WHIT BABCOCK
CLASS OF 1988
ATHLETE
Between 1984 and1988, Multi-sport athlete Whit Babcock competed on three varsity teams at HHS; 2 years on the golf team and 4 years each in baseball and basketball. Whit played first base and was an occasional pitcher for the Blue Streaks. He was a reliable clutch-hitter contributing many hits and key runs for the Streaks.
Whit played basketball three years, 2 years as a starter. As a junior he was a leading rebounder and averaged nine points per game. During his senior year Coach Roger Bergey (HoF 2009) turned the forward/center into a 6’5’’ point guard. Whit led the Valley District in assists with nearly 5 per game. He averaged 12.6 points per game. This earned him third team honors in the Valley District. After graduating from HHS in 1988, Whit went on to James Madison University where he was a 4-year letterman on the baseball team and team captain his senior year. He also played in the Rockingham County Baseball League while at JMU.
Whit graduated from JMU and began a career in sports marketing with positions at JMU, West Virginia University (where he earned a Master’s degree in Sports Management) and Auburn University. Whit moved from marketing to athletic administration and became the associate executive athletic director at the University of Missouri, where he served for 5 years. In 2011 Whit became the athletic director at the University of Cincinnati.
On January 24, 2014 Virginia Tech announced Whit Babcock as their new Director of Athletics. He began making an immediate impact in the athletic program and the ACC. Since taking over, Whit hired successful coaches to take over football, women’s basketball and lacrosse and baseball teams. An article in the Daily News-Record by the late Chris Simmons headlined; “Babcock gets an A+ - superstar AD is born”.
Whit resides in Blacksburg with his wife Kelly and their 3 sons.
