Virginia Tech Athletics puts a lot of money into the New River Valley economy

Virginia Tech Athletics, in particular, obviously, football, is a key economic engine for the Blacksburg-Roanoke area.

This, we bring up, in case you were wondering why the school is committing $229 million over the next four years to upgrade its athletics programs.

According to a new report commissioned by the Virginia Tech Foundation, Tech Athletics generated $479.5 million in economic impact in fiscal year 2025, supporting 4,372 full-time equivalent jobs and producing $35.6 million in state and local tax revenue.

That’s on the strength of more than 500,000 people traveling to Blacksburg for athletic events, driving tourism, hospitality, retail and service-sector activity in the New River Valley.

Virginia Tech President Tim Sands highlighted these figures in his annual State of the University Address held Wednesday afternoon at the Virginia Tech Center for the Arts.

“At Virginia Tech, intercollegiate athletics is foundational to our regional economy, creates indelible connections between students, alumni and the university, expands our national brand, and illuminates the importance of the durable skills that the student-athlete experience reinforces as a foundation for leadership and well-being in later life,” Sands said.

“Last year, the changing collegiate athletics landscape gave us a choice — step back or rise to meet the opportunity. We rose,” Sands said.