BLACKSBURG 鈥 The college football coaching carousel was kicked into gear early Sunday afternoon when Virginia Tech announced Brent Pry was fired three games into his fourth season.
Pry鈥檚 time in Blacksburg concluded with a 16-24 record.
The dismissal marked the end of Pry鈥檚 tenure that was bookended with losses to Old Dominion and a 16-24 overall record. The Hokies only had one winning season under Pry鈥檚 guidance (2023 with a 7-6 mark) and underperformed in two of his three full seasons and through three games into his fourth season.
Tech fell to 0-3 after a 45-26 loss to ODU. That setback came on the heels of a 44-20 loss to Vanderbilt in which the Commodores outscored the Hokies 34-0 in the second half.
With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Hokies have more than two months to be diligent and find the right replacement for Pry. And two upcoming dates are very important to determine what the coaching pool will look like and the resources that will be available to the football program.
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All eyes on the Board of Visitors
The next Board of Visitors meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17-18, but another date looms later this month.
On Aug. 20, Board of Visitors Rector John Rocovich directed board members J. Pearson and Ryan McCarthy to report back by the end of September 鈥渨ith a firm proposal鈥 to provide recommendations and direction on next steps for athletics funding.
Virginia Tech is considering a phased approach to cap undergraduate enrollment at 40,000 students, university leaders said Wednesday.聽
University President Tim Sands reaffirmed in a press release on Sunday that the plan will be presented to the board later this month. Pearson and McCarty are slated to work with university leadership and athletic director Whit Babcock to a develop a financial, organization and leadership plan that will 鈥渞apidly position鈥 the football program among the best in the ACC.
Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock
Babcock delivered an hour-long presentation to the Board of Visitors on Aug. 18 on the athletic department鈥檚 need to be better resourced to compete not only in football but in men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball and in every NCAA sport sponsored by the university.
There was a $52 million ask for investments the university needed to make to enhance the football programs and other sports. Football-related expenses accounted for $35 million of the ask to make football spending, staff and infrastructure in the top tier of the ACC.
And Babcock stated he wanted the yearly budget to be closer to $200 million than the projected budget of $144 million for the current year.
How much could football get?
Babcock made a big ask. If Pearson and McCarthy return with everything Babcock asked for, that could mean a significant increase in a football budget that ranked fourth among ACC public schools at nearly $41 million.
Babcock said the Hokies鈥 athletic budget needs to be around $200 million annually to compete with the league鈥檚 top teams.聽
What would that football budget increase look like compared to ACC football giants Clemson and Florida State?
Babcock showed that Virginia Tech ranks well behind programs like Clemson and FSU in head coach salary ($11.5 million at Clemson, $10 million at FSU and $4.8 million at Tech); assistant coach pool ($10.1 million at Clemson, $11 million at FSU and $5.5 million at Tech); support staff pool ($10.5 million at Clemson, $6.5 million at FSU and $3.4 million at Tech); number of staff members (87 at Clemson, 74 at FSU and 55 at Tech); and recruiting budget ($3.1 million at Clemson, $1.8 million at FSU and $1.2 million at Tech).
While Babcock would prefer to receive the same type of support that Clemson has, if he gets investment in football that ranges between Clemson and FSU, that would provide the Hokies with more opportunities on a yearly basis to contend for ACC titles.
Clemson and FSU have combined to win all but one ACC championship since 2011.
Money will change candidate pool
Pry was making $4.75 million in base and supplemental pay this season and was set to make $5 million in base and supplement pay in 2026 and 2027.
Pry鈥檚 salary ranked 44th nationally of coaches at public schools last year. That number is around what some of the top Group of Six coaches make, and that would be the coaching pool the Hokies could choose from if there isn鈥檛 an increase in head coach salary.
If the Board of Visitors approves some or all of Babcock鈥檚 request, then Tech will be able to compete with other Power Four conference programs for coaches, and that will drastically change the types of coaches interested in taking over the Hokies.
Athletic director Whit Babcock addresses the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors last month at the Pete Dye River Course.
An increase in head coach salary and overall football budget could entice sitting head coaches at other Power Four programs to consider Virginia Tech as an option.
Who鈥檚 going to make the hire?
Babcock hired Pry and his predecessor, Justin Fuente, and both were fired during the season (Fuente with two games left in 2021 and Pry after three games in 2025).
Tech Sideline鈥檚 Andy Bitter reported the next coach will be hired by a committee with a chair who has yet to be determined. Babcock will assist and support the search but will not lead it.
Babcock, like most athletic directors, keeps a list of potential replacement coaches for each sport in case the current coach leaves for another program or is fired. Babcock likely had names of potential coaches in mind to replace Pry, and it will be up to the chair and the search committee to decide who are the candidates.
