The Hokies added the Yankees logo to their Pinstripe Bowl helmets this season, but it was not solely because the team is playing at Yankee Stadium. The two teams have been interlinked for over a decade.
On April 16, 2007, over 30 people were killed in a shooting on Virginia Tech's campus, including the shooter. In wake of the tragedy, the Yankees made a $1 million donation to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund and invited the school's police and rescue squads to the stadium to be honored before the Yankees' May 23 game.
Almost a year later on March 18, 2008, New York played an exhibition game against the Hokies in Blacksburg.
“For [Then-Yankees owner] George Steinbrenner and those guys, and not just the money that them, all the players and the organization donated, but for them to donate their time,” Virginia Tech interim coach J.C. Price said to the Washington Post. “Taking time out of their schedule when they could have been anywhere else but Blacksburg, Virginia, to play a baseball game, that’s what makes our feelings toward the Yankees very special.”
According to the Post, Price educated the current team about the significance on playing in Yankee Stadium, playing a video of the MLB franchise's visit. The Hokies decided to honor the relationship with a special helmet.
The interlocking “NY” logo is on one side with the classic “VT” on the other.
“I didn’t know about the history of the Yankees and Virginia Tech,” center Brock Hoffman said to The Virginian-Pilot. “With what they did for us, it means a lot to play in this game.”
