BLACKSBURG — The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame continues to grow in prestige and tradition as two NCAA champions and two Super Bowl champions along with multiple ACC titleholders were selected as part of the seven-strong 2022 class.
The 2022 class of initiates includes:
Bruce Arians, a former Virginia Tech quarterback (1971-74) with over eight years of experience as a head coach in the NFL. In 2021 he won the Lombardi Trophy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kam Chancellor, a two-time ACC champion who recorded a total of 208 tackles in his Virginia Tech career. Chancellor became the Super Bowl champion and a two-time All-Pro player.
Mike Gentry, a strength and conditioning coach, has been a staple in the growth of Virginia Tech football. The 29-year-old valet in the athletics department was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coach Hall of Fame in 2010.
Dorotea Habazin, a three-time All-American who became the second woman to win a national championship at Virginia Tech. Habazin won four ACC titles in her career, including three in the hammer throw and one in the weight throw.
Vince Hall, a four-year starter who holds the Virginia Tech record for consecutive games, started (44). Hall was a 2006 recipient of the Dudley Award, which recognizes the best Virginia college football player.
Marcel Lomnický, one of the most successful Virginia Tech athletes of all time with two national championships and three Olympic Games appearances. Lomnicky became the third Hokie to win multiple NCAA titles in 2012 with his weight throwing championship.
Sara Smith, a six-time ACC champion who received All-American honors in 2007. Smith was also named 2008 ACC Swimmer and Scuba Diver of the Year.
Years at Virginia Tech: 1970-1974
Notable: Super Bowl LV Champion, two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year
Arians became the first Virginia Tech graduate to win the Super Bowl as head coach when he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Arians managed a team that included fellow hokies Cody Grimm and Nick Rapone and won the second Lombardi Trophy of his career with Tampa Bay’s impressive performance on Feb. 7, 2021. He was an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they won in the Super Cup XLIII.
Throughout his career, Arians has been part of a variety of legendary institutions and organizations in collegiate and professional sports. He worked as an assistant at Virginia Tech, Alabama and Mississippi State before getting his first stint as head coach at Temple in 1983. After a five-year stint with the Owls, Arianer worked with the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers before landing head coaching positions with the Colts, Arizona Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Arians resigned from his top spot at Tampa Bay after the 2021 season. He ended his coaching career as the oldest coach to win the Super Bowl, two AP NFL Coach of the Year honors, and 107 career wins between his stints as a collegiate and professional head whistle.
Prior to his success in the coaching ranks, Arians was quarterback for the Hokies from 1971 to 1974 before serving as an assistant at Blacksburg. He held the record for most rushed touchdowns in a single season by a tech quarterback (11) for over 40 years until Jerod Evans surpassed the mark with 12 in the 2016 season.
Arian remains closely involved with the game of football today as he works in Tampa Bay’s front office. In 2013 he and his wife Christine established the Arians Family Foundation which supports CASA (Children Appointed Special Advocates) to ensure that children caught up in the court system as a result of abuse or neglect by their families receive the love and help that they need. The couple also made a generous contribution to the Reach for Excellence campaign in October 2021.
Years at Virginia Tech: 2006-2009
Notable: Super Bowl XLVIII champion, four Pro Bowl appearances, two-time All-Pro selection
Chancellor made his name as a dominant defenseman in Blacksburg for four years before going on to an impressive eight-year career in the NFL. During his time with the Seattle Seahawks, he was an integral part of the “Legion of Boom,” the nickname given to Seattle’s secondary, who appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls in 2014 and 2015.
A fifth-round draft pick in 2010, Chancellor made an appearance early in his NFL career with the Seahawks and quickly caught the league’s attention in 2012 as a Pro Bowl pick. In 2013 he received his first All Pro award. Record 99 tackles and three interceptions. Chancellor’s season ended in style when the Norfolk, Virginia native defeated Peyton Manning in the Seahawks’ 43-8 win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. He tailed off that season with another All-Pro year and his third Pro Bowl selection in 2014. Again Seattle found themselves in the Super Bowl but ultimately fell 28-24 to the New England Patriots.
Chancellor’s career would continue for three more seasons, including a 2016 season in which he recorded 85 tackles and two interceptions, despite only appearing in 12 games.
The theme of Chancellor meeting and exceeding expectations began at Virginia Tech in 2006 when he came on campus as a quarterback but was moved to defense before his freshman season. While with the Hokies, Chancellor was part of two tech teams that won the ACC Championship Game and the 2009 Orange Bowl. In 2009, he received second-team All-ACC honors.
Chancellor now lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife and children. Since retiring from football he has been involved in business ventures and has worked with footwear company Marc Nolan.
Position: Strength and Conditioning Coach
Years at Virginia Tech: 1987-2015
Notable: USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame, 2005 Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year (American Football Monthly), Master Strength and Conditioning Coach
Gentry joined Virginia Tech’s staff in 1987 with legendary head coach Frank Beamer and throughout his 29-year career has been instrumental in building one of the nation’s most successful football programs.
“Mike Gentry’s strength and conditioning program was the foundation upon which we have built so much of our success at Virginia Tech,” Beamer said after Gentry’s retirement in 2015. “Mike has put his heart and soul into our student athletes for 29 years . He pushed them forward as athletes and helped make them better people.”
While at Tech, Gentry oversaw the strength and conditioning of all varsity athletic programs while also overseeing the sports nutrition and sports psychology departments.
Well-respected both in Blacksburg and across the country, Gentry was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010, while American Football Monthly also named him Samson Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year in 2005.
In May 2003, Gentry was honored by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches as one of 36 coaches in the country to receive the association’s top honor when he was named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach. Prior to arriving at Virginia Tech, Gentry served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in North Carolina and worked as a head strength and conditioning coach in East Carolina.
Gentry’s legacy at Tech was remembered when he retired by establishing an endowment bursary in his name.
Years at Virginia Tech: 2008-2011
Notable: Three-time All American, NCAA Champion, four-time ACC Champion
Habazin became the second woman (Queen Harrison) in Virginia Tech history to win a national championship when she won the hammer throw title at the 2011 NCAA Championships. That moment capped an illustrious career for the Croatian, who finished second at the same event in 2010.
Habazin always seemed to keep popping up on the national stage, having placed in the top four in the hammer throw in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Those results all boded well for All-America honors, including the national championship, which she ended her tech career with.
Habazin also won four ACC championships in her career, including three hammer throw titles (2008, 2009 and 2011). In 2009, she doubled and took the ACC weight throwing title.
Between 2011 and 2021, Habazin held the ACC record for the hammer throw (68.36 m), which also served as the Virginia Tech school record until 2022.
Years at Virginia Tech: 2003-2007
Notable: Dudley Award winner, three-time All-ACC honoree, has recorded over 100 tackles in three seasons
Hall became a mainstay in the Hokies’ lineup throughout his career, including a streak of 44 games started back-to-back, a record that still stands. During that time, he received All-ACC honors three times and was named the 2006 winner of the Dudley Award, which recognizes the top college football player in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As a freshman in 2004, Hall joined the starting lineup and recorded 64 tackles from the mike linebacker position. Though an impressive feat, those numbers were remarkably the smallest of his four-year career. In his last three seasons, Hall surpassed 100 tackles every year, including a career-high 128 in 2006.
The 2006 season was Hall’s most dominant as he had 10.5 tackles for losses and two sacks in his 128 total tackles en route to first-team All-ACC recognition.
Despite missing four games during his senior season, Hall still had 100 tackles and recorded 3.5 sacks, which was good for All-ACC Honorable Mention honors.
Hall spent time with the practice squads of the St. Louis Rams and Buffalo Bills after leaving Virginia Tech.
Years at Virginia Tech: 2008-2012
Notable: Six-time All-American, two NCAA titles, three Olympic appearances
Lomnický, Virginia Tech’s only three-time Olympian, was one of the most successful hokies in school history, winning multiple national and conference titles in his career. His 2012 NCAA weight throwing championship made him the third Virginia Tech track and field athlete to win multiple national titles.
In 2009, Lomnický won his first national championship in the hammer throw, the same year he earned his first All-America pitch in the weight throw. By the time his career was over, Lomnický had six All-America recognitions to his name.
In addition to his successes on the national stage, Lomnický has had five ACC titles. He took the weight throwing crown in 2009 and 2012 while winning three consecutive hammer throw championships between 2009 and 2011. His 2011 hammer throw record of 74.84 m is still considered the school record.
However, Lomnický’s dominance extends far beyond the collegial realm. The Slovak has participated in three Olympic Games, five World Championships and five European Championships. His appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics made him the first hokie to compete in three Olympics.
Lomnický, who still competes professionally with VSC Dukla Banska Bystrica, lives in Nitra, Slovakia with his wife and two children.
Years at Virginia Tech: 2005-2009
Notable: All-American in 2007, six-time All-America Honorable Mention, six ACC titles, three-time All-ACC selection
Smith became a sophomore in the 100 Freestyle All-American in 2007 before earning six other All-America nominations over the course of her career. In addition to her success in the national spotlight, Smith has picked up six ACC titles – five as individuals and one as a relay.
In four seasons, Smith earned All-ACC recognition three times in her career. In 2008, she was named the 2008 ACC Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A biology major with a chemistry minor, Smith was named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District III team in 2008.
Smith ended her career as a fixture in Virginia Tech’s record books. At the time of her graduation, she was considered the fastest swimmer in Tech and ACC history for her senior preliminary round times. Smith ended her career as a school record holder in the 50 and 100 freestyle and still holds the school records over a decade later, along with the Tech record in the 200 freestyle relay.
After completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Virginia Tech, Smith studied veterinary medicine at NC State and is now a veterinarian in Denver, Colorado.
The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will be inducted in a ceremony at The Inn at Virginia Tech on Friday, November 4. The Hokies’ November 5 game against Georgia Tech will see the seven new signings honored at halftime.
