By: Nate Murphy (@bigmurph23)
Oh, the irony. I’m sitting in my living room wearing one of my WVU t-shirts, a proud alum, and a vocal Virginia Tech Hookie hater. And yet here I am saying welcome to the league to that school from Blacksburg, Virginia. But there has been a lot of noise for multiple seasons to bring the Hookies into the CFSL. And while I may not have been one of the people asking for this I am more than happy to see them enter the league. It is overdue in my opinion. And with Pitt no longer in the league it puts a regional rival back in the league for my Mountaineers. So I took it upon myself to reach out to new Hookie AD Cory Mucci (MucciMane) and talk to him about bringing Tech into the league.
Nate: You had a great run at Cincinnati as the Interim AD, and now you are stepping up and coming on full-time. What made you want to become a full-time AD and what about the Virginia Tech program makes you want to be the one to bring them in?
Cory: Honestly having a supportive cast of teammates and coaches that made me feel like I could AD is what drove me to make the leap. As far as VTech I am a diehard Miami fan IRL but have always had a special place in my heart for VTech. Something about seeing the ROTC students lined up and hearing Enter Sandman sends shivers down my spine every single time.
N: Even as a Mountaineer fan I will admit that seeing the VT entrance at the beginning of games juices me up. Speaking of the Mountaineers there is a potential for a big rivalry to be born now with the Black Diamond Trophy an option in the CFSL. We don’t know what else is coming down the line before season 21, but what are your thoughts on the potential addition of that rivalry into the league?
C: WVU has been on the rise for the past handful of seasons to the point of making me nervous if I see them on my schedule. My goal is to make VTech a longstanding powerhouse also. I think the potential for a new rivalry of this magnitude is what the league needs. We have OSU vs Michigan and Alabama vs Auburn. Let’s bring in a rivalry from Appalachia.
N: One more for you. We have seen new programs come into the league and have varying success. Kentucky and WVU came in the same season. WVU was 0-8 and Kentucky made the playoffs. We have seen teams come in with great success out of the gates and teams that have taken time to build. Tech has brand recognition which can be a big help when starting out. With that, what are your realistic expectations and goals for Virginia Tech in season one?
C: A realistic goal of mine is to make the playoffs every year. Even if we are knocked out in the first round I want to be a successful team long term. I will never promise my players a natty because this league is more competitive than it’s ever been. But I can promise my team I’ll do what I can to extend our season every time.
Again I would like to thank Cory for taking a few minutes with me to answer my questions. While this Mountaineer is no fan of the Hookies I have nothing but respect for Cory as he brings them into the league. It is no easy task to bring a new team into the league. But after what he was able to do, helping the Bearcats into the playoffs, Cory will have Virginia Tech competing in no time. And I for one am looking forward to that first Black Diamond Trophy battle. It has been a long time coming. So go ahead, cut the lights, crank up the music, and sing it loud. It’s time to Enter Sandman.
