Homespun Greatness Out of Thin Air in Southwestern Virginia

Many of us who make The Key Play a daily part of our routine don't know a college football world without Frank Beamer as the head coach of the Hokies. As a sports fan, change is a given. I grew up in a place in VA where Tennessee football dominated the local sports pages. I watched as two legends (Johnny Majors and Phillip Fulmer) were forced out when fans' expectations were not met. My sports heroes grew old before my eyes, and as I have aged, each time they're back in the spotlight it reminds me how quickly life can pass by. Yet, through my lifetime, Frank Beamer was a constant. I knew when I tuned my radio or television to a Virginia Tech football broadcast on a Saturday afternoon or a Thursday night I would get a tough defense, great special teams, and a grind it out offense. The kids on the field reflected their head coach's blue collar mentality, exceeded their ability, and ran through walls to beat more talented opponents. I also knew the man responsible for the program's success represented Virginia Tech and Southwestern Virginia with dignity and class. I may not have always agreed with how a game was managed or what play was called, but knew the program and the man running it was something to be proud of.

It wasn't always that way. Under Bill Dooley, Virginia Tech slogged along as an afterthought. The pinnacle of the program came at a price: after a 10-1-1 season that culminated in a Peach Bowl victory over N.C. State, Dooley was fired due to recruiting violations. Little known Frank Beamer, a head coach at Division I-AA Murray State, was hired by athletic director Dale Baughman to rebuild the program.

I don't remember a lick of that. As a kid, Virginia Tech didn't even register on the college football map in Abingdon, Virginia in 1987. I was nine years old. My family didn't have cable television. I started to warm up to the NFL around 1985. I liked to catch the football, and the Seahawks had the coolest helmet in the Sears catalog so I became a Steve Largent fan. My access to college football was limited. The Johnny Majors show recapping Tennessee football came on every Sunday morning before the NFL. My parents didn't have a rooting interest, although I had family on my mom's side that rooted for Penn State. I can recall watching a few Miami against Notre Dame matchups. For the most part I did like most kids in places where there is a lack of a strong local team—I claimed to be a fan of the team that my friends rooted for. I can remember a record-setting quarterback from Abingdon named Eric Smith choosing to go to Virginia Tech and hearing my friends suggest that he wasn't any good if he was going there.

The recovery of the program didn't happen in a vacuum. Scholarship reductions made it difficult for the Hokies to field competitive teams. They were not even a blip on the regional college football radar. Rivals ascended while Beamer struggled with the rebuild. West Virginia played for a national championship under head coach Don Nehlen and play of quarterback Major Harris. George Welsh began to assemble a powerhouse ACC program in Charlottesville. The local newspaper carried stories about great players like Herman Moore, Terry Kirby, Chris Slade, and Shawn Moore. In 1990, the top team in the nation, winners of 7 in a row, hailed from my home state and had a nationally televised matchup on CBS against No. 16 ranked Georgia Tech. That was the first time I got to see that Virginia team play on television, and (I am not proud to admit this) I was heartbroken as a Scott Sisson's 37-yard field goal sailed through the uprights. The game propelled Georgia Tech to a split national championship season. Three weeks later, I came out of the Craig County woods to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin's house in Roanoke. They had ESPN which was a big deal, especially when we were not allowed to play Tecmo Super Bowl downstairs. My family watched as this football team that I knew almost nothing about, led by a coach named Frank Beamer, dominated mighty Virginia 38-13 in Blacksburg.

Frank Beamer didn't ascend into the Commonwealth's sky like a comet. He was as reliable, steady, and omnipresent as the sun. Beamer oversaw Maurice DeShazo and Antonio Freeman at the forefront of a high powered offense as the Hokies won the 1993 Independence Bowl. Jim Druckenmiller, Dwayne Thomas, and Bryan Still ground down defenses and then beat them over the top as a young defensive coordinator named Bud Foster bedeviled the Texas Longhorns in the 1995 Sugar Bowl.

After a down season in 1998, Beamer elevated Michael Vick to quarterback and he led the Hokies on a magical two-year run where the Hokies only lost two games and played for a national championship. The 2000's were highlighted by entry into the ACC and four ACC championships. Tech's defensive philosophy adopted changes to compete with spread offensive systems, and the Hokies' offenses did enough to win games thanks to elite talents like Tyrod Taylor and Ryan Williams.

My fandom grew slowly. After 1993, I would always pick up a copy of Athlon's college football preview and I can remember cutting out pictures of Ken Brown, Cornell Brown, and Brandon Semones. Television coverage was still pretty limited as Virginia Tech slowly climbed to the top of the Big East. I can still hear Bill Roth and Mike Burnop on the radio over the wind whipping against our camper as Jim Druckenmiller hit Jermaine Holmes on a double move to send the Hokies to the Sugar Bowl.

I remember sitting at a friend's house on New Year's Eve as the Hokie defense terrorized James Brown in an epic defeat of Texas.

I was hooked because the Hokies played a brand of football that I appreciated. My time as part of Emory & Henry's football program reinforced the truisms of BeamerBall. Pressure the quarterback. Beat the running game with physicality, speed, and numbers. Be great on special teams. Control time of possession with the running game. This formula produced seven conference championships, and brought the Hokies to the cusp of a national title. Even when the Hokies were not the best team on the field, opposing coaches would almost always tell reporters Tech was the most physical team they had played all season.

The formula changed. Ten wins and ACC championships were not enough. Outspoken fans demanded Tech's offense score more points and rack up more yards. Foster's defense adapted to stopping spread offenses. Beamer acquiesced and it seemed the ethos of what made BeamerBall and Virginia Tech great weakened. I think Beamer was as frustrated with the lack of playing the kind of football he instilled back in the early 90s as he was with the losses. More so, as he made the changes the fans wanted, the lack of results only increased the vitriol from a growing sect of Hokie Nation. Harvey Dent said it best, "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Beamer will step down with 235 (or more) victories on the Virginia Tech sidelines. Beamer's tenure started with almost zero television coverage outside of the Roanoke Valley, and it will end with massive amounts of television revenue flowing into the Virginia Tech athletic department coffers. Lane Stadium resembled a giant high school stadium in the late 80's. I remember being at the East Carolina and Pitt games in 1998 and there were no stands in the south end zone. Now, the Hokies have state of the art facilities. Frank Beamer's success has been felt by every athlete that has put on a uniform at Virginia Tech over the last quarter of a century. I shed a tear when the Hokies destroyed Tennessee in the Peach Bowl on New Year's Eve as Beamer validated my fandom after years of taking verbal abuse from close friends who rooted for the Vols.

More importantly, Frank Beamer achieved success in a way that made you proud to be a fan. Beamer created a family atmosphere at Virginia Tech. He is famously friendly to fans and students. He offered scholarships to players that didn't receive other D-I offers like Jake Grove and Kam Chancellor, and walk-on's that earned their way on the field played and often excelled. His student athletes received their degrees. He remained loyal to his staff and players, even to his own detriment. He ran his program the right way. Win or lose, there has rarely been a moment where I was not proud to be a fan of the Frank Beamer-lead Hokies. Coach Beamer, you will be missed. Thank you for the memories.