It's Up to You, James

Six months after taking the job at Virginia Tech, three of the men most important in hiring James Franklin are either on their way out or already gone.

Before coaching a single game, Franklin finds himself as the lone leader remaining in Virginia Tech's athletics transformation.

Franklin must feel pretty uneasy these days, given how quickly things have changed. President Tim Sands' pending retirement was announced on April 9, while Whit Babcock's transition out of the athletic director's office was announced on April 23. As abrupt as these changes felt, both were set to retire sooner rather than later, and pushing up the process allowed Tech's Board of Visitors to settle on its new leadership more quickly. 

That approach doesn't work when the individual leading those processes — the Rector — is removed from his post.

Newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger fired John Rocovich last Thursday, filling his seat on the Board of Visitors with Tech alumni and former Rector Ed Baine.

Rather than dive into the political questions surrounding Rocovich's dismissal — Spanberger's office has yet to provide specifics — the impact of his departure on Hokie athletics cannot be understated. Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors sat idly by for decades as the athletic department fell behind in revenues, infrastructure investments, coaching salary pools, and later, NIL budgets. Rocovich began addressing those problems last summer, when he instructed Babcock to present these issues and potential solutions to the Board of Visitors.

Fortunately, the product of that presentation, the Invest to Win initiative, came to fruition before Rocovich was canned. The plan, which calls for nearly $230 million to be funneled into Virginia Tech athletics over a four-year span, showed a university leadership structure completely committed to elevating Hokie sports across the board. In other words, Virginia Tech's leadership was aligned.

Franklin has waxed poetic about the importance of alignment among university leadership. Now, he must be at the center of that alignment.

It is no secret that Virginia Tech is betting it all on Franklin's success. A resurrection of the football program would bring a financial windfall that could benefit all 22 of Virginia Tech's varsity sports teams and boost enrollment, which in turn helps the university pursue academic goals.

With success on the gridiron an obvious imperative, and given Franklin's resume, Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors should center its coming leadership hires around him. Franklin is the Commonwealth's most expensive employee, and his bona fides make him worthy of the power and influence he now wields.

In the face of unprecedented turnover among university leadership, Franklin and the Board of Visitors are pushing forward through  Invest to Win. More than $21 million has been spent thus far on the football program, including LED lighting and a new video board for Lane Stadium, facility renovations, and a larger staff. Virginia Tech is also creating Hokie Ventures, a separate non-profit designed to facilitate additional investment into athletics.

As important as the university leadership is in executing this funding program, Franklin's direction and insight are at the core of the entire strategy.

Whenever Virginia Tech gets its new leadership in place, one man will be at the center of it all — James Franklin. Fortunately, Franklin has the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to get Virginia Tech where it needs to be.

It's up to you, James. No pressure.