Va Tech Receives Record $20M Gift After James Franklin Hired as CFB HC

The future is starting to look bright for Virginia Tech athletics.

Virginia Tech announced Monday its athletic department received an anonymous gift of $20 million, which is the largest gift from a donor ever given to the Hokies for sports.

The latest gift surpassed Virginia Tech athletics' previous record of $15.2 million donated in 2017.

As the announcement explained, it also came after the school revealed its Invest to Win plan "to empower Virginia Tech Athletics to excel in the NCAA's current Division I and Football Bowl Subdivision I landscapes."

The plan is to invest $229 million into athletics with a combination of donations and operational money.

It also comes after the football program made national headlines by hiring James Franklin as its new head coach heading into the 2026 season.

"The passion of Virginia Tech fans is unmatched and their continued generosity will help elevate our program," Franklin said of the donation. "There's a clear sense of excitement from our fans about where we're headed. This unprecedented level of support is critical and creates powerful momentum for everything we're building."

Franklin was available after Penn State fired him during the 2025 season. While the Nittany Lions disappointed on the way to a 6-6 record, they reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoff just last season under Franklin.

And the new head coach wasted little time establishing himself at Virginia Tech by quickly putting together the No. 24 class for the 2026 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Now he and the rest of the athletic department will have even more money to operate with moving forward following this record donation.