By: Zoe Santos, arts & culture reporter
Evan Hughes, Assistant Director of Broadcast Services and Voice of Virginia Tech women’s basketball and baseball, poses for a portrait in Blacksburg, Va.
Even with recent losing seasons, Virginia Tech football continues to draw sold-out crowds to Lane Stadium. The passion is strong as ever, and Hokies, students and alumni alike, say the program represents more than wins and losses.
Evan Hughes, a Virginia Tech alumnus and assistant director of broadcast services for Virginia Tech Athletics, has experienced the culture from both sides of the stands. As a student and now a staff member, Hughes offers a perspective on the influence of Frank Beamer, the game day atmosphere in Lane Stadium, and why Hokie spirit continues to thrive.
(Edited for clarity)
You’ve been both a student and an employee at Virginia Tech. How would you describe what makes the culture here unique?
I think first and foremost, it’s the people, and I think that it’s so overly used when it comes to organizations or universities, “the people, the people, the people,” but truly, there’s a reason why Virginia Tech is near the top every year in student life happiness.
You hardly meet people who come to Virginia Tech who don’t like Virginia Tech. I just think there’s something about the way others treat fellow students and professors that makes this community so special.
I don’t know if it’s the small-town vibe. I don’t know if it’s being in the mountains. But it’s contagious. You can feel it. And there’s a sense of real pride in being a part of something bigger than yourself, too, which is kinda cool.
Every day, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed from when I was a freshman in college to now being an employee. It’s the people.
Frank Beamer was at the South Carolina game recently, supporting his son Shane. What did you think about the fan response to him being there in another team’s colors?
I think it’s a really good question. Obviously, Coach Beamer is arguably the biggest celebrity and one of the most impactful people to ever graduate from Virginia Tech, but then had the biggest impact that one person has had.
The growth of the football team really helped the growth of the university from an academic standpoint. So to see him there supporting Shane, I thought it was cool because he had a Virginia Tech pin. That was so cool, just paying homage like, “Hey, I am a Hokie. I love you guys. This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but of course I’m going to cheer for my son first.”
Just about every Hokie understood that. Nobody’s like, “Hey, why isn’t Coach cheering for the Hokies?” Everybody gets it. It’s his son. Of course, he’s going to cheer for him. That was really unique. I mean, it’s not every day that your legendary coach is going up against his son.
If you could put it into words, what lasting impact did Beamer leave beyond numbers and wins?
When he first got here, from an athletic department standpoint, we were a very small athletic department. We had not achieved a lot from a team perspective. We’d had some good football seasons in the past, but nothing like where we are now in the ACC and from a competitive standpoint.
We are where we are because of Frank Beamer. I think the rise of the football program allowed for so many more people to get on the bandwagon, so to speak, and then students started saying, “Hey, Virginia Tech’s good. Are they good in school? Maybe I should apply there.”
I don’t think you can sum up what he has meant to this place. Even in his retired life, he walks around campus almost every day, and he’s been around for years. In my opinion, Frank Beamer is one of the most impactful people to ever be a Hokie.
I think about Virginia Tech, how many students we can admit every year, how competitive it is, and how we need to expand. All these things. It’s because of him. He is one of the common denominators for why we are the way we are.
I hope he knows that. I hope he feels that from Hokies, because I don’t think he fully understands that he is one of the primary driving forces of why we are where we are as a university and athletic department today.
As a student and now an alumnus, how do you think the experience changed? Does the passion remain the same?
I think the passion absolutely remains the same. As a student, it depends. Some people come in having grown up a Hokie, and they know everything about it. Some come from out of state and don’t know who Frank Beamer is. Everybody has different starting points for when they started following Tech football. But once you’re in, you’re hooked.
As an alum, so many people who love sports follow Tech football because it takes them back to their college days. Tech football is that placeholder in their heart. It’s their way of staying connected to what’s happening with their alma mater.
It is cool how Tech football continues to give to those who have already graduated. That Hokie Stone the players touch running out of the tunnel comes to mind, “For those who have passed, for those to come, reach for excellence.” That’s what it represents.
If you had to sum up a gameday in Lane Stadium to someone who’s never been here, how would you describe it?
Exhilarating. Jumping, a lot of jumping. Coming together with 66,000 of your closest friends to cheer on one common goal, and that is for Virginia Tech to win a football game. You are the 12th man, helping push the team to victory. You’re also sharing in three hours of one of the most special moments you’ll have all week.
From kids who are five to alumni who are 90, people love being Hokies. And there’s no better way to show that than being inside Lane Stadium on a Saturday.
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