![]() ![]() Some football coaches may have been scared off by what great basketball North Carolina always had, but I always thought that would be a plus. North Carolina had great facilities and great potential to win football championships to go with the many they already had in basketball. ![]() That Sunday night at my house, I got to thinking about everything. I know they were thinking if we got on that airplane to come home, I would change my mind. "No, we have to get back to Blacksburg tonight," I told them. I never signed a contract and they wanted me to stay that Sunday night and have the introductory press conference on Monday morning. They took me to meet the president and offered me a glass of hot cider, somewhat as a toast to the future. Once we arrived that Sunday, we toured the Dean Dome and all the football facilities and met everybody in the administration. They had great facilities and support from the administration. I also knew we could win big at North Carolina. I had totally convinced myself it was a great opportunity. Cheryl and I then flew to Chapel Hill on Sunday morning, November 26, to work out the details. We prepared well and beat Virginia 42–21 the next Saturday to finish 10–1. I didn't tell a soul other than Cheryl and my trusted assistant, John Ballein. It would be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I took a few days, I talked to him again, I talked to Cheryl, and on Saturday, November 18, I told Baddour I would accept the job. We talked through a third person in Charlotte, and Cheryl and I drove to the lake house to think about our future, knowing we had an off week ahead of us. He was about to fire Carl Torbush.We talked a while and I was very intrigued with what he had to say and with the prospect of taking the Tar Heels job.Ĭheryl and I wanted to get away to our house at Lake Oconee, Georgia, and Dick told us to meet him in Charlotte. North Carolina athletic director Dick Baddour called me, wanting to talk about the Tar Heels job. Students participating in the program provide state government coverage for Virginia’s community newspapers and other media outlets, under the supervision of Associate Professor Jeff South.Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer has a memoir coming out soon called "Let Me Be Frank: My Life at Virginia Tech." As expected there are excerpts floating around out there and one such excerpt covers UNC's courtship of Beamer at the end of the Carl Torbush era. ![]() Joseph Yost of Pearisburg, Greg Habeeb of Salem and Nick Rush of Christiansburg.Ĭapital News Service is a flagship program of VCU’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. The primary sponsors of the resolution were Republican Dels. Lawmakers presented Beamer with House Joint Resolution 75, which they had passed last month. “Of particular pride to Frank Beamer and to Virginia Tech is that over 94 percent of his senior football players from 2001 to 2014 earned their college degrees,” Edwards said.Įdwards drove home Beamer’s impact on college football at the end of the speech: “Frank Beamer has finished his career as the winningest active football coach in all of the NCAA.” Throughout the years, he saw many of his players earn their degrees. “Coach Beamer pioneered an aggressive style of special-teams play that has come known far and wide as ‘Beamer Ball,’ ” Edwards said.īut Beamer didn’t just see success on the field. This style of play was successful enough to garner its own nickname. Altogether, the Hokies have won four ACC championships since 2004.”īeamer was well known for getting all of his players involved in scoring. “The team’s very first season with the ACC in 2004, the Hokies won the ACC title and an appearance in a Bowl championship series game, and Frank Beamer was named the ACC Coach of the Year. “At Virginia Tech, he’s had 23 consecutive winning seasons and Bowl game appearances and a national championship football game appearance,” Edwards said. “He coaches the way that he is as a person – with character and decency – which is part of the reason for his remarkable success.”Įdwards shared the accolades that comprise Beamer’s illustrious career at Virginia Tech. “He is one of the most successful and respected college football coaches in the entire country,” Edwards said. With the former coach and his wife Cheryl standing by, Edwards delivered a speech praising Beamer. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, whose district includes the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. “We’re here today to honor one of the greatest football coaches in all America on his retirement,” said Sen. Legislators presented Beamer with a resolution to express their “admiration for his achievements and best wishes on a happy retirement.” On Thursday, both houses of the General Assembly honored the recently retired football coach with a center-aisle ceremony. After a successful career at Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer won’t be forgotten any time soon. ![]()
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