'When you look at Virginia Tech, we're not welcomed back like they are.' More from former All-American Ike Charlton (@IkeCCharltonIV ) Entire interview starts at 37:45: https://t.co/Gn9RS1xANt pic.twitter.com/DIwhzZyC6C— The Tim Donnelly Show (@DonnellyShow) September 30, 2019
Ike provided some great perspective on the state of the program. He also expressed he too does not feel welcomed back to Virginia Tech. He's not the first former player to divulge that. His entire segment is worth a listen.
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Definitely not a good luck. Hopefully this will light a fire under the administration and they make changes.
JUGS SIGNAL!!
Does the NCAA have rules about coaches at other schools being on the sideline for games at a school they don't coach at?
In what way? Confused with this one ?
Ike is a college coach, for Lake Erie. Are there any NCAA rules that would prevent him from being on the sidelines during a VT game?
Not necessarily because VT would have an easy answer for why he's there -> he played went to VT.
Only real reason NCAA would look into whose on a sidelines would be if recruits started funneling in or money started exchanging hands. Sideline passes are pretty much at the schools discretion.
No
How hard can it be to get Coach Beamer a suite and let him invite a dozen or so former players each home game with another dozen or so in the stands with sideline passes?
Not at all but it appears that our athletic department thinks firing the PA announcer is more important than doing something that actually matters to the future or of the program.
Still bitter about Bill McChain being let go.... Shitty move from Whit.
Agreed. See badge.
late to the party here, but does anyone know why he was fired? I miss him.
"time for a change" was what his daughter said. Bullshit. Bill was a Lane Stadium/game experience icon.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. What a crock of shit.
But we don't fix what's broken.
More like "if it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is" in this case.
The fact is no one knows the details behind this and I don't think the athletic department is required to tell people why. It might be embarrassing or controversial. For all we know he acted egregiously, or held out in hopes of a raise in a bluff we called, or maybe he had been phoning it in and making a lot of mistakes in-game, or maybe it really was arbitrary. We can't know, but just because someone said the reason was change for change's sake we shouldn't take that as gospel.
Bill McChain himself posted in The Real Hokie Nation Facebook Group on Tuesday:
Well I hope all of these morons are happy with the change. All I can say is I hope everybody enjoyed the Beamer heyday and what Lane Stadium was then. We have a bunch of "experts" who had nothing to do with it or who werent around then that are ruining it all. This is a prime example. Before the game started everybody in my section was sitting down and chatting amongst each other like it was a high school game. Never seen that before at Lane Stadium. But it is not hard to believe really. It is has been almost 10 years since we have had any real success.
While that would be awesome to come back to see your old coach, and hang in a suite with him during the game. It really begs the question: would you want to if that suite is the only place you are "welcome" during the trip back?
A permanently dedicated alumni suite seems like a good idea. I would wrap it into the east stands renovation
Dpesnt even have to be every home game. Even half of them would be good. That sounds like a great idea though.
First off I want to say that all former players that left in good standing should be welcome back with open arms. And the university as a whole needs to step it up because the issues I've read about are more than just a coaching staff.
However, is Ike comparing himself to Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James? Thats a top 15 RB with no one close to passing him and a top 10 WR with only a few current players with a chance to pass him and none in the next few years.
Bruce Smith doesnt seem to have any issues coming back for every game. Mike Vick is there a fair amount. And it shouldn't be like that, but by comparing the program to Miami it is. Miami flaunts its NFL talent on the sidelines. VT is doing that too.
I'm sorry him and other players don't feel welcomed but using Miami as an argument just doesn't make sense to me.
I wonder how much the location of Miami compared to Blacksburg has to do with it as well. How many of these former players live in or within close proximity to Miami? Even if they don't live near, you can easily fly into Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or even West Palm Beach from anywhere in the country and it's a short drive. On the other hand, I bet very few former VT players live less than a 3 hour drive of Blacksburg and there are practically no easy or cheap flight options unless you fly into Charlotte and then drive nearly 3 hours.
It's much easier to have former players come by and develop relationships with current coaches and players, then feel like a part of the program when they are close enough to drop by regularly. In that case you don't have to exert much effort to get a lot out of the situation. However, VT is basically the antithesis of that because almost no players are close enough to drop by regularly and develop those relationships, and when they do make the effort to get to Blacksburg, which is no small feat, they are more likely to have inflated expectations about what the experience will be like and ultimately feel disappointed because it almost can't possibly live up to those expectations.
Honestly I can relate as I increasingly felt that same way going back to Blacksburg after graduation. The remaining friends I was closest with continued to graduate, the town continued to change, and eventually the experience I had visiting Blacksburg was nothing like the fond memories I had from college. It became less and less appealing to make the effort to get back because it's just not the same experience as being a kid in college any more. It sucks coming to terms with change, especially when you have so many good memories attached to how things used to be. Anyway I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's part of what's happening with the former players.
I've spoken with Miami football alum before and it's not just NFL talent on the sideline. They have a really good system set up for former players. I believe they have a dedicated suite and section of tickets set aside for them. Pretty sure Clemson does something very similar.
VT should have a system for this. It's really poor that our athletic department doesnt have a program like that.
It's really stupid that we don't
...I'm not going to pretend I know what it takes to be a college football coach, and I think Fuente has made a lot of good gestures towards coach Beamer.
...but if I'm coming into a school and following up a legend, one of the first thing I'd probably do was make sure I got in good with all these old alum that built the program. Sit in with them in the off season, it doesn't have to be some big thing, just invite whoever will show up, watch old games...try to get an idea of what being a Hokie is about, I feel like the fact he has lost their support or he's actively losing it is why the fireFuente inferno has gone from a backyard leaf burning to the entire Amazonian rainforest in a very short amount of time.
I said this last year, when you mess something up at a job it goes a lot smoother if people like you. More people want to help you fix it. They are willing to give you more time, etc. Everyone messes up. It's how we learn. Everyone wanted to see Frank do well because he opened the program up to ESPN. he always seemed to thank people, and was friendly to everyone. So when minor things happen people just shrugged off. The media came to his defense when he slapped Wilford on the helmet for not listening to him. He shouldn't have done that, but people make mistakes.
Players not feeling welcome has been an issue long before Fuente got here. I seem to recall that there were complaints about coming back for the home game against OSU and rumblings even before that.
Fuente and Whit could have fixed this, but they haven't, yet.
I agree, this is not a Fuente problem this is a VT problem, and has been for a long time. The fact that it has been a problem for this long and little to nothing has been done to address it. Until the bigger donors start to make an issue of it I doubt there will be any change.
There are a lot of ex greats that I didn't see very often when Beamer was coaching either. Just an observation for thought.
Brandon Flowers got a huge reception from the fans at halftime of the ODU game. Danny Coale got some love too when he was hyping up the fans.
I'd love for players to come back for every home game, and I'm sure all of Hokie nation feels the same way.
I was at the ODU game and Danny got the crowd pumped. He did an awesome job.
I don't think this is as prevalent as we make it out to be. I don't remember the alumni being anymore pronounced under Beamer and Weaver than they are now. The big time players like Vick, Smith, Flowers, etc. are still brought back. For reference, the Marshall athletic department doesn't reach out to Randy Moss, Byron Leftwich, or Chad Pennington anymore, so it could be way worse.
No disrespect to Charlton whatsoever because he was a good player, but it would be tough to reach out to every player of his caliber. I'm not sure if any schools do that. I'd rather focus our time and energy somewhere else.
We had to hire a PR person for football alumni a few years back, it was that bad. Somewhere between Beamer having open practices, and Fuente closing off Merryman, the football alums got lost in the shuffle.
Edit: I think I'm referring to Kevin Jones' old role, but I could be mistaken. I know Dwight Vick and others on Twitter have been discussing this since the regime change, and a few years prior to Beamer's departure. So, it's not all on Fuente, but did get worse.
For reference, the Marshall athletic department doesn't reach out to Randy Moss, Byron Leftwich, or Chad Pennington anymore, so it could be way worse.
One of our athletic departments and the overall school's motto is "This is Home." Whether other schools include their former stars or not, we should be leading the country in this realm. Every alum / former player, if we can make it happen in some, gets to come back and celebrated. That should be a part of being a Hokie and certainly back up This Is Home.
Not to be a stickler here, but wasn't the 99 team just welcomed back and honored on the field?
VT: Hey Ike, come back to VT so we can honor you on the field during the game."
(Is Welcomed back on the field).
Ike: I don't feel welcomed back.
The game time celebration of the 99 team was pathetic. The athletic department really dropped the ball. They should've had throwback uniforms, a tribute video that wasn't already watched by everyone, special 99 team trivia, etc.
I ran across this last night.
Derek has been vocal about this issue, and that is from FEBRUARY. He knew then how bad the turnout would be.
Yea, we really dropped the ball. Why didn't we do this for Homecoming and make it a big deal? I feel like it had limited press until right before the game, or maybe I just missed it, which could be an issue with the Athletic Department too.
Nonetheless, they could have done some really cool things like:
- Meet and Greets with the 99 team in the Hokie Kids Zone. A lot of students / fans during that time now have a new generation of Hokies that would have been excited to meet the team.
- Luncheon on Friday for Hokie Club members with the team in Cassell.
- Special locker room access before the game
- Walk with the team through the tunnel
- Special viewings of '99 memorabilia and video clips for fans to see on game day. Like a walk through museum or something.
Are those things supposed to be appealing toward the '99 team returning to campus or the fans? Because that all seems like stuff geared toward the fan experience rather than the former players' experience.
Yes, certainly fan experience heavy (I didn't mention or weigh in on what we could have done specifically for the players), but if you were a former player, wouldn't those things make you feel welcomed and connected even though they're fan facing?
I don't really know. Some might want public recognition and fan interaction, some might want program access and contact with the current team, some might want interaction with other players in a tailgate or reserved area during the game, and some might want a more intimate experience with their families touring the campus and facilities.
I do know players used to come back and have paid autograph sessions and I could see them feeling exploited if the planned events seemed to be mostly using them as showpiece for fans.
Good lord - wtf. This is on everyone - Fuente, Babcock, Beamer & Bud...
Its the easiest way to bring attention and notoriety to a program. Also juices up the current players and locker room. When it rains, it pours I guess. Hopefully we see some changes, fast.
I dont think this on Fuente or Bud. Their job is not make former players happy, they have current players that should be their focus. Very few coaches get to the level Beamer was at where if Beamer wanted something to happen he could make it happen. Fuente needs another 10 years and 100 wins to even think about that. If not longer.
There should be some time where Fuente and Bud (because he was apart of that team) spend with the team, say hi, thanks for coming, etc. but the athletic department should handle that scheduling.
Its not in their job description, no, but IF they have caught wind of these rumblings - I would hope they use their positions to facilitate a fix. Going to sound redundant here....Do they personally have to make former players feel welcome, no, but do they have the resources and wherewithal to put others in a position to help, undoubtedly.
I didnt articulate it well in my point but I dont think Fuente has a position to facilitate/influence this. He is the football coach. He is not Beamer, or Bowden, or Fulmer, or Osborne, or .... who all became icons and bigger than just the football coach. Fuente shouldn't have the influence that Beamer had at the end of his career.
Fuente's got his hands full. He can go to Whit to and say that this needs to be done, but I don't think Fuente's (or any P5 head coach's) time is at all well spent doing anything beyond requesting a change.
Yet another issue that has zero to do with Frank Beamer that Fuente has control over. Beamer going 7-6 his last year as coach and not leaving Fuente 30 Senior's for this year has ZERO to do with Fuente not warming up to former players or inviting them to be part of the program. Zero. this is something Fu has total control over and is an easy fix, but he does nothing about it.
/s? This is all on Babcock and the Athletic Department. VT has continuously dropped the ball on welcoming back its former player, even when Kevin Jones was the "Special Assistant to the Athletic Director" which was suppose to help with this.
I'm not happy with the way Fuente has handled lots of things in regards to the football team, but Ike Charleton wasn't his player. And the '99 team wasn't his, so he probably has no deep connection with them. He probably just sees them as former players during Virginia Tech's heyday
I commented further up but if you look into it this has been a problem long before Fuente go here. That is not to say that Fuente has not done anything to rectify it, just that this has been an issue with former players not feeling welcome back long before Fuente got here. That is not saying anything about Beamer either. This should be on the administration more than anything.
Fuente can do his part. However, Frank gets paid $250k a year. Can this not be part of his responsibility? Create a forum for prior players to visit.
What does he mean "we're not welcomed back like they are"? Is he not allowed to stand on the sideline? Or is he not given free tickets to games? Is he not invited to games or pre-game activities? Serious questions. What do he and other players need to feel welcome? I hope someone from the VT Athletic department reaches out to him and other former players for more information. Seems like a relatively easy thing to address.
Edit: I should say, I didn't listen to the interview. Maybe he answers my questions in the interview. If so, sorry for the clutter.
He doesn't answer it in the interview.
And there are a lot of people saying it's an easy fix. Well, it's not. Because it would have been fixed by now if it was.
There have been a lot of suggestions, by non-players, that would fix things. But this is something that should be taken care of between ex-players and Whit/the athletic department. And let's be honest, they have one of the greatest advocates ever right there: Frank.
dear ike,
and any other players who don't feel "welcomed back" in order to feel welcome somewhere you have to put effort into being there. this sounds a lot to me like that friend/ family member that you see once every so often and you promise to see them more but you don't. they always say oh yeah man youre welcome anytime it was great seeing you, but do you really feel "welcome anytime"? no. you don't. because you know you don't make enough effort to make the relationship work on that level that you are welcomed anytime. There are plenty of guys that feel welcome in Blacksburg. luther maddy was living in south florida and spending his off seasons in Canada trying to play in the CFL found a way back here enough to land a gig as a radio guy, woody baron also was playing in Canada seems to be at most VT football games, they allow him to set up shop and sell his children's books at games in hokie village and even inside the stadium, ive seen andre davis, Brandon flowers, obviously bruce, at every home game this year on the sideline. Those are the big name guys. but I saw Vincent painter, seth dooley, Donovan riley, JC Coleman and my mind is drawing a blank right now but a couple other guys all hanging out on the sideline.
My best friend growing up with me from jacksonville now lives Radford we grew up together and have been best friends for 20 years, the most we talk really now is a text here or there or when I'm in town we try to get together but don't always have time to. If I just show up unannounced at his house I'm sure he will do what he can to accommodate me the best he can but its not going to feel like I was welcomed. don't show up in Blacksburg once every 5 years and expect the red carpet to be rolled out for you. your contributions to VT are appreciated greatly if you are a former player especially one that was a big time player like Ike, but who do you know at VT now? I cant call up my best friends new GF that Ive never met and say hey I'm coming into town get the spare bedroom ready and make me dinner and rub my feet and have me a bourbon on the rocks waiting when I walk through the door. well that's kinda what these players are expecting.... they don't know the director of ops (who handles getting them access), they don't know Fu, they don't know whit, they don't know anyone except bud and Charlie more than likely, a lot of these guys announce they will be in Blacksburg for the game on twitter or whatever but they aren't going through the proper channels to get the love and access they want, and they haven't done enough to build that relationship with those people that are the ones who make that happen to have it feel like it is home and they are welcomed. that's just my thoughts on it. I cant say one way another for ike, or any one else who has expressed frustrations with the way things have gone what they are doing on their side to make the relationship work or not work but it does take both sides. there are a million reasons communication fails in long distance relationships between 2 people. VT is responsible for maintaining long distance relationships with 100s of former players.
I'm also not sure on what the players expectations are for when they come back so how exactly to make them feel welcomed. I can without a doubt 100% guarantee that if ike Charlton showed up at ANY game at ANY time up to an hour before kickoff he would not have ANY issue getting on the field during the game. no different than reggie wayne or willis mcgehee or Johnathon vilma, or Kellen winlsow jr or any other UM player. maybe those guys at UM feel some type of way about their treatment at UM maybe they have trouble getting access to games and had to jump through hoops to get on the field at UM we don't know the back ground. we just see the result we see reggie wayne or ed reed on the sideline at a bunch of UM games and don't see Ike on the sideline of a bunch of VT games and we assume its a PR issue. whats the chances reggie wayne lives in mia and can drive 10 min up the road to a UM game and goes every once in a whiel VS Ike living NOT in Blacksburg and not wanting to drive to VT for a game 3 or 4 times a season.
In my honest opinion I think we as fans should just leave this alone. there is to many unknowns. and those players that have issues should reach out and make the effort to repair it just as much as VT should take notice of the tweets of former players saying that because its a bad look for it to be out there publicly because perception is everything in todays social media world.
My feelings as well. We keep poking at this, and maybe there is something under the surface, maybe there isn't. But there is basically zero that "we" can do, especially by saying it's an easy fix.
This whole site is pretty much centered on complaining about things we essentially have zero control over.
This whole site is
has becomehas always been pretty much centered on complaining about things we essentially have zero control over.Pretty much like every college football message board.
Agreed with most everything, but what you stated at the end is the worry for most folks on here.
Friendships are a two way street, and the perception (right or wrong and with more and more examples coming to light) is that these former players do not feel welcome. They need to feel at home.
You agreed relationships are a two way street but then essentially imply, "the athletic department and coaching staff have to make it work even if it's a one way street." The whole point is that in order to "feel at home," it is 100% required that the players put in some effort as well. There's a reason that VThokies904 has a better relationship with the coaches than many former players, and it has nothing to do with a prior relationship to Justin Fuente.
The perception is out there, again... right or wrong. Not sure how that could be misconstrued.
I think we are seeing self-perpetuating, copycat behavior. The issue was mentioned several years and became a story, so the media and former players became sensitized to it. So now every former player gets asked how they feel about Blacksburg and if they feel welcome, and they don't hesitate to say "no" regardless of how much involvement they've tried to have with the program because Pandora's box has already been opened.
Have you noticed that our former players tend to mention Miami as an example of a university "doing it right"? Out of all of the teams in the entire country, why does Miami keep being brought up? Is that answer coming from personal experience and knowledge or has it become part of the narrative with regards to VT football, and thus keeps getting repeated and perpetuated by others?
EDIT: double post
I'm also not sure on what the players expectations are for when they come back so how exactly to make them feel welcomed
That's always been my question too, when this topic comes up. Surely they can't be expecting the coaches to spend a ton of time with them, due to the game day schedules, and meeting recruits, etc... So it must be the athletic dept that they have problems with. I'd be interested in the expectations of former players...tickets? tailgating priority? seating location? attending practice or pre-game activities? What are their expectations exactly?
If I was student, and wanted to stick around Blacksburg, I would get involved in the athletic department and try to work my way into an alumni relations position after graduation. That would be a cool job.
It's not surprising that this is harder than it looks.
It requires a LOT of effort, planning, and $$$.
I've said this before: My wife's uncle was a professional baseball pitcher in the late 1950s. He played for three different teams, and played with and knew a lot of the great players in that era. He's currently one of the 100 oldest ex-professional baseball players.
He gets invited to events every year, and all over the place. Sometimes he gets comped tickets, and sometime he has to pay his own way. Often, he's honored with a special event. Sometimes it seems more special than others. He's a great guy, and he has great stories.
Honoring previous players never seems like quite enough. Having the '99 team there should have had it's own fund-raising, it's own events, and it's own "meet and greets" planned. That event probably shouldn't have happened without adequate resources.
Pulling that off is probably harder than it looks, but certainly worth the effort, and dedicated resources. Probably worth some boosters writing to Whit about.
Probably also not our biggest problem right now.