Virginia Tech Athletics and the Hokie Club are excited to announce that the 2024 Drive Year, spanning from March 2, 2023 to March 1, 2024, concluded a record-breaking fundraising period, supporting all Hokie student-athletes in Blacksburg. After a final tally, Virginia Tech saw 25,775 Hokie Club members give this drive year, surpassing twenty-five thousand donors for the third consecutive drive year. Hokie Club members provided more than $22.2 million in total annual support, surpassing our previous high of $21.02 million in 2016.
"The outpouring of support from Hokie Nation is always amazing and this year delivered incredible results yet again," said Whit Babcock, VT Director of Athletics. "Every year our fans prove how bought in they are to the idea of building the best future for our student-athletes in Blacksburg. We could not be more proud of the 25,775 Hokies who made an impact on the lives of our student-athletes this year."
Hokie Scholarship Fund
The 2024 Drive Year was, by far, the most successful year of fundraising for the Hokie Scholarship Fund. Designed to cover the growing cost of student-athlete scholarships in Blacksburg, the Hokie Scholarship Fund accumulated $19.4 million in the 2024 Drive Year. This breaks the previous record of $17.1 million for the Hokie Scholarship Fund set in 2022. To go along with the record-breaking fundraising total for the Hokie Scholarship Fund, the Hokie Club also saw a 92% renewal rate from its top 5,000 donors, proving once again the loyalty of Hokies.
"We are excited about and humbled by the support shown by all donors to the Hokie Club," said Brad Wurthman, Executive Associate AD/External Affairs and Advancement. "A tremendous effort by all involved produced a tremendous result and we are so thankful for everyone who participated in this achievement. We do not need one person to do everything. We need everyone to do something and Hokie Nation responded once again."
Drive for 25
The Hokie Club surpassed 25,000 donors for the third consecutive year, once again surpassing the goal originally set in 2016. This number puts Virginia Tech near the top of the ACC in total donors. The Hokie Club was comprised of approximately 9,000 donors when the Drive for 25 was announced back in 2016, a testament to what can be achieved when all work together.
Sport-Specific Giving
Fundraising for sport-specific budgets also finished at record-highs at the conclusion of the 2024 Drive Year. Hokie Club donors supplied over $2.2 million in sport-specific gifts which directly supports programmatic needs of all varsity sports in Blacksburg. This number was greatly assisted by Hokie Nation's participation in Triumph Together and the university's Giving Day in August 2023 and February 2024, respectively.
Reach for Excellence
The Reach for Excellence campaign progressed even further towards its overall $400 million goal in Drive Year 2024. The campaign has surged well past its halfway mark since its inception in April 2021. Reach for Excellence runs as part of the university's $1.5 billion Boundless Impact campaign.
