"Old Hokie" is a spirited cheer, often used by fans of Virginia Tech's athletic teams. It was coined by Oscar M. Stull (Class of 1896) in a winning student body contest entry to mark the changing of the university's name from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC) to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Agricultural and Mechanical College (VPI) in 1896. According to Stull, "Hokie" is a nonsensical word he made up purely as an attention-getter.[1][2]

In Stull's original version of Old Hokie, several words were spelled differently including "Hokie" itself. The current version adds the 'e' to Hokie and also adds "Team! Team! Team!".[3] After chanting the last line, students hold one hand against a fist with an outward facing thumb to symbolize a turkey and wiggle their fingers.

One person shouts, "ONE, TWO! ONE, TWO!"
Hokie Hokie Hokie Hy
Tech Tech V.P.I!
Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah
Poly Tech Vir-gin-ia
Ray Rah V.P.I.
Team! Team! Team!
<gobble noises>

See also

References

  1. ^ Linn, Stephen (2007). The ultimate tailgater's ACC handbook. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press. pp. 146. ISBN 978-0-7627-4500-5.
  2. ^ Harrow, Jeremy (2008). Football in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1st ed.). New York: Rosen Pub. Group. ISBN 978-1-4042-1918-2.
  3. ^ "What is a Hokie? | Virginia Tech Home | Virginia Tech". Archived from the original on 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
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