VaTech proposes adding $229M for athletics

Virginia Tech has proposed adding an extra $229 million to its athletics budget over the next four years to help position the Hokies to compete with the top programs in the ACC, a crucial moment with the hire of a new football coach looming.

The school’s board of visitors will hold a virtual meeting Sept. 30 to consider the adjustment. In materials posted on the board of visitors web page, Virginia Tech is asking for an additional $47.1 million for 2026-27, bringing the total athletics department budget to $190.1 million. That number would increase to $212.1 million for 2029-30.

Virginia Tech is facing a crossroads with its future, particularly in football. The Hokies fired coach Brent Pry last week after the team started 0-3, and they have not competed for an ACC championship since 2016. During a presentation to the board of visitors last month, athletics director Whit Babcock pointed out just how far behind Virginia Tech is financially compared with its ACC counterparts.

Its current athletics budget of $122 million ranks No. 14 in the ACC, and Babcock said that number needed to get closer to $200 million annually. The proposal the board will consider reflects that amount. Babcock told the board at the time, “We cannot keep taking pride in doing more with less.”

As for football funding, its current $41 million budget trails behind that of Clemson ($67.8 million), Florida State ($61.1 million) and North Carolina ($48 million) among public ACC schools. Though the materials released Monday do not include how much more football will get as part of the overall budget increase, Babcock said during the board meeting last month that football will need at least an additional $13.5 million.

This was before Virginia Tech made the move to fire Pry, who was making $4.8 million annually, which ranked ninth in the conference. Virginia Tech trails Clemson, Florida State and others in its assistant coaching salary pool and support staffing among key areas. Part of what Babcock presented last month included a “modernized structure built for success” to put football more in line with the NFL model other schools are now using.

To reach the $229 million goal, the school is looking to raise $120 million in new funding. Institutional support and bridge funding will make up the bulk of the remaining $109 million.

In a statement issued through the athletics department Monday, Virginia Tech said:

“The landscape of intercollegiate athletics nationwide has evolved dramatically over the past year. The gap between top-tier programs and all other programs has widened. Without additional investment, the university and the region risk declining revenues. Potential losses to existing university revenues such as media rights, ticket sales, and sponsorships, for example, would likely have a negative impact on non-revenue sports, brand value, and alumni connection.”