There has been progress in the number of Hokie Club memberships. Saw this posted elsewhere, but it seemed worthy of mention, given all the discussion here about how it takes money to be competitive. Seems to me that the future looks bright.
Note that some of it was converting free student memberships to a paid membership ($25), which makes a lot of sense to me. Even students can afford $25. Other new memberships came on "Giving Day".
It's a far cry from 25K, but progress is progress, and Whit continues to make VT athletics better. Growing the Hokie Club is a key component. I'm not sure why any Hokie fan wouldn't be a member, but requiring membership for some benefits like seating in some stadium sections has paid off in terms of donations.
Comments
Almost halfway to the goal from the ~10k members when the drive started... this is good... really.
If you are reading this and aren't a member of the Hokie Club, join and post the screenshot here. Just $100/year to get started. We'll reward you with Turkey Legs!
I thought it was $100/a month to join?
$8.33 a month gets you in at the entry level.
It's the season for reflecting and giving.
You are right. Tis the season. Not sure why it took me this long to join the drive.
#16,001 and counting!
Honestly this shocks me based on this season and next year home schedule. Really happy how Whit and the Hokie Club have gone about this despite those obstacles.
Shocks you in a good way?
Good way, to me it speaks to how quality the "recruiting" effort to get members is going.
This is about the overall program direction. Includes football, basketball, and all other sports.
VT's overall profile has risen, and if you look at Lane Stadium on game day, you know there are a lot of supporters.
There have always been people who come to games the key is getting them to join the Hokie Club.
I honestly don't care about the home football schedule as long as we have 6 games. I go out and cheer the team if we are playing little sisters of the state or Notre Dame. I enjoy the atmosphere, the crowd, and the game. When we play the weaker teams at home, that is more a chance for me to cheer for the backups. Everybody wins when the backups play in front of the home crowd.
With all the percieved hurdles the athletic department has had to overcome, Whit has done a phenomenal job both hiring new coaches and growing the Hokie Club.
Yes there is (always) more to be done but the forward progress is undeniable. Let's keep it up!
You mean ill-timed emails didn't turn people away? /s
Really though, this is great progress, and it's good to see the Club is growing even though there is still obvious room for improvement.
That's insane. 60% growth over two years. Whit and his staff are killing it.
I'm hoping whit stays for a long time but that maybe wishful thinking.
Why would he leave? If he stays long enough, he will have really built something.
Commissioner job
Dont think hes leaving anytime soon from what I've heard his wife and kids are quite happy in da burg. They're also amazing people. My wife was a student teacher for his class and has some wonderful stories particularly about whits son and coach Higgins daughter in particular.
They tailgate in the cassell lot. I always Max a point to (in a not creepy way, hopefully) say hi to his family and thank them.
Honest question...I gave on Giving Day, but do not donate monthly, nor do I have season tickets. Am I a Hokie Club member?
I believe on Giving Day, I was welcomed to the Hokie Club via email, so I assume I am included in the 16,000. I would like to know the number of members that donate monthly vs the number of people that donated one time on Giving Day. That's a better indicator of progress.
Why though? Plenty of donors just donate one amount at one time and are members. As long as you meet the 100 dollar total in a tear amount you are a member.
That's interesting.
I'd have thought you'd have to specifically join the Hokie Club to count as a member.
There's an annual minimum of $100 to be in the Hokie Club, regardless of how you get there, but it does seem like you'd have to check some box acknowledging you'd like to be a member. Are you getting publications?
I thought the same thing, that you would have to consciously join, instead of just giving a one-time donation on Giving Day. I get emails about VT sports every now and then, but I don't think any of them specifically mention the Hokie Club. That's why I am curious about the new members from Giving Day...I donated, but didn't see the option to specifically join. I do plan on joining in the next few weeks, after the holiday credit card bills are paid, and setting up monthly donations.
Go to this website, and try to sign in. If you have a login, you are a Hokie Club member. If you do not have a long in, you have given gifts, but are not a Hokie Club member.
Source: I gave on giving day, but was not automatically registered as a Hokie Club member, and found this out the hard way.
Edit: Sidenote/complaint - when I gave on giving day, there was no further outreach encouraging me to join Hokie Club. I kinda just figured out that I wasn't in Hokie Club on a whim one day.
I gave on Giving Day, too, but from what I've inferred, this is mostly for the academic side. I specifically asked that my donation went to the undergrad business school and since then I've gotten more E-mails concerning academic issues.
I love Whit, and I think he's an incredible fundraiser. A 60% improvement in membership in 2 years is great. My major concern is still around all of the friction in our donation process [insert beating dead horse.GIF]. It's difficult to sign up, communication is still lacking, etc. I do wonder when/if these things are going to be addressed and specifically what is required. I understand that our athletic dept is understaffed, and needs more donations in order to hire more bodies, but from my viewpoint (which is likely incomplete), a fix to these things could increase donations substantially. I assume Whit has a plan to address these things, but I'm curious as to what it is.
That's part of the issue the Hokie club is outside the Athletic Department* (Whit is still in charge) they lost a ton of staff the last two years to bigger profile jobs or positions.
Because Bill Lansden is an ass.
I just tried to give and it kept erroring out, saying I wasn't picking a specific area to give to, but I was choosing scholarship fund...this attempt was from my phone, but I'll give it a shot from my computer to see if that does the trick....I think this serves your point.
just donated thanks to the early christmas gift about ecu, hope others do the same if they are financially able. If not enjoy the news anyway!
Nice job.
Hopefully some of those others who hated the ECU series will do the same. I won't mention any names, but you know who you are...
And there are also those free legs we promised...
ECU was a big one. That ups the donation amount. Cancel ODU and it'll go up more. Cancel the Liberty games and it'll go even higher.
I don't mind ODU on the schedule. I never liked ECU on the schedule, but until this season, I wasn't asking for any breaking of the contract.
Liberty on the other hand absolutely must be removed from the schedule. They are not a university, the are fraudulent institution. We should not legitimize the immoral behavior that takes place inside or outside of their athletic department.
I gotta say, upon the flushing of the Ecu series, I foresee the 16k trending upward, may need to be revised.
I know you're trying to be funny but there are some people that believe that you should only give if you get things they want (removing ECU, better croots etc) but that's not how it works. You gotta give money and support regardless, especially in tough times because it allows the university to course correct and improve.
VT gets my first paycheck of the year regardless
Wasn't trying to be funny, was being positive. I wasn't insinuating the other part of your comment (wasn't even thinking about it, tbh). That said, I think most folks know that in a perfect & flawless world, every single fan would do that. As you've acknowledged, that's not how it works. I can concede it is the BEST method, but this is better than nothing at all.
EDIT: I would say that the only caveat to the "giving regardless" approach is that you run the risk of a sense of entitlement on the part of the establishment/organization. Case in point, Coach Buzz's borderline calling out of the fans during one of his postgame pressers. Didn't carry a tone of gratitude or appreciation. At the end of it all people are gonna choose what they want to do with their cash mahnee, and while I'm not saying that Whit, the HC or any of the coaches or players should kiss ass, there needs to be (especially in Virginia Tech's case) a sense of gratitude & appreciation for whatever/any amount received.
Also, collegiate athletics is a results/rewards based business. After a mediocre season of football, I believe Whit made a great decision to cancel the Ecu series. That was VERY rewarding to (probably) the majority of the fanbase. As a result, the HC should probably see a greater reward for it.
I see it more like everybody has a role to play. If you're a fan who spends any time and energy on VT sports, $100 a year ($8.33/month) isn't too big an ask to help the program achieve success. If you're a local fan, showing up helps.
Yeah. I can get with that.
More Hokie Club staff turnover.
I liked Andrew, got to meet him a couple of times.