I know it's been said many times, but this guy is a superstar. Honestly the most important person in VT right now IMO.
Looking at the craziness in USCw, Georgia, LSU, UVa etc and how disorganized their administration seems makes me feel extremely lucky to have someone like Whit. Not only did he secure a home run hire, we got it at a reasonable cost and most important of all we kept Bud. That's amazing. While all other schools scramble we're already done, and it feels great.
Not to mention poaching Buzz which set the bar high from the beginning, and also making Enter Sandman stay on a bit longer instead of cutting out immediately.
Give that man a pay raise, house, car, plane, whatever. He deserves it. All hail Whit.
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Good idea.
I appreciate Whit. He outdid himself both with the Beamer farewell tour and the Fuente hire. Fuente is already in house calling recruits this week. He handled everything I've seen about as well as I can imagine, all the while keeping everyone as happy as possible.
Of course the Whit acknowledgement needs to permeate every thread on this forum, and I think it does.
Let's not forget about Dr. Sands either. That man has quietly contributed quite a lot and he deserves some credit too. I think VT has incredible leadership at the moment and we should feel extremely fortunate for that. VT has an extremely bright future, both academically and athletically, due in large part to the work of Sands and Whit. The committees which were assembled to hire those two men also deserve some credit. They did incredible work and made extraordinary hires to set VT up for success in the long run. I'm extremely proud to be a Hokie right now.
As a current student, I have the utmost respect for Dr. Sands. Even with the last few months of let's call "elevated racial tensions" across the country, he has launched inclusion initiatives and sent out numerous emails calming things and reminding students of what it means to be apart of the Virginia Tech community.
Just wanted to point out some of the non-sports related reasons to extend appreciation for those who are no longer students who may not see that side of it.
And... he still paid some mad respects to Jim Weaver today. The fan service he can orchestrate knows no bounds.
It's more than fan service. It's actual content.
(I'll show my cartoon watchin' self out.)
What do you mean, "that man?"
He had some pretty Whitty remarks at the presser today too.
I mean, the man took a situation that many, many programs bungled to a glorious extent (FSU with Bowden, PSU with Paterno, UTenn with Fulmer, LSU with Miles, UGa with Richt) and handled it masterfully. Between how he handled Beamer stepping down to the search to find the new coach to landing the top young name on the market while numerous other power programs were searching, to being able to keep the identity of VT football, with our dominant defenses intact by retaining Bud, this could not have been handled better. Between all of this, and what he did with getting Buzz for basketball, I don't think there is a better Athletic Director in college athletics right now.
And Dr. Timothy Sands knows it. He said as much himself. We're in great hands! :D
A lot of that can also be contributed to the way Beamer handled the transition. Bowden was not going out on his terms and Paterno needed a scandal to finally be forced out (and maybe the stress killed him). Beamer was not going to let either of those options define him.
If you think we believe in Whit now, wait until we upgrade, re-seat and put students courtside in Cassell.
I fully expect the university to address Whit's compensation in the near future. I'd imagine out of necessity.
Sands, Whit, Landsen, Reed-Francois, Morris, KJ, Fuente, Buzz not to mention members of the staff that were previously in place. Pretty remarkable few years in Blacksburg.
Whit has said this is his destination job.
I think the whole staff combination is pretty special.
The odd thing is, if everybody is really, really good, why would anyone want to leave?
I'm a graduating senior this year, so in the four years I've been here I've seen a huge change in leadership. The university president, athletic director, head football coach, and head basketball coach have all been changed since I got here in fall 2012. I think all four hires have been amazing for this university. Dr. Sands and Whit really know how to engage the students and the fanbase, and the two head coaching hires have been slam dunks. I think Virginia Tech is in a fantastic position to make huge strides forward both academically and athletically.
Whit, I give you an A+.
Mrs TDHokies was hoping he would give one person an A- during the press conference.
Or "whoever leaked the hire, F- job."
I still believe that my user name is appropriate for the occasion.
Whit has done amazing things for the Athletics department at VT, and I am sure as hell glad we have him here. I really don't think we could ask for any more than he already does for us, and he does so much. He just gets it.
His parking is not appreciated: https://twitter.com/WhitBabcock?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
That's hilarious. Love his sense of humor.
I mean the guy has to have some flaw, right?
Parking: C+
He's gonna break the VT home run record at this rate. (He may already have)
hands down, best AD in the state of Virginia.
he's hit two homeruns with hoops and football but i'm wondering what he'll do next with the olympic sports that need help.
That isn't setting the bar very high...
I become more impressed with Babcock by the day. A great leader and a true pro.
Whit Babcock=GOAT Samurai/Ninja/AD
I may be young, but I can sense the humility of the leadership at Virginia Tech is something I may never see again.
From Frank, to Whit, to Bud to now Justin Fuente, they've been much greater role models in the way they have handled themselves off the field than any winning season ever could be.
The way Whit maneuvers through these potentially sticky issues is awesome. Gave props to the BOV, CFB, Dr Sands and even Jim Weaver by way of his son Craig before introducing another A+ hire to use his terminology. So lucky to have him.
I say whoever was on the search committee that selected him should get a raise as should he. I would vote for this dude for Governor.
Looks like Littlepaige and Oliver aren't even leading the search for the new coach at UVA. Which of course begs the question, who is and why bother having an AD?
Man, I'm glad we have Babcock.
They didn't lead the search for Bennett either. Careful what we wish for.
Good point, but the question still stands. What the heck do those guys even do? Would you like to be hired by someone who isn't even going to be your boss?
Whit, Can't say enough. You have embraced, help focus, and amplified the Virginia Tech Fan bases admiration for our beloved coach, in an amazing way. Just observing the smiles on Coach Frank Beamer's face, is a billboard of how great a job you are doing during this process. Coach Beamer is beaming.
Also Fuente was a
Slam dunkHomerunTouchdown of a hire. ThanksThanks for the terrific work you are doing for Virginia Tech and the entire Hokie Nation. Great job you've done securing Justin Fuente as our next great head football coach. You are doing a stellar job when compared with some recent Tech AD's. No disrespect intended. Keep up the great work!
This article belongs in a Whit appreciation thread. So many AD's either outsource or botch this process while Whit just takes 100% ownership of it and does so with pure class...
http://www.roanoke.com/sports/colleges/va_tech/fuente-won-over-foster-du...
Pat Forde has some nice words for Babcock in his weekly column:
That paragraph is just:
via GIPHY
Some more love for Whit, this time on BR.
Virginia Tech
Out: Frank Beamer
In: Justin Fuente
Grade: A+
The skinny: This, folks, is how you do a coaching search. AD Whit Babcock didn't have to make the difficult choice regarding Frank Beamer's future because the legendary coach knew when to make it. That made things easy in creating the opening, but Babcock absolutely nailed things every step of the way in first identifying the perfect candidate and then sealing the deal with Fuente.
Just as importantly, his swift moves allowed Fuente to retain renowned defensive coordinator Bud Foster. Yes, it's pretty easy to figure out who won the coaching search silly season.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2596981-the-ultimate-guide-to-the-201...