Hughes: A Year Makes All the Difference for Hokies Football and Men's Basketball

The two sports sit in completely different positions from where they each were a year ago.

Dec 2, 2025; Columbia, S.C.; Virginia Tech guard Neoklis Avdalas (17) shoots over South Carolina forward Christ Essandoko (2) in the second half. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

A year ago, Blacksburg was placed in an entirely different scenario than it is right now. A calendar year ago, Virginia Tech football sat in what appeared to be a perenially middling situation, sitting at 6-6 after beating Virginia. Meanwhile, the men's basketball sat at 3-4 on Dec. 3, 2024, a day before dropping its bout of the ACC/SEC Challenge to Vanderbilt, 80-64.

Future is bright in Blacksburg 🚀

🤝 @HokiesFB pic.twitter.com/8OOpjxsV59

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 3, 2025

But this year, things are different, for a multitude of reasons. Money, evidently, is the defining factor. The football team, after bottoming out with a 3-9 record in 2025, has been infused by the Board of Visitors with what shapes up to be a $229 million investment over the next four years, pending the level of philanthropy that is brought into the program. Meanwhile, a year after losing his entire starting five from the 2023-24 season due to a shortage of NIL, head coach Mike Young now sits at 7-2, with two Quad 2 victories to the team's name following last night's 86-83 overtime triumph over South Carolina.

Though the Hokies sit No. 10 in the ACC in the NET rankings following its overtime triumph over South Carolina, the ACC, as a whole this year, appears stronger. Eight ACC teams crack the top-45, with four currently in the top-30. While the SEC appears to be the stronger top-to-bottom league, the ACC has carved out a route to getting several teams in the tournament. While it almost assuredly won't be nine at its apex, it also won't be four, like last year. In my opinion, the cutline ends up at about seven teams. Virginia Tech isn't far off and unlike last year, the gap between it and the ACC's upper echelon is far less noticeable.

Meanwhile, football is less anchored in the present and more invested in the promise of what comes next. The bottom fell out of the 2025 season after Brent Pry was dismissed. The 2025 record came in at 3-9, down from a 6-7 2024, and the on-field product rarely looked cohesive for long stretches. But even within a difficult two-year stretch, the program finally began sorting out who can be part of the solution moving forward.

Young pieces on both sides of the ball — particularly at receiver, where Shamarius “Snook” Peterkin emerged late in the year — offered glimpses of what a more stable future could look like. The staff’s challenge is less about replacing production, due to the sheer lack of it, and more about rebuilding the infrastructure that slipped once the coaching change was made. The Hokies aren’t close to where they want to be yet, but the foundation for the next phase is clearer now than it was when the bottom first gave way.

Perhaps most importantly, the Hokies have entered the offseason with tangible momentum on the recruiting trail. That combination has pushed expectations beyond simply “getting back to a bowl” and now, toward rejoining the upper half of the ACC. Virginia Tech may not be positioned for an overnight leap, but the pathway to improvement is far more visible than it was a year ago. 23 commitments are on the Virginia Tech bus now, with several more possibly joining.

Basketball, meanwhile, doesn’t have to wait for its turnaround. The Hokies are already trending upward, stacking a meaningful nonconference résumé and showing signs that this year’s group is better equipped to navigate the ACC grind than last season’s. While football is still assembling the pieces needed for long-term stability, basketball’s progress is unfolding in real time. Both are working towards a brighter future, however.

Football is laying groundwork it hopes will finally stabilize the program, while basketball is beginning to convert its progress into tangible results. The timelines aren’t identical, but the direction is. Each program appears to be moving toward a healthier, more competitive place than where it stood a year ago. For Tech, that alone marks a meaningful shift.

The football team's season is over, with VMI marking the start of its 2026 schedule on Sept. 5. Meanwhile, the men's basketball squad takes on George Mason on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. ET, with viewing available on ACC Network Extra.