Turn Up The Wick!

Description for TURN UP THE WICK! by Frank Beamer with Christ Colston:

It is the classic Horatio Alger story that all young boys used to dream about: quarterback the local high school team to the league title game, earn a scholarship to play college football for the nearby university team, marry your college sweetheart, then later return to coach your alma mater's team in the national championship game.

Frank Beamer's journey from the mountaintop town of Hillsville, VA, to the top of the college football world has been all of that ---and more.

He overcame a childhood tragedy to later play defensive back for, and captain, Jerry Claiborne's great Virginia Tech teams of the late 1960's.

Beamer then followed Claiborne's example and got into coaching. Beginning as an assistant at Radford High he tasted success with the Bobcats' 2-A state championship in 1971. He later joined Claiborne's new staff at the University of Maryland, then went to work for future Detroit Lions coach Bobby Ross, who asked him to coach defense on Mike Gottfried's staff at Murray State.

When Gottfried left to take the head coaching job at Cincinnati after the 1980 season, Beamer took over and led the Racers to a 43-23-2 record in six seasons and was names Ohio Valley co-champions in 1986.

His alma mater then came calling.

Beamer returned to Virginia Tech in 1987, replacing Bill Dooley, who had coached the Hokies to a 64-37-1 record and three bowl games in nine seasons, but was forced out after a controversy-plagued season in 1986 when Tech roared to a 9-2-1 season and a nail-biting 25-24 Peach Bowl win.

Probation soon hit the Virginia Tech program and it would take Beamer and his staff seven seasons to make the hokies big-time winners again.

Since then, Beamer's Tech teams have averaged more than nine wins a season, won 3 Big East titles and have been to seven straight bowl games.

It all came together for the Hokies in 1999 when they captured the hearts of most college football fans after marching to an unforgettable 11-0 season and a showdown with Florida State in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship title.

TURN UP THE WICK is the inspiring story of the hard-working, emotional leader of the Hokies who has taken his alma mater to its greatest hour.