Ut Prosim
“That I May Serve” is Virginia Tech’s motto and a standard for how Hokies show up for one another and their communities.
Virginia Tech history and traditions
The Manhattan Hokies experience
A little Blacksburg.
A lot of New York.
See how Virginia Tech traditions, service, game day, and friendship take root in New York.
Begin the story ↓
01
Find your people
New York is enormous.
Community makes it smaller.
A first introduction can become a familiar face, a helpful connection, or a lasting friendship.
Meet the chapter
02
Game day
One kickoff.
A room full of Hokies.
When a Manhattan venue is confirmed, the game page lists the time, location, and participation details.
Plan the season03 · Ut Prosim
“That I May Serve”
In New York, that spirit lives through scholarships, mentoring, volunteer service, welcoming new Hokies, and Hokies helping Hokies.
04 · Virginia Tech traditions
The things every Hokie
recognizes.
Some traditions are carved in stone. Others begin with a chant, a cannon, or a stadium moving together. In New York, they give Hokies an instant point of recognition.
Let’s Go, Hokies
The call and response gathers Lane Stadium into one voice before the football team’s entrance.
Gameday in LaneEnter Sandman
Virginia Tech introduced the Lane Stadium walkout in 2000. The now-famous jumping grew from a spontaneous cold-night moment in 2001.
Virginia Tech MagazineSkipper
The Corps of Cadets’ cannon, named for President John F. Kennedy’s naval service, marks scores and special occasions.
Virginia Tech Athletics traditionsHokie Stone
The locally quarried limestone first appeared in campus construction in 1899 and gives Virginia Tech its unmistakable sense of place.
Virginia Tech history and traditionsThe Corps of Cadets
The Corps reaches back to the university’s founding in 1872 and carries a living tradition of leadership and service.
Virginia Tech Corps of CadetsTradition references link to official Virginia Tech sources. No third-party music, performance footage, or unlicensed tradition media is embedded.
Institutional history
From VAMC
to Virginia Tech.
This university timeline is separate from the Manhattan chapter archive.
Virginia Tech history and traditions- 1872
The university opens
Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College opens in Blacksburg.
- 1896
The identity takes shape
Chicago maroon and burnt orange become the school colors, and the shield is adopted.
- 1944
VPI
The institution becomes Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
- 1970
Virginia Tech
The formal name becomes Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The next chapter
Carry the tradition
forward in New York.
Gather. Serve. Mentor. Welcome. Manhattan Hokies becomes stronger when more Hokies take part.
Get involved