BLACKSBURG — The women's basketball edition of ESPN's “College GameDay” began at Virginia Tech for the first time Sunday morning.
Hokies fan Nancy Bloom of Christiansburg wanted to get to the stands at Cassel Coliseum to experience it.
“I went to every home game this year, but I couldn't miss this one,” she said. “This is the greatest thing to ever happen to Blacksburg and women's basketball in this region.”
Bloom became a season ticket holder this season after Virginia Tech advanced to the Final Four in 2023.
“We came to [first two rounds of the] NCAA tournament [at Cassell] “Last year I got hooked,” she said. They've pushed women's basketball to the forefront, and I think that's great. ”
About 3,500 raucous Virginia Tech fans gathered in Cassel for “College GameDay,” which was broadcast live from 11 a.m. to noon. College GameDay staff including Elle Duncan, Andraya Carter, Carolyn Peck and Chiney Ogwumike put on a show from the Cassel court, with Tech fans in the stands behind them.
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The program aired before the Hokies' final home game of the regular season against North Carolina. The 2 p.m. game was televised by the ACC Network and had a capacity crowd of 8,925 fans.
Tech University became the first Atlantic Coast Conference school to host a women's basketball version of College GameDay.
“This is my first time in Cassel, so it's a really, really cool moment,” Roanoke season ticket holder Mike Kuhn said. “The girls did some really great things this year.”
Fans cheered when College GameDay analysts discussed the No. 8 and No. 1 Hokies, and booed when they discussed LSU and Iowa State. Fans went wild when Hokies coach Kenny Brooks and tech stars Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore were interviewed during the show.
After the show, host Duncan told the fans: She said she set them the “highest bar” and promised she would bring the show back at Virginia Tech.
Hokies fan Rhonda Hodge of Bland was part of the “College Game Day” crowd.
“This is a first for women's basketball at Virginia Tech, and I graduated here in 1985, so I wanted to be a part of it live at the Coliseum,” she said.
Hodge and a friend became season ticket holders this season.
“Kitley and Amoore, we wanted to see them through their final years,” she said.
Sunday's game was Virginia Tech's fifth full house this year. Until this year, Tech had never had a full house for a regular-season women's basketball game.
Virginia Tech becomes only the sixth school to host a women's College GameDay.
”[Hosting the program] “This is a demonstration of the support that has rallied behind this team,” said Virginia Tech Athletic Director Whit Babcock. “We want to put a good face on the university's athletic department. This is what Virginia Tech is all about, and we're proud of it.
“Last year, the women’s team gave us three weeks of commercials. [during the NCAA tournament] And here we are today.
“It's a big day for Virginia Tech.”
Sunday's program was the third of five women's “College GameDay” shows this season.
Some fans brought autographs to show off for the ESPN cameras. The sign reads “Retired #33,” a reference to Kitley's jersey number. Another article reads, “The only queens I bow down to,” noting that Amoor and Kitley were known as the “Queens of Kassel.”
Another sign mentions graduate students Kitley and Kayla King, both in their fifth and final seasons at Tech, and Amoor, a fourth-year student who may return to Tech for another year. “Thank you, Liz and Kayla, Georgia,'' it read. of qualifications.
When Amoore and Kitley appeared on the court for an interview on “College Game Day,” fans chanted “One more year” and “Queen of Cassel.”
Virginia Tech graduate Carlos Lama's sign read, “One more year in Georgia.”
Rama lives in Chantilly, but he and his 16-year-old daughter wanted to attend Sunday's show.
“As the team continued to play better and better, I started to realize how limited this team's time in Blacksburg was and I had to be a part of it,” Lama said. “This is the third game of the new year.
“I … didn't want to let this team pass without being able to say I was there, I saw them play, I did my part to be a voice in the stands.”
Virginia Tech joins UConn, LSU and Tennessee as the only schools to host both the men's and women's basketball editions of “College GameDay.” Tech joins LSU and Tennessee as the only schools to host football, men's basketball and women's basketball versions of “College GameDay.”
“Virginia Tech has a reputation for really putting things together for 'GameDay,'” said Candy Stowers of Christiansburg, a women's basketball season ticket holder.
Lauren Chan, a fourth-year technology student, has been watching most of the women's basketball team's games this season and wanted to be part of the “College Game Day” atmosphere on Sunday.
“Being on 'College Gameday' on TV is something I'll probably never experience again,” she said.
“I love rooting for the Hokies. … They're a fun team to watch. Georgia Amoore and Liz Kitley, they do a really great job.”
