Brothers,
Saturday was a good day to be back. Virginia Tech opened the James Franklin era with a 73 to 3 win over VMI, the first meeting of the two schools at Lane Stadium in 42 years, and the crowd stayed loud long after the game was decided. There is real excitement around this program, and it showed.
Seen in Blacksburg
At least sixteen brothers made it to the opener, and there were surely more we did not see. In Lot 2: John Doyle, Bill Martin, John Snead, Brian Baddley, Steve Daves, Andy Slack, Paul Girardo, Vic Mills, Jay Johnston, Doug Clark, Jack McManus, and Deane Boone. Chuck Conway was at the game, and we stopped by Marc Galt’s tailgate nearby. Over in Lot 1, Chris Killorn, Paul Lombardi, and others held down Paul’s tailgate.
If you were there and we missed you, reply and we will get you in the next one. If you have a photo from the weekend, send it along.
Doug Clark, on the field with the Corps
Before kickoff the Corps of Cadets took the field for the return of the Governor's Sword, the rivalry trophy first presented in 1955. More than 2,200 cadets from both schools marched into the stadium together, and the national anthem ended with Skipper firing and a flyover by two HH-60s and an HC-130 flown by Tech and VMI alumni.
Brother Doug Clark (Beta Alpha, 1988), a Marine Corps major general, took part in the ceremony. Standing with him was Homer Hickam, class of 1964, the author of Rocket Boys who as a cadet helped build the original Skipper cannon in 1963. Hickam came back to fire it before the game, his first time on the field for this rivalry since the cannon's debut.
Brother Doug Clark on the field with the Corps of Cadets before the VMI opener, alongside Homer Hickam Jr. (VT '64), the Rocket Boys author who as a cadet helped design Skipper, the cannon that still fires at Lane Stadium.
Old Dominion, Saturday at noon
Next up is ODU at Lane, kickoff at noon on The CW. Five brothers are already on the Game Day board for it: Jay Johnston in Lot 55 at the end of the Drillfield, Jim McAlister in the grass behind Lot 3 spot 202, John George in Lot 1 space 541 with Frank Illig and Doug Lauver, Steve Daves in Lot 2 spaces 188 to 196, and Tom Crump in Lot 1 space 129 with Tom Waterfield and Bill Poe.
Add your spot, for ODU or any game this fall: nuprime.org/events.html#gameday
Names and lots are public. Email is optional and never shown.
Homecoming is the week of October 12 to 17, capped by Georgia Tech on Saturday the 17th. Four brothers are on the board for it already.
The house
Word around town is that 607 North Main, the antique shop, and the rest of the block including the McDonald's have been sold for commercial and mixed-use development. For now the house still sits empty, most recently the Blacksburg Taphouse. We have not confirmed the sale. If you know more, reply and tell us. And if you are in Blacksburg this fall, take a photo of the house while it is still standing and send it in. We will run the best of them.
New lights at Lane
The stadium was fitted with new LED lights this season. If you have not been to a night game in a while, it is a different building.
Missing Brothers
The list is down to 121. Since the last issue we have found Bill Poe (Omicron, 1976), one of the four class-of-1976 names we asked about, along with Scott Zemitis, Tim Martino, and CJ Skipper. Five brothers from the 1980s we would like to find next:
Bryan K. Davis (1985), Michael J. Hirsch (1985), Rex T. Robinson (1985), Scott A. Schnupp (1985), Christopher F. Brooks (1986)
If you know how to reach any of them, a note to [email protected] closes the gap. The full list, by decade: nuprime.org/missing-brothers.html
Pass it on
649 brothers get this newsletter. There are 783 on the roll. If you know a brother who is not receiving it, forward this one and point him to nuprime.org/newsletter.html.
See you Saturday.
A.E.K.D.B.
The Nu Prime Alumni Association