Click here for all previous parts of the series

1984: Bruce on the Loose

As the 1984 season approached, enthusiasm pervaded the Virginia Tech campus. The Hokies were coming off their first nine-win football season since 1905. Yes, they had lost star players Mike Johnson and Tony Paige, but they welcomed back All-America candidate Bruce Smith, plus defensive stalwarts Jesse Penn and Ashley Lee. To capitalize on this momentum – and to counter the perceived “negative press” flowing out of Roanoke via columnist Bill Brill, Athletics Director Bill Dooley created a new sports publication devoted to Virginia Tech sports called The Hokie Huddler. And 1984 was the year the University unveiled a new “VT” logo for its athletics teams.

Out was the large “V” with a smaller “T” centered in the notch, a design that debuted in 1957, but did not appear on Virginia Tech’s football helmets until 1966. The new logo was a composite of designs by Lisa Eichler of Chesapeake and Chris Craft of Roanoke (not to be confused with Chris Kraft, another Tech alum and former NASA Flight Director). Their entries were judged best in a competition sponsored by the Virginia Tech art department, under the direction of Professor Robert Fields. Eichler and Craft each won $50.

...