Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock retiring in June, shifting to advisory role

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock will retire from that position this summer and transition to an advisory role.

The school announced Babcock's plan Thursday, with the move effective June 30. Babcock has served as the Hokies' AD since January 2014.

“While I had been considering this type of transition, likely next year, the demands of the role and the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics have required a lot of thoughtful reflection regarding my work-life balance, my desire to focus on family, my health and the next chapter for me," Babcock said in a statement from the school.

“I know that now is the right time to retire as AD and allow new leadership and new energy to carry the momentum forward. When you can’t continue to give it 100% every day, it was just time.”

The Harrisonburg, Virginia, native will serve in an emeritus role as of July 1 to aid the university president and his successor as AD.

“Serving as Virginia Tech’s Director of Athletics has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Babcock said in a statement from the school. “For me and my family, this wasn’t just a career stop, it was my dream job and a homecoming of sorts. To return to Virginia, to serve this university, and to be part of a community that lives and breathes Hokie sports, has meant more than words can express.”

Virginia Tech has won 30 of its 46 Atlantic Coast Conference championships during Babcock's tenure. He also had multiple successful hires that included men's basketball coach Buzz Williams, who guided the Hokies to the Sweet 16 in the 2019 NCAA Tournament; women's basketball coach Kenny Brooks, who led the Hokies to their first ACC Tournament title followed by their first-ever Final Four in 2023; and recently hired former Penn State coach James Franklin to take over the football program.

Babcock also secured nearly $230 million in additional funding for athletics last fall, an effort to ramp up investment with the arrival of revenue-sharing for athletes at a time when they can cash in on their fame.