The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They previously competed in the Big East. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, with a seating capacity of over 65,000 fans. Lane Stadium is considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country, being voted number two in ESPN's 2007 "Top 20 Scariest Places to Play". It was also recognized in 2005 by Rivals.com as having the best home-field advantage in the country.
Since beginning football in 1892, the Hokies have won over 700 games and appeared in 33 bowl games, including the 2000 BCS National Championship game. The Hokies rank 23rd among all Division I college football teams for most wins. The program had a streak of 27 consecutive bowl appearances, starting with the 1993 Independence Bowl and lasting through the 2019 Belk Bowl. This was fourth-longest streak of consecutive bowl game appearances in college football history. The program has also claimed eleven conference titles (3 South Atlantic, 1 Southern, 3 Big East, and 4 ACC) and produced eight Consensus All-Americans.
History
Early history
Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech) first played football on October 21, 1892, against St. Albans Lutheran Boys School (Radford, Virginia). The game took place on a plowed off wheat field that was "about as level as a side of Brush Mountain". The Hokies won their first game 14–10, but were defeated 10–0 eight days later on a return trip to Radford. The first several VAMC teams wore cadet gray and black, but in 1896 the colors were changed to Burnt Orange and Chicago Maroon – a color combination that was unique among educational institutions at the time.
The 1899, 1901, and 1903 teams lost only to rival Virginia. Star player Hunter Carpenter returned to Virginia Tech in 1905, after a year at the University of North Carolina, for a last shot at beating Virginia. Carpenter helped lead VPI to a 9–1 record, the best in school's history up to that time. He was never named to the All-America team only because Walter Camp, who named the team at the time, said he would never name a player who he had not seen play.
The 1909 team claim a southern championship. This is the first season the team was referred to in print as the "Gobblers,” which became the official nickname in 1912.
SAIAA years (1912–1921) At the end of the 1911 season, VPI joined the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA). They won the conference in 1916 and 1918. After 1921, the SAIAA was dissolved and six of its schools became founding members of the Southern Conference.
SoCon years (1922–1964) From 1925 to 1928, Tech was led by Frank Peake and the "Pony Express" backfield. He was joined by Scotty MacArthur, Herbert "Mac" McEver and Tommy Tomko. In 1927, during a 6–0 upset of the Colgate Red Raiders in New York, Peake ran for nearly 200 yards and scored the game's only points. During one three-game stretch, he accumulated rushing and return yardage of 306, 314 and 353 yards. He was credited with gaining 1,761 yards in eight games. 930 were from scrimmage, and 831 on punts and kickoffs. In 1928 the game against Virginia he came off the sideline with an injured hip to return a punt for a touchdown.
In 1932, Tech upset Georgia 7–6. Bill Grinus blocked the tying extra point.
Virginia Tech's first post-season bowl appearance was in the 1947 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, against the University of Cincinnati. Tech had a 3–3–3 record that year, and was the third choice after Border Conference champions Hardin–Simmons University and runner-up Texas Tech Red Raiders both declined the bowl invitation. Tech lost that game 18–6.
Another first for the Gobblers came in 1954 when they had their first, and only, unbeaten season in school history. The team was 8–0–1 and finished ranked 16th in the Associated Press post-season football poll. The team's lone blemish was a 7–7 tie against William & Mary in Blacksburg, Virginia. Despite the team's success, it did not appear in a post-season bowl game. The 1963 team captured Tech's only outright SoCon championship.
1970s
In the 1970s, Tech briefly adopted an aggressive passing offense under head coach Charlie Coffey; quarterback Don Strock set virtually every passing record in the Hokies' book and would hold many for 30 years or more. Success, though, remained elusive.