BLACKSBURG, Va. – Hundreds of fans showed up to the reveal of the new statue of Virginia Tech's Hall of Fame football coach Frank Beamer. It's located on Moody Plaza outside of Lane Stadium. The life-sized bronze figure is not on a pedestal; it's just as approachable as Beamer was. The legendary former head coach led the Hokies to 238 wins, 23 consecutive bowl game appearances, four ACC championships and a national title game appearance in 1999.
10 Sports sat down with Beamer exclusively earlier in the week, and he told a personal story of the timing of the unveiling. He said when he was visiting his son, Shane, who's on the Oklahoma football staff, he noticed all the statues and said Virginia Tech doesn't have many statues. Just a couple weeks after that, he got the call.
"You like to think you've had a lasting impression on a program, and then to get a statue of me there forever, I'm just really very honored, very proud, and very thankful," Beamer said.
Beamer mentioned that this isn't just "his statue." It's for his family, the players and the community.