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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 21, 2011

Frank Beamer

THE MODERATOR: We now welcome Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer.
COACH BEAMER: I think this week we'll find out more about our football team. We take a step forward and we played well at home for two games, starting off against East Carolina, I didn't think mentally we were as well prepared as we need to be.
We have a situation this week where we are going into a place again that's going to be in a frenzy, so I think we'll see if this football team has taken a step forward. Because we need to be mentally ready to go and physically ready to go against a team that's got good players and I know they are going to be ready to play.

Q. I know you have a lot of things going on, but the ACC expansion, your thoughts on that, and if the conference did go to 16 teams, what other teams would you like to see join?
COACH BEAMER: Well, I think John Swofford has done a great job with the leadership of our conference and our league.
And being out front, I think the way this thing is going, you've got to position yourself to be strong, and I think we made ourselves stronger in the last week. I think that is exactly the way we needed to go.
And I'll leave that, who else joins, up to other people. I'm just trying to get our football team ready for Marshall, and that's quite a chore. That's a big challenge for us right now.

Q. Curious, why do you think continuity is so important, looking at Virginia Tech, I think you've had the same coordinators there for eight, nine years and a lot of success. Why is continuity so important on a coning staff?
COACH BEAMER: I think if you've got good people, you certainly work like heck to keep them, and that's what we have done here. I think you've got a decision of making a ballgame in about five seconds, and you've been through it before or you've talked about it before, you've got a better chance of getting it right; and usually that means people has been with you.
I think in recruiting, it helps if you're going back into the same high schools with the same people basically. So I think from every standpoint, if you've got the right people, you try to keep them and you have a chance to be a consistent football team.
And that's one thing we take pride in here at Virginia Tech, is we have been an up-and-down football team; but year-in, year-out, we have been a fairly consistent football team. So I think that goes back to keeping basically your coaching staff intact.

Q. I was talking to Danny Ford (ph), he thought Clemson's roadmap should be Virginia Tech, he thinks they are similar programs in a lot of ways. Just how the fan base, alumni, makes up those memberships -- what do you think the roadmap is -- why do you think Virginia Tech's roadmap was a success in addition to continuity?
COACH BEAMER: Well, I think Danny's right, in that I think the fan base, fans really support the school and we are kind of college towns and I think there's a lot of similar things.
But I think what really got Virginia Tech going was becoming a member of the Big East football conference, because that's an avenue to TV and was an avenue to Bowl games. Certainly being able to come into the ACC, which is a perfect conference for us, you know, has been big.
And then you know, you've got to have some good players, and we have had our share of those, the Michael Vicks, and you could go on and on, the guys that you've got to have those guys.
And I do think being consistent in how we do business, we practice the same way, we practice the same way after a loss as we do a win. If we lose we trying to figure out what went wrong and correct it and try to win the next time.
I don't think we are an up-and-down staff, so I don't think our football team becomes an up-and-down football team. I think we are fairly consistent football team. So I think that's kind of generally what I would say.

Q. I know you're focused on Marshall this week, but can I ask a bigger question about the ACC? The idea that you guys in the national scene, don't play a high-profile non-conference game, how important was it for Virginia Tech that the ACC had a huge week with Clemson, a team you're playing in a couple of weeks beating Auburn and Georgia State and Georgia Tech playing so well; does that help your prospects of making a national splash, since you don't have the really high profile non-conference team?
COACH BEAMER: Well, I think that takes place over a period of time. I think last Saturday certainly helped. But I don't think one Saturday determines how you're thought of in college football worlds.
I think it's over a period of time, and I've said many times, with the coaching in this league, with the programs in this league, with the facilities improving in this league, I think the ACC play enough ballgames, they are going to have a good reputation nationally as far as a player there.

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