They say a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. I remember the 1995 Football season, starting 0-2 & facing a Miami team we'd never beaten. For me this game was the first step for the football program. I was there in the stands as the final play unfolded, waiting for the yellow flags that so often came in such situations. But there was no flag & the party downtown was epic - from seeing Bruce Smith at Arnold's (I think that was the name of the place) to ending up at TOTS.
That day (and night) was special!

What struck me that game was that Tech didn't seem in awe of Miami. Many people point to the 1992 Season as the turning point while others point to the 1995 Sugar Bowl against Texas. For me it was that game. To have success in the Big East meant having success against Miami. We went on to win 3 Big East Titles & 4 ACC Titles.

And it wasn't as if the Hokies had this long history of athletic success. In fact as Tech wondered from desert to desert with different Conference Affiliations, while other schools sat in relative to total conference comfort. Including our rivals to the North who like to brag about their National Championship trophies so much. But while the Hoos have sat in the ACC conference since 1953, the Hokies have been Nomads - moving from Conference to Conference, often having their athletic programs spread among several separate conferences. It's hard to find success that way.

From 1921 to 1965 the Hokies were in the Southern Conference. In 1965 Tech left the Southern to go Independent, where they stayed until 1978 when they joined The Metro Conference where their basketball program resided until 1995. In 1993 The Metro Conference & Great Midwest Conference began talks that led to Conference USA - and as VT filed suit against The Metro & was also trying to gain entry into the Big East, Tech was left out of C-USA & ended up in the A-10 for Basketball only. In 199 Tech as finally received a full invitation to Big East.

Then came June 25, 2003 when VT received the news it had wanted to hear since 1953. an invitation to join the ACC for ALL sports, for maybe the first time since the SoCon years. And while the transition was relatively east for Frank & his gridiron boys, this was ACC basketball.

Ok, that's a long way to go to get to my point, but the point is - I feel like that 4 days in Brooklyn was Virginia Tech's first step in the basketball program. I mean there are things I never expected as a VT fan. The football team playing for a National Championship. VT softball no-hitting Team USA softball. Beating Duke @ Cameron & UNC @ The Dean Dome. But to beat the top 3 seeds, including UNC & Duke to win the ACC Tournament was totally unreal.

And there are things that always ground you as a Tech fan. Disappointments that bring you back to earth. Like 2008 in the semi-finals against UNC with the lead in the final seconds - POISED to take that step - only to have it ripped away by Tyler Tyler Hansbrough. HEART. BREAKING. That game destroyed me. From Thursday to Saturday Virginia Tech exorcised those demons & took that step. The same step the football team took 9/23/1995 against a blue blood football championship level program - the Miami Hurricanes.

Except this time it was Blueblood Duke & it didn't come down to the last play.

I hope this is the beginning of something special with more championships & banners to come.

GO HOKIES!!! ACC CHAMPIONS!!!
[Post edited by CyberHokie at 03/14/2022 2:07PM]