've gone to the Gucci Kroger...
I met CFB in the Banana Republic at the Southpark mall in Charlotte last winter. It was shortly after the bowl game and his surgery. Despite not having much of a voice and being very intent on finding a new pair of pants, he took a few minutes to chat with me and thank me for my support. Great dude.
I've been around Frank a handful of times and he's always the same. He truly is one of the most humble, nice, polite, one of a kind gentleman you'll ever meet.
One of my personal interactions that I just wrote up on Facebook:
My wife is a school teacher and nine years ago was teaching in South Boston, VA. A 4th grade student of hers had his mom suddenly pass away leaving him an orphan. After hearing the plight thrown upon this child, I wanted to do something.
So I contacted the Virginia Tech football office and asked if there was any way I could get a football signed by Coach Beamer during the football season and relayed the story to them. I received an email telling me to be at the Football Office at the Merryman Center at 2:15 pm that afternoon. I assumed I would just be dropping off the ball and could pick it up a few days later. Wrong.
I arrived at the office, told the secretary my name and said I was here to drop off the football to be signed for the student in South Boston. The secretary said wait just a second and then turned her head and said, "Frank, the gentleman is here with the football for the young boy in South Boston."
Much to my surprise, out walks Coach Frank Beamer himself and asks for the football. He asks the child's name and I tell him and he proceeds to sign his name and write a personal message. Then he looks at me and tells me, "Let him know we're thinking about him at Virginia Tech and to hang in there."
I told him thank you so much as I slowly picked my jaw from the floor still shocked by what just happened. While on the surface, it may have just been a signature and a few minutes of his day. Coach Beamer didn't have to do it and I'm sure he had thousands of other things on his schedule yet he still found the time to help a person he didn't even know. And, I can assure you it wasn't just a signature to the young man who had just lost his mother.
I have no great anecdote, but I'll share it anyway. I would see Frank every day on his walks around campus as I would come back to campus after going home for lunch most days during grad school. I always thought it would be fun if I ran into him. Well, my final Fall at VT it happened. I was just walking straight at him on the sidewalk along West Campus Dr. I had nothing exceptional to say to him, though I could come up with some now, so I just smiled and said, "Hi Coach!" as he passed. He gave me the trademark Beamer grin with a "Hi, how ya doing?" and continued on. The fact that he always had a genuine smile for everyone and was willing to interact with the students and community members just warmed my heart.
Frank will probably not remember this because it it was a small moment in his life but a big moment in mine...
I was a freshman after the shooting. One of my good friends happen to pass away on 4/16...it was around June or July in 2007 and I was delivering flowers to my friend's stone in front of Burruss Hall. I was an emotional wreak, I hadn't slept well in weeks because I'd been crying myself to sleep every night....coach beamer happen to be there at the time and put an arm around my shoulder and told me that things were going to get better....I'll never forget that moment that someone who was so important in our community was willing to take the time to make me feel better even though he didn't know my name.
Coach Beamer was a great coach but an even more phenomenal person. There may be a more successful coach but to me there will never be a more important or beloved coach in Virginia Tech history than Coach Beamer.
I almost cried reading this.
I did
In the summer of 1999, young Beard and his family moved in next door to the Beamers. They had this old beagle named Jock and I'd look after him some weekends when the team had road games. Yep. I took care of Frank Beamer's dog growing up. I'm that cool.
Seriously though, they moved to the other side of town a couple years after we moved in, but even my few memories of them include both he and his wife being two of the nicest people alive. And I do have a distinct memory of Frank circa 1999 just taking a moment to stand out in front of his house, arms folded contentedly in front of his chest, surveying all he saw like the king he was. And for a time, he could do that and not one soul on this earth would fault him for it.
Back in high school, I would see Frank in his tricked out golf cart at Blacksburg Country Club. During one particular round, I caught up to him on the 16th hole and he asked me if I wanted to join him for the last two holes. Such a friendly person and easy to talk to -- I can see why players loved him. He had a hand in making my childhood awesome! Congrats coach!
Frank may step down as head coach, but I see him being closely involved in VT football for the rest of his life.
My children were very young and one of my sons was playing pee-wee football for the same coach who coached the Adibi brothers in Hampton. We were going to be in Blacksburg in August so I contacted John Ballenin to see if it would be possible for us to come watch a practice so my son could see Nathaniel Adibi practice. We were on the practice field watching the team when we hear "Hey guys, so nice to have you here!" We turned around and there was Coach Beamer with a bag full of goodies for the kids. He took his time with us, taking pictures and talking to the children - like he didn't have anything else going on that day. Then he saw to it that Nathaniel came over to talk with my son and get his picture with him. I am not big donor and didn't even have season tickets but he treated my family like we were the most important people to him and the football program. He will always have a very special place in my heart as I know the rest of Hokie Nation. Godspeed Coach, thank you so much for all that you have done for VT!
When I was SGA president, I got to interact with Frank Beamer a few times. Always was insanely kind. One of my fondest memories is when he allowed for a freshman group to meet him to talk about leadership. Frank led a conversation about how to lead people by empowering them. Frank took the time to answer freshman questions, took pictures with the students, and honestly felt more like a friend than anything else.
He has had a profound impact on me personally, and he is one of the best PEOPLE I've ever met.
Honestly tearing up thinking that he won't be leading VT Football next year. This is really the end.
I don't have a one specific big memory about Frank necessarily, but merely a collection of small moments.
Whenever I'd run into him in some form or fashion around the facilities or even around campus, he was always ready with a smile and a "how ya doing?'".
Maybe he remembered me from the press conferences and media availabilities I'd seen him at, or the questions I asked him even, or maybe he was just being friendly. Either way, it was small, but it was appreciated.
He was a pleasure to cover in many, many ways and I will miss him.
2006 after the Hokies beat Northeastern 38-0: my dad and I won a contest on beamerball.com where we were invited to Frank's house after the game for dinner. I was in the 3rd grade at the time and it was my third year following Hokie football closely. I never quite understood the magnitude of that day at the time or why my dad was so excited, but now I do. He and his wife were two of the nicest people I have ever met. Frank took the time out to research an old fashion type bullet that he knew a kid my age would be interested in. Signed the printout and everything. He then gave a signed helmet that was my size at the time with the classic "TV" logo and the two-bar face mask that was worn when he played. I got a picture that day with Frank and it began to mean a little more to me today than it has before.
I hit my ball into his fairway on the back 9 at Blacksburg CC. He was cool.
He's a good golfer, probably in the 70s in those days. You would see him out a few times a week in the summer. Just a guy playing golf on his home course.
During my 3 years at VT I worked in the West End before the new fancy D hall opened up across campus. I would always work day shifts and would occasionally see Charlie Wiles, Curt Newsome, Coach Cav, and some football players getting lunch. I never saw Beamer in there and maybe only saw him on campus a few times.
However, my former girlfriend while at VT passed Beamer on the sidewalk near WAJ one day. She gave him a smile and said "Hi." CFB gave a smile back and said "Hi, how ya doing" and kept walking. I remember her telling me and her dad that and just having this expression like he made her day just saying hello. I'll always remember that.
Honestly guys who is cutting onions around me? Everyone has great stories wish I had a better encounter but here is mine. Quick backstory: been going to VT games since I was 8 and Frank Beamer was always a constant in my VT life. Anyways, my opportunity came at a charity event that thanks to the VTCC I was voluntold to go to. Friday night in the spring I'm helping an elderly alum in a wheel cheer move to the elevator. Wasn't having a great night but when the elevator doors opened to my surprise it was the man himself that I had known of since I was 8! He walked up smiled at the alum and looked at me in my corps out fit smiled and put his hand on my back. No words were exchanged but none were needed as his smile and kind gesture was enough to make you grin from ear to ear. I'm really going to miss that guy with his VT hat on and headset! Thank you Frank!
Six summers ago, my daughter, a true fanatic, was attending a girls in engineering 2 week camp. She called twice about seeing coach at lunch with coach Foster. Then her and one of her classmates went over to the football offices to see if they could find his office and maybe meet him. When they found it, Coach Beamer's admin greeted them and they asked if they could say "hi." She called back and naturally coach Beamer welcomed these 2 hopeful future hokies into his office, took the time for multiple pictures, signed a postcard, and wished both girls the best of luck getting into Tech. My daughter graduates this May with an engineering degree and great memories of Tech football, thanks to Coach Beamer.
My one and only encounter with Coach Beamer was at the south main street ABC store, he was buying a bunch of airplane bottles of Wild Turkey we talked for a minute, dont remember about what...first time I ever really felt star struck talking to someone but I do remember he was very down to earth, easy to chat with, and didn't mind getting held up for an extra minute to talk with a fan.
One of us, one of us...
Band camp for the Marching Virginians is a gruelling week with long hours, and before the new practice facility was built, we did music rehearsals in Cassell. Every year, Beamer would come by and speak to the prospective members, with a small trophy in tow. Beamer played trombone in 5th grade, and has a little participation trophy to prove it. The way he talks about it, you'd think it was another ACC championship trophy. He would always tell us how much the band meant to him, and how important we are on Game Day, and I know he meant it. It really picked us up when we were absolutely exhausted.
I wish I had a cool story, but I remember it was a chilly day, and I foolishly didn't wear a jacket. I was walking on Alumni Mall right past the glass doors of Squires, and Beamer was walking straight towards me with another guy. As we passed, I said "good luck coach", which he put on his grin, and simply replied "thank you". I don't know if it was being star struck, or just his genuine smile, but I think it means something that I remember that moment so vividly.
Backstory: My parents are both Hokie alums and I'm a Hokie by blood. We were living in Ohio at the time, and visiting both sides of my family that live in Virginia.
My family was driving around campus like we do every time we go to Virginia. It just so happened that we were listening to the Hokies beat UVA (typical) on our drive down from Ohio on the radio. We always drive past the athletic facilities, and we just so happened to see the charter buses pull up. We're in a big van and my dad rolls down the window and says, "Congratulations on the win coach." Here comes coach Beamer with a big grin walking towards our van to thank us and wish us well on our trip.
I used to do a lot of officiating and umpiring. In this particular scenario, I was working a Girls basketball camp when "Casey" was still in high school. After having worked several games I was resting in the stands and evaluating other officials, when Frank came into Cassell and sat down beside me as he too was taking a break. It was at that point that I got to easily understand the genuineness of Coach and just how down to Earth he really is. We struck up a conversation completely outside of football about family, where I grew up, and how I got into officiating. The conversation just came naturally and it felt as though I were just talking to an old friend. It was not rushed and it felt like we could have talked for an hour and he would have been interested in what I had to say. I will never forget that moment as he unintentionally taught me no matter how successful one becomes, that it is ALWAYS about the people.
I've only been able to read about half the comments on here so far, but a thought that crossed my mind...I hope future generations of Hokies end up feeling similarly about the next Head Hokie.
A quick anecdote...I like many of you have been greeted by Frank with a friendly "Hello, how are you?" (while he was driving up Beamer Way on a golf cart). But a funnier anecdote involves my family and sister. I was a freshman or sophomore and my parents and little sister came to a home game (I don't remember the game). I sat in the NEZ, but they were in the West stands, front row, near the SEZ corner. During half time, my sister spit her gum over the railing onto the sideline. My Mom was so mad, haha. Anyway, they kept an eye on the gum to see if anyone was going to step on it, and sure enough, no other than Frank Beamer stepped on her gum as he made his way back onto the field after half time. We still laugh about this wondering if it came off or if he had to clean his shoes when he got home. If I ever see him again, I will be sure to apologize for my sister.
Met him at a book signing a few years ago trying to get a book signed as a Birthday gift for my Dad. I was one of the last ones in line after what I think was a two hour signing session. Fully expecting him to just take the book, ask who it was being signed for and move on, I was a little caught off guard when he started asking about my Dad. He what year he graduated from Tech (he didn't, just a fan because I go here) and then joked about how it was nice to have fans from other schools. He seemed genuinely interested in me and who I was getting the book for. The whole interaction couldn't have been more than five minutes but it really made me see just how much he cares about every single person that's part of Hokie Nation.
and also why that line didn't look so long but took forever /s
Most of my memories of Coach are recounting times I've seen him around town or to when I was in undergrad seeing him running on campus and yelling out "Hi, Coach!" with him returning a pleasant hello and wave.
More recently, I was driving and saw him getting his routine cardio in his neighborhood. And there he was in his 69 years of glory: running shoes, short shorts, and radio headphones straight out of the early 90s. As he came down the hill he eased to the edge where the grass meets the blacktop to let us pass and gave us an intentional, friendly wave. My wife said, "How sweet" and I laughed and said how "grandpa" he looked (a good thing). Even when the cameras aren't on him and no one is around, he acts exactly the same.
When I was an RA, I ventured into Merryman a few times to gather autographs for different purposes. Had to ask Bud for directions to Beamer's once. Accidentally stumbled into Kevin Sherman's office when I got lost another time. For one event though, I was getting a football signed by Frank as a raffle prize. All I needed was his name on the ball and yet he invited me into his office for a short conversation. I can't remember what was said exactly but we talked about the team getting ready for Spring practice. Regardless, it was no skin off his back to spare a few minutes in his day to chat with anyone at any time.
Related: For the same event, I was getting a basketball signed by our basketball coach at that time. He was less than pleasant when I asked him for the signature, signing and then shooing me along. He was fired a few weeks later. That really highlighted the difference between him and Frank and their demeanor.
Sadly, I have never met my favorite Coach. But I have decided to write
him a nice thank you note just to let him know how much he has meant to me over
the last 30 yrs and hope he enjoys his retirement because he sure has earned it.
Hopefully someday I will be able to tell him in person.
I've been thinking about sending a card to his office, myself.
We all should!
You know the address:
25 Beamer Way, Blacksburg, VA
Right before I graduated in 2010. My fiance(now wife) was coming to meet me after an exam and told me she parked over in the McComas lot and didn't have a parking pass. I rushed over to meet her and prevent her from getting a ticket. It turns out she had planned on me meeting and getting Frank's autograph at a planned event that his secretary had posted. I got to meet him, get my picture taken, shake his hand, and get his autograph. I was a bumbling mess, but definitely top 5 days of all time. Thanks for the great memories coach and I hope the team finishes strong.
When I was a student, I would sit in front of Burruss and wait for the bus like most students did. He would come walking by with I believe Billy Hite around lunch most days. He would always wave and say hello to any student who did the same to him. If he was looking my direction, I would give him a smile and a nod or a "good afternoon" and he always acknowledged me and responded with a wave or a similar comment. You could tell it was a genuine response and not just a reflex which is what made all of those times special. He cares about every student at the school and it shows.