Michael Dwayne Vick is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Vick played college football at Virginia Tech, where he received first-team All-American honors, and was selected first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. During his six years with the Falcons, he was named to three Pro Bowls and finished second in NFL Most Valuable Player voting in 2006 while leading the team on two playoff runs, one division title, and an NFC Championship Game appearance.
Bruce Bernard Smith is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was a twice All-American, and was selected first overall by the Bills in the 1985 NFL Draft.
The Virginia–Virginia Tech football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech Hokies football team of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The two schools first met in 1895 and have played annually since 1970. The game counts for 1 point in the Commonwealth Clash each year, and is part of the greater Virginia–Virginia Tech rivalry.
Charles Louis Howley is an American former football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He spent his first two seasons with the Chicago Bears, who selected him seventh overall in the 1958 NFL Draft, before playing the remainder of his career for the Cowboys. Recognized as an original member of the Doomsday Defense, Howley received six Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro selections, while appearing in two consecutive Super Bowls and winning Super Bowl VI. Howley was also named the MVP of Super Bowl V and is the only player on a losing team to receive the award. He will be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Robert Lee "Sam" Huff was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He played college football for West Virginia University. He is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
William McGarvey Dudley, nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football player who was a halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1972.
Cornell Desmond Brown is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for Virginia Tech, and earned All-American honors twice. Drafted late in the sixth round of the 1997 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. In 2013, Brown was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Franklin Mitchell Beamer is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer.
George Thomas Welsh was an American college football player and coach. He served as head football coach of the Navy Midshipmen football team of the United States Naval Academy from 1973 to 1981, and the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia from 1982 to 2000.
Clarence McKay "Ace" Parker was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played professional football as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–1941) and Boston Yanks (1945) and in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the New York Yankees. He was an All-American halfback at Duke University in 1936. Parker also played Major League Baseball during 1936 and 1937 with the Philadelphia Athletics. He served as the head baseball coach at Duke from 1953 to 1966. Parker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale was an American football and baseball player and coach.
The South's Oldest Rivalry is the name given to the North Carolina–Virginia football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia and the North Carolina Tar Heels football team of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Both have been members of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1953, but the Cavaliers and Tar Heels have squared off at least fifteen more times than any other two ACC football programs. Virginia and North Carolina also have extensive rivalries in several other sports.
Frank "Gunner" Gatski was an American professional football player who was a center for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) in the 1940s and 1950s. Gatski was one of the most heralded centers of his era. Known for his strength and consistency, he helped protect quarterback Otto Graham and open up running lanes for halfback Marion Motley as the Browns won seven league championships between 1946 and 1955. Gatski won an eighth championship after he was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1957, his final season.
Carroll Wayne Dale is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was an All-American at Virginia Tech and was a member of the Green Bay Packers teams that won three straight NFL championships, including the first two Super Bowls. He was originally from Wise, Virginia.
The Virginia Cavaliers football team represents the University of Virginia in the sport of American football. Established in 1888, Virginia plays its home games at Scott Stadium, capacity 61,500, featured directly on its campus near the Academical Village. UVA played an outsized role in the shaping of the modern game's ethics and eligibility rules, as well as its safety rules after a Georgia fullback died fighting the tide of a lopsided Virginia victory in 1897.
Anthony Scott Poindexter is an American football coach and former safety, who is the current safeties coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He played college football at Virginia from 1995 to 1998 for head coach George Welsh, and earned All-American honors. He then played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2001.
Michael Eugene Compton is a former American college and professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. Compton played college football for West Virginia University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American center. He played professionally for the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL, and started in Super Bowl XXXVI for the Patriots.
Tyrod Diallo Taylor is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Virginia Tech, leading the Hokies to the 2009 Orange Bowl as a Sophomore and 2011 Orange Bowl during his senior year. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft and served as the backup to starting quarterback Joe Flacco, including during the Ravens' Super Bowl XLVII victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They previously competed in the Big East. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, with a seating capacity of over 65,000 fans. Lane Stadium is considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country, being voted number two in ESPN's 2007 "Top 20 Scariest Places to Play". It was also recognized in 2005 by Rivals.com as having the best home-field advantage in the country.
Michael Wilson London Sr. is the current head football coach for the William & Mary Tribe football program at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is a former defensive back and associate head coach and defensive line coach for the University of Maryland, College Park. Prior to Maryland, London was the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers football program of the University of Virginia. Prior to William & Mary, London was head coach of the Howard Bison football program at Howard University in Washington, D.C. A native of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, London played college and pro football as a defensive back for the Richmond Spiders and Dallas Cowboys. He was a police officer and detective in Richmond, Virginia with the city's street crimes unit before pursuing a coaching career.
