Beamer reunion possible in 2025
Gamecocks coach could face alma mater in Chick-fil-A game
Setting up the potential for a reunion with Shane Beamer, Virginia Tech will play South Carolina in the 2025 Chickfil-A Kickoff football game in Atlanta.
Though a source with knowledge of the situation reveals the Virginia TechSouth Carolina matchup was finalized before Beamer was hired last month to be the Gamecocks’ new coach, it’s possible the game could serve as an opportunity for Beamer to coach against his alma mater. It will be Tech’s third appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, having lost in 2009 and 2013 games against Alabama.
“Welook forward to showcasing our program in a front of a national television audience in one of the nation’s premier sporting venues, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta,” Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said in a statement. “I’m confident we’ll see a strong contingent of our fan base cheering on the Hokies in their inaugural game in that facility and visiting the College Football Hall of Fame that weekend. We feel very confident about the strength of our scheduling going forward as well as
its appeal to Tech fans across the country.”
Beamer, 43, was a long snapper and wide receiver at Tech from 1995-99 while playing for his father, Frank. Before earning his first head-coaching job at South Carolina, which will be making its first appearance in the Chick-fil-AKickoff, Shane Beamer’s five stops as a full-time assistant coach over 17 seasons included a stint from 2011-15 at Tech working under his dad as a running backs coach.
With the addition of this game, which will be played either Aug. 31 or Sept. 1, 2025, and be televised by either ABC or ESPN, Tech had to make some scheduling adjustments to accommodate it. Home-and-home games matching Tech and Penn State have now been placed on an indefinite hold.
The Tech-South Carolina game essentially replaces a previously scheduled Tech game at Penn State in the 2025 season. Penn State was going to play last September at Tech, but that game was eliminated from the 2020 schedule as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Babcock has stated in the past both Tech and Penn State will try to see if there are opportunities to play home-and-home games against each other in the future.
Before the Tech-South Carolina game was arranged, the Hokies were scheduled to open the 2025 season on Aug. 30 at homeagainst Vanderbilt. That game has now been moved to Sept. 6 — the second week on Tech’s 2025 slate.