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After so many close losses in 1992, Frank Beamer realized he needed more than just new assistant coaches and a new defensive scheme. He also needed to tighten up team discipline and create a new culture. After consulting his old mentor, Bobby Ross, and meeting with his new staff, he arrived at a whole new approach to conducting business.

“In 1993, we became a ‘Virginia Tech’ football team,” former assistant head coach Billy Hite said. “From a discipline standpoint, that’s when it all changed.”

Beamer didn’t want to institute a bunch of new rules. Quite the opposite; he simplified them to something he could actually enforce. Instead of a nightly 11 p.m. curfew, he cut it back to Thursday and Friday. And the checks were random; players never knew when they were coming. Sure, they could roll the dice; but they knew if they got caught, they would pay the price.

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