At Virginia Tech, change isn't part of the vocabulary. We've had the same football coach since 1987. Of the 12 coaches and administrative assistants that make up Frank Beamer's staff, six have been in Blacksburg for nearly two decades or more. Seth Greenberg just finished his ninth season as the head men's basketball coach, the longest tenure with the Hokies since Charlie Moir spent 12 seasons patrolling the Cassell Coliseum sidelines. Hell, even Beth Dunkenberger managed to last seven seasons leading the women's hoops team.
Unfortunately, our old friend Furrer4Heisman had to step away from Gobbler Country last week. I am excited to announce that I will try and pick up whatever slack I can in his stead. As the new editor of the site, I'd like to divulge a little about my background. Maybe then, you'll see why on earth they picked me for this job.
First and foremost, I will soon be a proud graduate of Virginia Tech in May. My ties to the Hokies started long before I set foot in Pritchard Hall four years ago, however. I was born and raised in Blacksburg for nearly my entire life. Since 1997, I've been in Lane Stadium for each and every game the Hokies have played, save for one (damn the Chicken Pox). The first Tech game I ever attended was a 77-27 win over Akron in 1995. Some people call that fate.
It might be easier to say what I didn't do in college. In the last four years, I've done work for The Roanoke Times, ESPN Radio 1430 in Blacksburg, The Collegiate Times, The Atlantic Coast Conference, Raycom Sports, VTTV, ESPN, ESPN.com, in addition to creating and managing my own blog ACC Mania. Some of you may have heard of it, though I'm sure many have not. It's cool.
I spent some time several years ago helping out on Gobbler Country, so I'm not completely new around these parts. In June, I'm heading off to Bristol, CT to join ESPN full-time as a researcher with the company's Stats and Information Dept.
As far as what the future holds for this blog, I'm thrilled to have Cody and Chris providing their spectacular insight on all things Hokies. I've got a few ideas up my sleeve for how to keep things lively and have you coming back for more. Stay tuned.
You can follow me on Twitter: @Josh Parcell for more thoughts on the Hokies and the rest of the ACC. Don't forget to follow @VTCody and @LunchPailD as well. If there's anything you want to see on the blog, feel free to drop us a line there or email me: jparcel3@vt.edu.
One of my biggest goals for the site is to have as much interaction with you, the readers, as possible. More on this soon, but I really do appreciate everyone's support and look forward to what this gig will have in store for us.
Go Hokies!