Virginia Tech Unveils Uniform Combination for Week 1 vs. VMI

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Four days separate Virginia Tech football from its season opener against VMI on Sept. 5, and ahead of the clash, it's revealed its uniform combination (except its helmet) for Game 1 against the Keydets.

𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄.

WEAR ORANGE🟠

📍: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA

📺: 7:30 PM EST ON @accnetwork #LetsGoHokies pic.twitter.com/mxe2P8tyJs
— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 1, 2026

Per the graphic, Virginia Tech will adorn an orange jersey and orange pants for its season opener against VMI in four days — a contest that is one of six color-coded games for the program. The game against the Keydets is the "Orange Effect" game; for the "Orange Effect" game, fans are encouraged to fill Lane Stadium in orange.

Virginia Tech is 3-2 when doing so with a white helmet and an 0-2 for doing so with a maroon helmet, marking a 3-4 all-time record with orange jerseys and pants. The last time the Hokies played with orange jerseys and pants was on August 31, 2025, when they played against South Carolina and lost 24-11. Should the Hokies adorn a maroon helmet for the opener, it would be the first such uniform combination since October 26, 2013, against Duke.

Virginia Tech knows who will be starting Week 1 against VMI. Ethan Grunkemeyer will start the opener against the Keydets, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Monday afternoon and head coach James Franklin confirmed in the team's press conference the same day.

Saturday, then, will be Grunkemeyer's first start with Franklin as his head coach. The Penn State import started the final seven games of the 2025 season with Terry Smith as the interim; across the whole season, he threw for 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, winning his final four starts and throwing for 260 yards and a pair of scores against Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Virginia Tech went 3-9 (2-6 ACC) in 2025, pivoting away from then-head coach Brent Pry after it lost its first three games — the first such occurrence since the 1987 season. The Hokies lost six of their final seven games and dropped the Commonwealth Cup to UVa. for the first time since 2019, sustaining their worst season by winning percentage since 1992 (2-8-1).

Franklin, meanwhile, was fired after a 3-3 start in 2025 following a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals in the 2024 season. Franklin was hired by the Hokies on Nov. 17, just over two months after Pry's firing on Sept. 14. Pry is back with the Hokies, serving as the team's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Virginia Tech's opener against VMI gets underway at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5. The contest will be available for viewing on the ACC Network, and it will be the first matchup between the two schools since the 1984 season.

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