There is a sense of entitlement among a segment of the VT fan base. Beamer was special, home grown (and therefore uniquely loyal), and had a confluence of factors that allowed for success (weak conferences, somewhat untapped recruiting territory, a transcendent player, success coinciding with rise of Thursday night college football that raised our profile, etc.).

Then, the arms race really began. The TV money exploded and the further separation of the haves and have nots was seen — and VT’s success was no longer sustainable based upon the model that had been used to gain our success in the first place.

And yet, the expectations remained the same with little understanding of how the success was built or how the program would have to evolve to continue to succeed.

JMO.