In a presentation to the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors on Monday, athletics director Whit Babcock warned that the university is falling behind its peers when it comes to investing in its sports teams.
“It’s a new kind of arms race,” Babcock said. “It’s not a facilities arms race, but a budget and resources arms race.”
Virginia Tech’s current annual athletics budget is $122 million. Babcock said that places the university below many other schools that compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Based on comparisons with higher ranking schools, he said if the Board wants Hokies to perform at the top of the conference, they will need to invest closer to $200 million.
“And as much as I and we all love Virginia Tech and its humility, we cannot keep taking pride in doing more with less,” Babcock said.
Babcock said college sports has entered a new era with recent settlement agreements between the NCAA and the Power Five conferences. He said some changes from the settlement are pushing the industry to be more strategic and forward thinking, but it will mean schools need to invest more money in athletics if they want to compete. He said those who don’t may get left behind and could lose revenue in the long-term, from television viewership and game attendance.
