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Inside HokieSports 11/20: Talk Of Town
Franklin Introduced To Hokie Faithful
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Good Morning, Hokies. Fire us up, Coach!
What else are we covering into today’s edition, Hokies?
🏈 The Talk Of The Town
🏀 High Five!
📚 Class Acts
🦃 And much, much more!
🏈 WHAT A DAY!
What a day!
Virginia Tech Football officially stepped into the James Franklin era as Board of Visitors Rector John Rocovich, President Tim Sands and Director of Athletics Whit Babcock officially introduced Coach Franklin at a formal press conference on Wednesday in Blacksburg.
A proven program-builder with a national reputation for elevating teams to championship contention, Franklin arrives in Blacksburg as a direct result of the collective commitment of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, University leadership, and the distinguished Search Committee — all aligned behind an ambitious, Invest to Win vision for the Hokies.
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🏈 THE INSIDE TRACKS
A new era is here in Blacksburg!
We're capturing every step as Coach Franklin takes the helm. Experience every moment from his arrival and first press conference to fan reactions and behind-the-scenes coverage of the first days as head coach.
This live blog will keep you updated on all the buzz, reactions, and stories as Hokie Nation unites behind its new leader—a nationally recognized, proven program builder who understands what it takes to sustain championship-caliber success.
🦃 STOCK UP
🔼 High Five. After receiving a halftime jolt from Coach Franklin, the Virginia Tech men’s hoops squad rolled to its first 5-0 start since 2022-23 with a 78-61 victory over visiting Bryant on Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum.
On a night where highlight reel dunks filled the gym, Tobi Lawal led the way with an 18-point, 13-rebound performance, marking his third double-double of the season.
Freshman Christian Gurdak posted a career-best 15 points off the bench, while Neoklis Avdalas (11), Ben Hammond (11) and Tyler Johnson (10) each finished in double-figures for the Hokies.
🔼 Class Acts. Virginia Tech Athletics continues to earn high marks academically as the department recorded an overall Graduation Success Rate of 92% in a report released by the NCAA, Wednesday afternoon.
The NCAA developed the formula for its Graduation Success Rate, or GSR, metric as part of its 2003 academic reform initiatives to better measure student-athlete academic success. It differs from the federal graduation rate in several ways, most notably by not penalizing schools that have transfers who depart in good academic standing and by counting transfers who enroll into a school in good academic standing. The GSR also takes into account the academic standing of mid-year enrollees, whereas the federal formula does not.
The NCAA's GSR metric allows student-athletes six years to earn their degrees.
🎙️ ALL NEW EPISODE: THE LEVEL 7 PODCAST
James Franklin is a Hokie!
How did Virginia Tech land Franklin as Tech's new head football coach?
Hear from the people who made it happen: J. Pearson, Bud Foster, Whit Babcock, Board of Visitors Rector John Rocovich and more. Plus, how does this impact the ACC? Commissioner Jim Phillips joins today’s program as well. Bill Roth and Mike Burnop host this week’s show from Cassell Coliseum.
🤔 HOKIE TRIVIA
After a strong performance at the national duals in Tulsa, the Virginia Tech wrestling squad moved up to 8th in two of the national polls.
How many individual Hokie wrestlers are in the national rankings?
Think you got it?
Scroll to the bottom and find out!
📆 THE DAYS AHEAD
Thursday, November 20
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Niagara @ 6pm | Live Stats | Watch | Tickets
🎙️ Tech Talk Live @ 7pm Listen
🏊 Swim & Dive at NC State Invitational
Friday, November 21
🏐 Volleyball vs. Wake Forest @ 6pm | Live Stats | Watch
🏊 Swim & Dive at NC State Invitational
Saturday, November 22
👟 Cross Country at NCAA Championships @ 10am (Gans Creek, Mo.)
🏈 Football vs. #14 Miami @ 12pm | ESPN l Live Stats l SOLD OUT (Buy on SeatGeek)
🏊 Swim & Dive at NC State Invitational
Sunday, November 23
🏐 Volleyball vs. NC State @ 1pm | Live Stats | Watch
🏀 Women’s Basketball at JMU @ 2pm | Live Stats | Watch
🤼 #10 Wrestling at PRTC Keystone Classic (Philadelphia, Pa.)
🤝 SPREAD THE WORD
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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER
Answer: 10!
🦃 It’s a great day to be a HOKIE!