| Page 3 of 4 < > |
'He Had a Vision About This Place'
Frank Beamer has proved the state engineering school tucked in the mountains of southwest Virginia could become home to one of the biggest, flashiest and best college football teams in the country.
(John McDonnell - The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
And then Beamer walked out. Not one coach budged; they just sat and stared at each other.
"We all realized we're the luckiest coaches in America," Hite said.
Virginia Tech beat Miami that week in a game still considered the most important in school history. The Hokies won their next nine games, too, beating Texas in the Sugar Bowl and raising the profile of the program. Several years later, Beamer would land a quarterback from Newport News named Michael Vick, and in 1999, Vick led Virginia Tech to the national championship game.
The success brought suitors. Boston College, South Carolina, Clemson and Alabama all wanted to hire him. In 2000, when North Carolina wooed Beamer and his staff, Beamer nearly left. The Tar Heels had superior facilities and offered higher pay, particularly for his assistants. Beamer loved Virginia Tech, but he also wanted to be the best and recognized North Carolina's resources might have given him a better chance at that.
Beamer met with North Carolina administrators in Chapel Hill on a Sunday in late November and finalized a prospective deal. He walked out and coyly told reporters North Carolina was a nice place.
Virginia Tech Athletic Director Jim Weaver called Hite that day and told him to make sure Beamer didn't take the job yet, that he wanted to meet with him Monday. Beamer flew back to Blacksburg on Sunday night.
When Beamer drove onto campus for the Monday meeting, a crowd of people greeted him. They held signs that read, "PLEASE FRANK, DON'T GO," and other placards with the same message were posted all over. Hite met Beamer in the parking lot, so he could shuffle him past the assembled reporters. When Hite saw him, he was certain Beamer had decided on taking the North Carolina job.
They walked into Beamer's office.
"When you retire from this place, I honestly believe they'll put a bronze statue of you up," Hite told him. "If you leave now, you're nothing but Bill Dooley to all these people."
Beamer walked straight into a meeting with Weaver and several other Virginia Tech administrators. They offered him everything North Carolina had and more -- the facilities, the money, the commitment. They wanted to make sure Beamer was the Hokies' coach until he retired. He accepted that day.
"Growing up, if I ever thought I could have gone to some of the places I could have gone to, I mean, it's amazing to me, some of the schools that had shown an interest," Beamer said. "But when it's all said and done, when this thing's all over, well, that stadium changed, our schedule changed, the way those fans support the program, and you've been a part of that. . . . That's kind of been always the bottom line when I got ready to make a move. I've been a part of this. I'm very proud of it."
