Virginia Tech to open James Franklin era under the lights
The James Franklin era at Virginia Tech will kick off in prime time.Â
The Hokies’ season opener against VMI on Sept. 5 is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. and be televised on the ACC Network.Â
Lane Stadium, shown during Virginia Tech’s Sept. 30, 2023, football game.
The ACC, in conjunction with ESPN, announced the kickoff times and network designations for the opening three weeks of the upcoming college football season on Wednesday.Â
Virginia Tech’s Week 2 game against Old Dominion is scheduled to kick off at noon and will be on The CW Network (locally on WWCW). Â
The Big Ten also announced the kickoff times and network designations for its league members. The Hokies’ Sept. 19 matchup at Maryland is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and will be either on Fox (locally on WFXR) or FS1.Â
Tech also had two Friday night kickoff times set.Â
Its ACC home opener against Pittsburgh on Friday, Oct. 2, will kick off at 7 p.m. on ESPN.Â
The ACC previously announced that the Hokies’ matchup at SMU is slated for Friday, Nov. 6 after it was initially slotted for Friday or Saturday of that weekend.Â
The kickoff time for the teams’ matchup at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas is 7 p.m. on ESPN.Â
The league also announced that Tech’s matchup at Miami in the regular season’s penultimate week was moved from Friday, Nov. 20 to Saturday, Nov. 21.Â
The two evening home kickoffs against VMI and Pittsburgh will showcase Lane Stadium’s new LED lights. The university is spending $2.4 million to upgrade the lighting, according to the facility enhancements presentation that will be part of a Board of Visitors meeting on June 1.
Lane Stadium’s videoboard is being replaced for $4.9 million. Audio and power upgrades in the stadium are slated to cost $650,000.
Virginia Tech and VMI are meeting for the 80th time and first since 1984 on the gridiron, and this matchup features coaches in their first season with their respective programs.Â
Franklin leads Virginia Tech after more than 11 seasons at Penn State. Ashley Ingram was hired by VMI to replace Danny Rocco, who is on Franklin’s staff as senior defensive analyst for offense. Ingram spent the past two seasons leading Division II program Carson-Newman.Â
Franklin is the third straight Virginia Tech head coach to open his tenure against an in-state foe. Justin Fuente’s first game leading the Hokies in 2016 came against Liberty, while Brent Pry’s opener in 2022 was at Old Dominion.Â
Rahne and the Monarchs got the best of Pry and the Hokies in 2022. The teams met last season in Blacksburg. That contest featured ODU scoring the first 31 points and cruising to a 45-26 win, and that setback led to Pry’s firing as head coach.Â
The Week 2 matchup marks the first between Franklin and Rahne. Rahne worked with Franklin at Kansas State (2007), Vanderbilt (2011-13) and Penn State (2014-19) before taking over the ODU program.Â
Virginia Tech’s Sept. 19 game at Maryland is the first for the Hokies in College Park, Maryland, since 2009 when the teams were ACC opponents.Â
Franklin spent two stints on Maryland’s staff from 2000-04 and 2008-10. His second stint was as the assistant head coach and head coach in waiting for Ralph Friedgen.Â
