Virginia Tech Adds BYU To Non-Conference Schedule

Virginia Tech announced Friday that it has agreed to a future home-and-home series with BYU in 2026 and 2030. The Hokies also announced multiple future games with in-state opponents Liberty, Old Dominion and VMI, with seven of those games scheduled at Lane Stadium. The five combined road contests are all easily drivable for Tech fans as well.

Earlier this summer, the ACC approved a scheduling process that permits conference schools to play only one FCS opponent per season on specifically designated weekends through the 2029 season. Tech is only scheduled to face four FCS opponents – William & Mary (2018), Furman (2019), Richmond (2021) and VMI (2026) over the next 12 seasons.

The Hokies have five future games with Notre Dame as part of that school’s agreement with the ACC, including a 2018 contest at Lane Stadium. Other marquee non-conference foes on the horizon for Tech include the likes of Penn State, Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Arizona, Maryland and Rutgers among others. 

The Hokies will face BYU in Blacksburg on Sept. 26, 2026 to mark the first meeting between the two schools before clashing again in Provo, Utah on Sept. 14, 2030.

Tech won its first encounter with Liberty by a 36-13 margin in 2016. The Hokies will travel to Lynchburg to take on Liberty on Nov. 19, 2022. The Flames are scheduled to play in Blacksburg again in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 in addition to a 2020 date at Lane Stadium that was previously scheduled. Liberty will begin competing at the FBS level in 2019, joining the likes of Army, BYU, Notre Dame and UMass who currently play as FBS Independents.

The Hokies will re-ignite their historic rivalry with VMI on Sept. 5, 2026 at Lane Stadium. The Hokies and Keydets last squared off in 1984, but the 79 all-time meetings against VMI are the second-most against any single opponent in Tech history behind only Virginia.

Tech also re-upped its series with Old Dominion with a six-game agreement spanning the 2026-2031 seasons with three additional games apiece in Blacksburg and Norfolk, Virginia. The two teams will meet for the first time at Lane Stadium on Sept. 23 this season.

Old Dominion has competed at the FBS level since 2014 and is a member of Conference USA. The Monarchs previously hosted an ACC opponent when NC State played in Norfolk in 2015. 

Simmons Joins Tech’s Football Strength & Conditioning Staff 

Virginia Tech Athletics announced the addition of Charles Simmons to the strength and conditioning staff for football as an assistant director on Friday. Simmons joins an experienced group of performance coaches under the direction of Ben Hilgart, Associate AD for Strength & Conditioning.

Simmons spent this past spring at Texas, one of three positions he’s held in a Power Five program, where he assisted the football strength staff. Prior to his time in Austin, Simmons spent the 2016 season at Baylor where he worked with football, cross country, volleyball, soccer and equestrian. He is a certified member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.

The San Antonio native broke into the field as an intern at SMU, where he earned his first full-time position directing and implementing programs for the equestrian, women’s track and sprint teams. He then moved to California – Berkeley where he assisted with Cal’s football, baseball and rugby teams.

Simmons earned his degree in kinesiology Texas A&M Kingsville in 2010 where he was also a member of the football team. He later took classes in sport management from LSU in 2015.