20 years of Hokie Heroes
On fall Saturdays, as Lane Stadium vibrates with the roar of thousands of fans, Hokie Spirit echoes far beyond Blacksburg. In deserts, aboard ships, and on distant U.S. military bases, deployed Virginia Tech alumni tune in, raise maroon-and-orange flags, and feel a powerful connection to home. For two decades, the Hokie Heroes program has amplified that connection around the world.
Launched in 2006, Hokie Heroes recognizes alumni of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets serving overseas serving or working as civilians abroad. What began as a simple idea – reading the names and stories of deployed Hokies during football broadcasts – has grown into a meaningful, enduring tribute to service, sacrifice, and connection.
The program traces its roots to a collaboration between IMG College, longtime “Voice of the Hokies” Bill Roth and then-corps alumni director Col. Richard “Rock” Roszak. At the time, Roszak said, the Corps of Cadets was rebuilding and looking for ways to better connect with alumni who were serving their country, often far from campus.
“When I arrived in Blacksburg in 1994, the Corps was barely hanging on, with just 406 cadets,” Roszak said. “We knew how important it was to highlight the many alumni out there serving their country. Hokie Heroes started as a way to honor them and make sure they knew the corps – and Virginia Tech – had not forgotten them.”
As the program enters its third decade, it continues to honor individual sacrifice, strengthen bonds across continents, and remind the Virginia Tech community that the Hokie Spirit truly knows no bounds.
Chip Daniels ’93
“I was honored when the VTCC Alumni Director reached out to me while I was serving in Afghanistan in 2019,” noted Daniels, who at the time was an Army colonel deployed to eastern Afghanistan. “Unfurling my Hokie flag on top of the U.S. Forces - Afghanistan headquarters for a picture provided a much-needed break from a tough deployment.”
Kelly Dickerson ’96
“To be nominated as a Hokie Hero for a home football game is a profound honor,” said Dickerson, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army serving in Kuwait at the time of his recognition in 2015. “It is humbling to be recognized among so many former cadets who continue to serve, in uniform and beyond, guided by the enduring values of Ut Prosim.”
Camille Roberts ’22
“Being a Hokie Hero honoree meant the world to me,” noted Roberts, who was recognized in November 2025. “It is truly something I will cherish for the rest of my life. I love that I was able to represent the foundation and all Hokies past and present.”
Geoff Stewart ’92
“Participating in the Hokie Heroes program is tremendously important to alumni when we are deployed to remote and often dangerous locations,” said Geoff Stewart ’92, a colonel serving in the U.S. Army in Kabul when he was recognized in 2014. “It reminds us of a normal that we can't wait to get back to. More importantly, it reminds us of what we are out there protecting back home.”