Virginia Tech is gearing up for a seminal era under James Franklin. He’s quite the name to be attached to the Hokies after years of struggle. His arrival at Blacksburg has got the program’s well-wishers interested as well. One such hopeful gave VT a gift so big that it’s practically Christmas for Franklin and Co. And he hasn’t even begun coaching the Hokies yet!

Virginia Tech has become a talking point in CFB after years of languishing in the background. Franklin’s tenure marks the first time since the Frank Beamer era that the school has last made positive headlines. His arrival might have been the push for an NIL donor to gift Virginia Tech athletics a whopping $20 million, the school announced on December 15. Such an amount being linked to a program does sound odd. But the James Franklin factor makes it look possible.

“This gift and others made in support of the university’s commitment to excellence in athletics will empower new coach James Franklin and all other athletic programs to build top teams,” VT announced in a statement.

Simply put, James Franklin has become the poster boy of Virginia Tech athletics. The last time something like this happened was in 2017, when VT received a $15.2 million donation. The difference between the two numbers stands at $4.8 million, worth 7 months of Franklin’s salary, which is around $8 million. The $20 million is the largest ever single donation made in VT history.

It didn’t matter to the donor that he struggles competing against ranked teams, or that his Natty-contending team was the embarrassment of the season. What matters here is the impact Franklin brings, regardless of his results.

Virginia Tech has become an exciting financial opportunity for interested parties. It’d be too early to hope for the Hokies to become what the HC created at Penn State. But it can’t be cast out of possibility as well. Moreover, VT was already preparing to go big and bold with investments, which was what interested Franklin when he was looking for a job.

“We just started looking into Virginia Tech, and what was obvious right away was this place has recognized, ‘OK, we’re not where we wanna be. We’re not where we want to be, and now let’s come up with a plan, a very detailed plan of how we’re going to invest and how we’re going to get back to being the Virginia Tech that we all want to be,’” Franklin said in a VT Athletics interview.

The coach is earning $300,000 less at VT than his flashy job at Penn State. But he seems to have found a remarkable rhythm in his new home. The $20 million is going to be a massive boost to Franklin’s plans, which justify the donor’s desire to put their trust in VT.

Hokies recruitment under James Franklin is proof of the program’s growth under his leadership

Franklin has made quite the moves in his first month as head coach. He’s brought former HC Brent Pry, making use of the longstanding connection that developed when the latter was Franklin’s assistant.

More importantly, recruiting has shot up under the new head coach. Part of the vision that was associated with him is coming true, as his name makes VT an appealing program to prospects. Virginia Tech’s 2026 class is within the top 30 in the country. That is courtesy of Franklin raiding Penn State’s roster and him being one of the best recruiters in the DMV region.

James Franklin signed 22 recruits during the Early Signing Period. Out of them, 15 committed to VT after Franklin was named head coach. And out of them, 6 are 4-star players. The 2025 cycle only hosted 2 blue-chip recruits. This major boost in young talent is VT’s biggest win under Franklin. That is why donors are interested in investing in the program’s future now.

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Franklin, in his introductory speech, stressed that CFB recruiting is “transformational” for these young players, instead of “transactional.” But that doesn’t mean he won’t compete with others for talent.

“For us, we’re not going to lead with money,” Franklin said. “I want young men to choose our program because this is where they want to be, but for us, we then need to be competitive with all these other schools as well, because we’re not gonna ask these young people to walk away from significant money.”

Franklin prefers to build and nurture talent in-house more than seeking immediate options in the portal. We saw that in the way he built his Penn State team this season, which had an overwhelming number of seniors. At Virginia Tech, he plans to do something similar. And with the generously donated $20 million, Franklin is sure to kick up a storm.