The VT athletics department has appointed Hokies legends Andre Davis and Bimbo Coles to the position of Directors of Student-Athlete Support and Community Engagement.
The community engagement responsibilities call for them to be representatives at various Hokie Club and athletics department functions, Monogram Club events, game-related events and on other special occasions both in Blacksburg and in other locations as designated by Babcock and his senior staff members. Coles and Davis will be tasked with promoting the mission and goals of the athletics department, with a targeted emphasis on the "Drive for 25" initiative announced late last year.
In addition, both will work with Tech's Office of Student-Athlete Development, which helps the Hokies' student-athletes prepare for life after graduation. Both will serve as mentors, attending various events, including those surrounding the spring game, the new student-athlete orientation, the Senior Transition Seminar, and workshops related to time management, life skills, media training, financial planning and agent selection (when applicable).
This is a fantastic move by Whit, putting two of VT's most famous faces front and center in the Drive for 25 campaign. And the benefit our upperclassmen student-athletes will receive from getting knowledge life advice for transitioning to the next level, from two mentors who have actually been there, cannot be overstated.
These are the moves that elite programs make.
Read the full announcement here.
Comments
Awesome! Great move!
If you follow Andre Davis on Twitter or other social media it's easy to see that he always reps VT, and loves his Alma Mater. He seems like he's always doing great things out in the community. Great move.
Awesome news!
Side note: I hope sooner rather than later Michael Vick comes back to VT to join the athletic department/football team in any way. I can only imagine the impact he would have on 16-18 year olds when he walks through the door on an in-home visit or when they come visit VT. He might be one of the most recognizable athletes, no matter where your loyalty lies.
As much as I personally would love that move, I am not sure that Vick's tainted past will get him a job with the current administration.
I would think his issues, and how he faced them and redeemed himself is a great example for anyone. Not sure how that would be a negative.
Success at life isn't defined by never making mistakes, nor by having enough influence or luck to glide past your mistakes with never having to take responsibility for them. The various scandals we have discussed about other programs I think suggest that most kids coming into college are woefully unprepared for the grown-up world where bad actions have consequences.
I think having a guy like Michael Vick around to give the perspective that these kids are not kids anymore, and that adults take responsibility for their actions and are better human beings for that, warts and all, would be invaluable.
agreed what better ambassador to these kids than the person who flew too close to the sun and paid the price for it.
He's a convicted felon. Unless the rules change for all convicted felons, I think hiring him would say "if you're famous, you get special treatment". If he wants to be a volunteer ambassador, paid speaker, etc...GREAT. Other than that, I'm against this idea.
Is there a rule against hiring convicted felons at VT? I mean, I don't know, but that seems unlikely.
These seems like an over generalization that anyone who is convicted of a felony should never be hired.
If the point of a prison sentence is to punish and rehabilitate (exempting if you agree/disagree if america's prison system does this) than anyone who has served their time and has been released should be allowed to gain employment, which I believe is a requirement of parole.
His number overlooks the hallowed grounds of Lane. He brought Beamer to the next level. He put VT on the map. Recruits wanted to come to VT bc of him. And you could potentially make an argument that we never would've gotten Fuente without him. Vick paid his dues and then some.
via GIPHY
He paid his debt to society
At a certain point, anyone who still holds a grudge over him being allowed to live a life after paying the price for what he did can fist themselves with a rusted out set of brass knuckles.
brass doesn't rust, does it?
If someone is still holding this grudge they're naive enough to look for a rusted out brass knuckle
Brass oxldizes, same process more or less, as steel/iron rusting. Brass turns green though, not reddish brown. More Corps of Cadets trivia for you.
I don't hate Michael Vick, and I believe he paid his debt. He can never fully make up for what he did, but I commend him for continuing to do his best.
So if you're an employer (I don't know if you are), I'd assume you'd step up and really give a fair shake to a convicted felon who also paid their debt to society. You are blind to such things, right?
I'm not singling you out, but an ability for a person who served their time to get a good job is forever hindered with that line item on an employment application. And change doesn't start with Michael Vick.
Look, I agree with you. I think he's the perfect example of a reformed individual; someone that messed up and has done what they can to make amends. He did his time, paid back every dime that he owed, and has seemingly turned his life completely around.
But there are still A LOT of people that disagree and think he got off easy. Whether they're right or not, I can see Whit not wanting to take the PR risk. Regardless of what he's done since, there's a significant amount of people that see Vick as nothing more than a convicted animal abuser (some in our own fanbase, btw) and that alone could be enough to keep him from ever having an official role with the university.
Would put the "This is Home" slogan and "Virginia Tech is like Family" to the test.
You can disagree with a family member's actions and decisions but people still stand by and support them.
See above:
I'm not opposed to the idea of bringing Vick back in some capacity but I acknowledge that there are pros and cons of doing so.
Actually, no. I vehemently disagree that people have to stick by family just because they're family. There are points where a line is crossed and I no longer care if you're my mother, father, brother, or some guy I've never heard of, I want nothing to do with you. And before anyone wants to jump in my shit over that, let me just say that I've been in a situation where such lines have had to be drawn (by others in my family, not by me...yet) literally from birth.
Some people out there just can't let it go.
A fencing coach of mine still likes to hate on Vick like he was convicted yesterday and hasn't done anything to make up for his mistakes. Some people just like to condemn others for life.
The problem with Vick is that he's too polarizing of a figure. Sure his story of restitution and rehabilitation can be an inspiring to many but there are still a huge portion of the population that will never forgive him. That could be damaging to the school's reputation by hiring a felon who killed dogs and be used against us in all aspects.
While Vick's story might not be too damaging for football it absolutely would hurt us in other sports. When I was at VT there were a lot of students who still despised him and there was no way you were changing their minds in the slightest. After moving from Virginia the number of people who feel that way has only increased proportionally.
He can't in home recruit without being a coach and Mike Vick wouldn't be a great P5 coach.
I grew up in the same town as Bimbo, played basketball at the same park, and went to the same high school. Before he was ever at Tech, he used to shovel the snow on the basketball court at that park just so he could practice. He should set an awesome example for the athletes.
Hopefully they also bring in a financial advisor too. Bimbo has been terrible with his money and financial interests. The only person to piss off more people in Lewisburg is Jim Justice
That's a conversation for another time... Bimbo has done quite a bit for the youth in Greenbrier County, and I respect him for that. You're not off about Justice, though.
There's something to be said for a "learn from my mistakes" mentor.
Not gonna lie, had to look up bimbo coles as it was way before my time and did not think that could be a real name, lol. Nice to see this happening, hopefully Bryan Randall and T-mobile come back one day to similar jobs...
Apparently he was on the US Olympic team in 1988 and won a Bronze Medal, pretty cool. (lost to USSR in the semis btw)
The USSR went on to win the championship of life /s (But actually went on to win the gold. They were later accused of cheating and had to give back their gold medals after it was leaked that their players had been fed on the tears of political dissidents sent to the gulag which earned them great favor with Stalin's ghost who had raised his hand from the grave and guided all of their shots in the tournament)
Would love to see Ace Custis back as well. I think he is a coach in delaware or maryland. great guy
And we're damn sure Bimbo doesn't have any eligibility? .... Can we double-check?