

In 1978, Virginia Tech joined the Metro Conference, winning the conference men's basketball championship in their first year. In 1977, Virginia Tech once again sought admission to the ACC and was once again rejected. In 1965, Tech left the Southern Conference to become independent. įrank Moseley, Virginia Tech's director of athletics and football coach, believed that the new Southern Conference was a lower tier of competition and sought membership in the ACC, but was turned down. In 1932, thirteen schools left the then-gigantic Southern Conference to form the SEC and in 1953, seven more teams left to form the ACC. In 1921, Virginia Tech joined the Southern Intercollegiate Conference (now Southern Conference), which contained 19 schools by 1922, all current members of the ACC or Southeastern Conference (SEC). Tech teams participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which the school joined in 2003 after a tumultuous trek through five different conferences in the previous decade, most recently leaving the Big East in the controversial ACC expansion. Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationĬolonial Athletic Association (wrestling only)īig East Conference (football only, joined for other sports in 2000)Ītlantic 10 Conference (except football and wrestling)Įastern Wrestling League (wrestling only)
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Virginia Tech's football traditions and the school's fans are the subject of a 2007 full length documentary called Hokie Nation which features a mix of interviews with coaches, players and fans as well as a look at Hokie football history and the direction of the program.Ĭonference affiliation Virginia Tech Conference History 1895-1921

The Old Hokie spirit yell, in use since 1896, is familiar to all Tech fans. Tech Triumph is played at sporting events by both the Virginia Tech band, The Marching Virginians, and the Corps of Cadets' band, the Highty Tighties. Virginia Tech's fight song, Tech Triumph, was written in 1919 and remains in use today.
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Today, Tech's major athletic rivalries include the Virginia Cavaliers (see Virginia-Virginia Tech rivalry), the West Virginia Mountaineers (the series is in indefinite hiatus since the 2005 season when the last scheduled game was played), and the Miami Hurricanes. This rivalry continued until 1970 when Tech's football program became too large and too competitive for VMI. This rivalry developed into the original "Military Classic of the South," which was an annual football game between VMI and VPI on Thanksgiving Day in Roanoke, Virginia. The "athletic VT" symbol is trademarked by the university and appears frequently on licensed merchandise.ĭuring the early years of the university, a rivalry developed between the Virginia Military Institute and Virginia Tech, then called VPI. The stylized VT (the abbreviation for Virginia Tech) is used primarily by the athletic department as a symbol for Virginia Tech athletic teams. The teams were originally known as the " Fighting Gobblers," and the turkey motif was retained despite the name change.

The team mascot is the HokieBird, a turkey-like creature. The colors were chosen by a committee because they made a "unique combination" not worn elsewhere at the time. The official university school colors - Chicago Maroon and Burnt Orange - also were introduced in 1896. Hokie, then, is a word like 'hooray,' or 'yeah,' or 'rah.'" Whatever its original meaning, the word in the popular cheer did, as Stull wanted, grab attention and has been a part of Virginia Tech tradition ever since.

According to Johann Norstedt, now a retired Virginia Tech English professor, " a word that people used to express feeling, approval, excitement, surprise. Though he may not have known it, "Hokie" (in its various forms) has been around at least since 1842. Stull later said that he made up the word as an attention-grabber. Later, the phrase "Team! Team! Team!" was added at the end, and an "e" was added to "Hoki." Stull's yell won, and he received the $5 award. Stull for a contest which was held to select a new spirit yell when the college's name was changed from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute and the original spirit yell, which referred to the old name, was no longer usable. The word "hokie" originated in the " Old Hokie" spirit yell created in 1896 by O.M. Virginia Tech's sports teams are called the "Hokies".
