Virginia Tech

From NCAA Wiki

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, known as Virginia Tech for all NCAA purposes, is located in Blacksburg, Virginia. Its mascot is the Hokies.

Contents 1 Traditions 2 The Skipper 2.1 The Story of the Skipper:The Dream 2.2 The Making 2.3 The Name 2.4 The Salute 2.5 The Game 3 Stadiums 4 Football 4.1 Staff 4.2 Projected Starters 4.3 History 5 Basketball 5.1 Staff 5.2 Projected Starters 5.3 History 6 Baseball 6.1 Staff 6.2 History

Traditions

• Colors - Chicago Maroon, Burnt Orange

• Fight Songs - "Tech Triumph", "Old Hokie", "VPI Victory March"
• Rivalry trophies- Black Diamond Trophy, Commonwealth Cup

The Skipper

The Story of the Skipper:The Dream

The famous game cannon of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets was born in the dreams of three cadets of the class of 1964 and its metal tested in the heat of battle between VPI and VMI.

For a third year, two close friends in the Corps, “Butch” Harper aka Alton B. Harper, Jr. and “Sonny” Hickam aka Homer Hadley Hickam, sat in the stands of Victory Stadium in Roanoke, VA in anticipation of the Thanksgiving Game with VMI. The Tech Corps formed on the field first and took position while the VMI Corps marched into the stadium.

Both Corps of Cadets took their traditional positions on opposing sides. And for the third time that Butch and Sonny had witnessed, VMI brought in it’s game cannon, “Little John.” Oh, it was a small thing that looked more like a mortar than a cannon. They loaded it, fired it, and the whole VMI Corps swelled with the chant, “Where’s your cannon?” as a perfect smoke ring rose towards the sky.

This was too much to bear! Butch looked at Sonny and Sonny looked at Butch and the two made a solemn pact right there in the stands. This would be the last time that VMI would be allowed to “out cannon” Virginia Tech. They vowed to build the largest game cannon in the world. We won the game.

The whole thing took on the form of a major military operation. Sonny found blueprints for a Civil War cannon barrel and Butch looked to find out where they could get a carriage made for the cannon. But the proverbial problem soon became evident. Where on Earth would they get the money?

They attacked it on two sides. First, they decided that it would have to come from the Corps itself with some help from Alumni. Now just how do you convince 1700 folks to give money? Sonny came up with the idea to have a wooden mold made of the barrel at our college of mechanical engineering. They took it on as a class project.

While they were working on the mold, Butch marched into the Commandant of Cadets, General Schewe’s, Office. He sat behind an imposing walnut desk in his office in the Old Military Building. After a proper salute was proffered, Butch noticed two crossed barrels on the General’s uniform signifying his affiliation with artillery. Suddenly, the dauntin task that was about to be requested seemed somehow possible.

With a slightly wavering voice, Butch requested permission to speak. “Sir, a request Sir?” “What is it young man,” snapped General Schewe. “Sir, I would like you to place me on the Regimental Staff next year so I can help build the largest game cannon in the world for the Corps.”

Now at this particular moment the General’s stern countenance took on the warm glow of a grandfather seeing his first grandchild. He tried terribly to look serious, but Butch knew he was just busting to hear the plan.

“Well, you see Sir, Sonny Hickam and I, well I mean the whole Corps is getting tired of hearing it from VMI. And we’re getting tired of listening to that cannon with no response, Sir. Now if you could see fit to put me on as Regimental S-2, the Information Officer, I would have direct contact with the Alumni and we need their money and support.”

“How big did you say it was going to be,” the General asked. “The biggest cannon that VMI will ever see,” Butch snapped back. “And you and Sonny can get it done,” he asked. “Yes, Sir!”

The General looked for a long time with no response. I dare say, nobody had ever asked to be on the Regimental Staff before, it just was not done. And Butch felt he had probably blown his whole military career. But then, some things are worth it.

“Noted,” said the General. “Dismissed!”

In the mean time, the cannon barrel project continued in the mechanical engineering shop.

Butch looked toward change of rank with great misgivings. Had he blown it? Was the General going to teach him a lesson for being so brash? As all of the Corps marched onto the drill field to find their new destiny, his knees felt weak. He was certain that nothing would come of his request and that they would not be able to fulfill their dreams without the help of the Alumni.

The Seniors left their position of rank and the names of the Junior class drifted across the expanse of the drill field. A Squadron was first. Sonny was made an officer in A Squadron. It was what he wanted and he was happy. No rank for Butch in A Squadron. There he stood feeling very, very alone. Without getting anything in the Squadron, that only left Group and Regimental Staff. Group Staffs came and went. No rank for him in Group. Now he was sure that this upstart was doomed. After what seemed like a century, the assignments for Regimental Staff were droned out. You can’t imagine what it meant when we heard, “Regimental S-2, Cadet Alton B. Harper, Jr....” It meant that we could fulfill the dream. That the channel to the Alumni was open.

As we passed in final review and the New Regimental Staff Saluted the Commandant of Cadets, Butch looked toward the General and witnessed the biggest smile he’d ever seen and as the General raised his hand in salute, it was the one and only time he had ever been given a wink by a General. It was his way of saying, “now go build that cannon for this old artillery man, son.”

Sonny and Butch decided on a strategy. They would call a meeting of every company and every squadron and they would take the wooden mold of the barrel of the cannon to every meeting. George Fox, another friend from A Squadron, volunteered to help.

What a wonderful moment. Every person should have one magic moment in life where they could enjoy something so accepted as “Skipper.” The huge wooden mold of the barrel did its job. It inspired every member of the Corps. The meetings, 16 in all, made it evident that never again would the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets go into battle without a gun.

At the end of each meeting, each cadet got up, went back to his room, and brought back what he could spare. We asked each for just one dollar and all of the brass they could give.

They brought their grommets, they brought their brass plates, they brought their old brass buckles. This cannon would not simply be built with their dollars, but with their hearts. It is for this reason that you can find the class numerals of 64, 65, 66, and 67 on the face of the barrel.

It was a moving experience. Sonny and Butch found it hard to look at each other after each meeting because they knew they would each see a tear in the eye of the other. These were the best guys in the world. They had never seen anything so emotionally supported then or now. They would not trade that feeling of being a member of a group of which they were so proud for anything in the world.

The Making

The money was raised, they were a little short on brass, but Sonny brought in some brass fittings from his father’s mine in West Virginia to fill it out and some bullet casings were gathered from the firing range. All the brass was taken to the Virginia Foundry Company in Roanoke Virginia. Butch had called the President of the Company a few months before and told him what they were about to do after swearing him to secrecy. Butch asked him how much it would cost and he astounded him with his response. “You don’t have enough,” he indicated, “but I’ve thought we needed a cannon for a long time too. Son, I’m a member of the Corps Class of ‘37. We’ll be making that barrel for you for nothing. Just blow the heck out of them for us, will ya?”

It was a deal. He took our brass and wooden mold and set about the task of casting the barrel.

A few days later, Butch received a phone call from Mr. Hoffman. He asked where they had gotten the brass for the barrel and Butch told him the story. It seems that not all of the shell casings they picked up from the floor of the firing range were empty. He said when they poured the brass into the vat for melting, everybody was ducking for cover as the foundry was filled with the sound of gunfire. Well, after all, no good cannon worth it’s salt is made without a little effort. He indicated that the brass they had given him was too soft without support and recommended that they let him add some navy gun metal brass for safety. It was done.

Hoffman asked if he could bring the Roanoke Times in on the secret. Butch told him yes, if he would wait until the edition that prints directly after the game because they had big plans for VMI and it absolutely depended on their not knowing. He agreed, and Butch knew he could trust him because he was one of them.

It was now time to turn to the carriage. They found the place that made the old Civil War gun carriages for the National Battle Field Parks like Gettysburg. It was the Lorton Reformatory, in Lorton, Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C.. They were given all of the money that Butch and Sonny had saved by not having to pay for the barrel and they agreed to make the carriage to hold “Skipper.”

The Name

The cannon did not yet have a name and no one could have ever dreamed of the circumstances that would cause it to have one.

Time was getting short. The big game was fast approaching. Everything was in place.

It was time to pick up the barrel and the carriage. They rented a truck that Sonny and Butch drove and a chase car was driven by George Fox and a few others also from A Squadron.

They stopped by the Foundry in Roanoke first to pick up the barrel. After all, if the barrel wasn’t ready, there was no need to go on to Washington. The whole foundry turned out. They were as proud of the barrel as Sonny and Butch were. They shook hands, wished them well, and gave a big Tech cheer as they headed off to get the carriage.

It was a long trip, all the way across the state. The Reformatory was a bit foreboding, but the carriage was waiting just as promised. It took all of them to load it into the truck.

They had it! They had it done! And they were on the way back to show it to the whole Corps. It was the best feeling in the World. Nothing like it. After about 20 minutes, the chase car that was now the lead car, pulled over on the shoulder and waved us to pull over. Our truck did not have a radio. George Fox came back to Sonny and Butch and inidicated that it had just been broadcast that the President had been shot in Dallas and that they did not know how severe it was. They continued back to Blacksburg, not in the exhilaration that they had experienced, but with a tremendous foreboding. In those days, they did not know whether it was an international plot, whether war was imminent, or what the future would hold. It was like going from basking in the warm sun to being plunged into the abyss of a cold dark tunnel. There was no more joy in the trip. Everyone was quite.

By the time that they arrived back in Blacksburg, the President was dead.

They all felt terrible, but wanted to do something in honor of our Head of State. They remembered an old military tradition that, at the death of a President, all military installations give a 50 gun salute to their fallen leader.

It was then that they knew what they had to do. It was then that they knew what they had to name their cannon. It would be named “Skipper” in honor of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and his naval background.

The Salute

The first firing of “Skipper” would be a 50 round salute to our fallen President. It would be the test of the barrel’s strength and it would be the salute of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.

As they placced “Skipper” in position on the lawn in front of Brodie and Rasche Halls, General Schewe appeared. Sonny had quickly devised special charges that were quite rudimentary. But at the time, it was all they could do. Butch saw a look in the General’s eyes that spoke a thousand words. Never did he dream when he allowed us to proceed on building the cannon, that it would be christened in this way. It was an emotional moment for everyone.

Sonny was a pretty proficient amateur rocketeer. He had worked with black powder and the like quite a bit in high school building rockets so he agreed to take on the task of test firing the cannon. He knew absolutely nothing about putting in a charge, tamping it down, putting in a fuse, etc.. Moreover, there was no fuse hole anyway. None had been drilled at the foundry. What he did know, however, was how to make a good bomb from black powder. They went downtown and bought every plastic red and yellow ketchup and mustard squeeze bottle they could find. They filled them with super fine black gun powder. Placed a cherry bomb on top with two fuses taped together that extended out of the hole where the ketchup pours. They wrapped the bottles tightly with heavy tape so that the charge would explode rather than “poof.” One held the charge, the other lit it and slid it down the barrel. Not exactly how they do it today. But they were not about to have a cannon on the installation without being able to honor our President.

”Skipper” did just fine. A tradition was born.

The Game

After they found out that the Thanksgiving Day game would indeed be held, they immediately began laying plans for introducing “Skipper” to the opposing Corps of Cadets from VMI.

They met with Curt Tompkins, Captain of the “Highty Tighties.” He was brought into the big secret. They would take the cannon to Roanoke the night before the game and hide it in the stadium. They would let our Corps and the VMI Corps march in the parade and into the stadium. They would take their place in the stands and let the VMI Corps form and take their place as normal. They would let them bring in “Little John,” their mortar, and fire it as usual. They would let them chant, “where’s your cannon?” as usual.

At that time, Sonny, Butch, and George would stand and signal Curt and the Highty Tighties to strike up the march of the Charioteers from Ben Hur. 50 Freshmen members of the rat class, with Sonny as their commander, would pull in “Skipper” with two long heavy ropes, place it in position aimed directly at the center of the VMI Corps of Cadets and fire it!

And fire it they did. Sonny and George placed a charge in the barrel and looked at Butch, with a twinkle in their eye, as if to ask if that was enough. Butch knew the answer they were looking for. Another charge would be appropriate and yet another. They placed a triple charge into the cannon that day.

What happened after that became a legend. The folks sitting next to the VMI Corps later told that it blew the covers off of half of the Corps and a huge announcement came pounding from the press boxes. It seems that the reporters had to place their hands on the glass of the press box to keep it from vibrating out of its frame.

The VMI Corps was quiet. They knew never again to challenge the veracity of VPI’s artillery. The mission was complete. The duty was done. The game was won.

Toward the end, they were almost out of bombs. A touchdown was made and Sonny threw a charge down the barrel. He was not prepared for what happened next. The resulting blast sent a clear shockwave across the field, through the stands, and, from later reports, literally smashed its way through the press box, cracking the glass plates, snapping reporters’ heads back, etc.. Immediately, a policeman came running over. “Aim that thing in another direction!” Sonny couldn’t hear him very well, his ears were ringing. He did turn “Skipper” around, however, and aimed it toward the end zone for the next firings. On the next shot, one of the VMI football players was about twenty yards in front of the cannon when it went off. Sonny hadn’t seen him until it was too late. When the smoke cleared, he was gone. They probably would have heard something if the Skipper had actually blown him away, but it was almost certainly a moment he has never forgotten.

---taken from Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Guideon 2005-2006

Stadiums

• Football - Lane Stadium
  
• Basketball - Cassell Coliseum
  
• Baseball - English Field
  

Football

Staff

Head Football Coach - Frank Beamer
Associate Head Coach and Running Backs - Billy Hite
Defensive Coordinator and Inside Linebackers Coach - Bud Foster
Offensive Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach - Bryan Stinespring

Projected Starters

Offense
QB: Sean Glennon/Cory Holt/Ike Witalker
RB: Victor Harris/Kenny Lewis Jr./George Bell
WR: Josh Morgan
WR:
LT:
LG:
C:
RG:
RT:

Defense
DE: Noland Burchette
DT:
DT:
DE:
LB: Vince Hall
LB: Xavier Adibi
LB:
CB: Brandon Flowers
CB: Victor Harris
FS:
SS:

History

• Bowl Appearances - 19
  
• Bowl Record - 6-13
  
• BCS Appearances -
  
• Notable Rivalries - Virginia, West Virginia, VMI (historically)
• National Championships -
  
• Famous Alumni - Don Strock, Bruce Smith, Cyrus Lawrence, Michael Vick, Andre Davis, DeAngelo Hall, Lee Suggs, Kevin Jones, Ernest Wilford
  

Basketball

Staff

Head Basketball Coach - Seth Greenberg (Fairleigh Dickinson, 1978)

Projected Starters

G: Zabian Dowdell
G: Jamon Gordon
F: A.D. Vassallo
F: Deron Washington
F: Coleman Collins

Key Bench Players:
G: Markus Sailes
F/C: Robert Krabbendam
F: Cheick Diakite

History

• Final Four Appearances -
  
• National Championships -
  
• Famous Alumni - Dell Curry
  

Baseball

Staff

Head Baseball Coach - Peter Hughes (Davidson, '90)
Associate Head Coach - Dave Turgeon
Assistant Coach - Mike Gambino

History

• College World Series Appearances -
  
• National Championships -
  
• Famous Alumni -