Virginia Tech continues to wear a wide array of helmet designs since the time Frank Beamer became head coach. Since 1987, the Hokies have worn over 50 different variances. Here is a look at every helmet design and detail from those years. Every design has been replicated on a Riddell Revo Speed helmet template for continuity. If there are any additions or changes to be made, please email me. – Clark Ruhland
In the days following the tragic death of three UVA football players, Tech and other Virginia-based football programs added a solidarity decal on the back of the helmets. The ACC also adds a UVA logo decal to all conference helmets as a memorial.
A new set of thinner stripes are changed on the matte white finish helmets. The orange stripe in the center is metallic 1" orange flanked by 1/2" maroon stripes.
The start of the Brent Pry era began with a return to the solid maroon helmet with white VT. Gone is the American flag on the back, but the Commonwealth of Virginia and ACC decals remain.
Playing in the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl, Virginia Tech got special approval from Major League Baseball to wear the NY Yankees logo on one side of the helmet as a thanks for the Yankees relationship with Virginia Tech after the events of April 16, 2007. The NY logo is the one used on the hat, which features straighter edges.
The stripes are removed for the first time on the maroon helmets since 2015 as part of a late 90's throwback uniform.
Virginia Tech announces its Sesquicentennial celebration at the 2021 Homecoming game. The 150 Years decals are added to the back of the helmets.
The "UNITY" decal is added to the rear center of the white helmet in 2021.
A "UNITY" decal is added to the rear center of the maroon helmet in 2021.
White helmets return in 2020 with only white facemasks for the entire season.
The standard maroon helmet remains the same design from 2018.
An orange Lunchpail is added to commemorate the final game for legendary Defensive Coordinator Bud Foster and his symbolic Lunchpail Defense icon.
Tech changes the facemask from the first white helmet back to maroon for the Rhode Island game.
The first white helmet is worn early in the season in the annual White Out game.
The metallic orange helmet from 2017 makes a return against Furman but features the back decal layout of 2018/19.
For the third straight season, Tech wears the white facemask against Boston College.
For the first time since 1995-1996, the standard maroon helmet is exactly the same as the previous season.
The success of the white facemask is carried to the matte helmet to finish out the 2018 season.
The only white helmet worn in 2018 was worn twice in back-to-back weeks.
Based on success from 2017, Tech brings back the throwback look against Boston College.
Heavily discussed for many years, the matte maroon helmet makes a return for the first time since 2012 paired with the standard maroon helmet decal layout.
The Virginia outline decal from 2016 makes a return on the back of the standard maroon helmet.
The fifth and final white helmet design of 2017. The white facemask is swapped for a maroon one, resembling the Belk Bowl helmet from 2016.
The fourth white helmet design of 2017. The orange VT decal is changed to a maroon one.
The orange helmet design from 2016 was brought back with the addition of the 125 decal on the back.
Third white helmet design of 2017 is worn for the annual Orange Effect game against North Carolina. Paired with an orange jersey, the matte white finish helmet featured the same stripe design worn on the 2016 bowl helmets.
The 2017 maroon helmet swaps to a white facemask for a road game against Boston College. The look is similar to the helmet worn in the late 1980's and early 1990's under Coach Frank Beamer.
A similar matte white helmet design from 2014 is worn for Military Appreciation Day featuring the official American Flag VT design with a red-blue-red triple stripe across the top that tapers.
A white version of the Hokie Stone helmet returns for 2017. Smilar to the black one, it features a matte finish.
The helmet stripes from 2016 return for the 2017 season. Virginia Tech football celebrates 125 years with a commemorative decal on the back of every helmet throughout the season. It replaces the Commonwealth of Virginia outline. A 3D neck bumper is also added.
A new matte white helmet shell is introduced for the bowl game at the end of the season featuring an alternate design to the standard maroon helmet look. The helmet features metallic finish decals and a maroon metallic facemask.
A decal signifying the Hokie Club's "Drive for 25" campaign to increase membership to 25,000 is added for the final home game of the season and the ACC Championship game.
Three weeks prior to the Battle at Bristol, a special Hokie Stone uniform was released. It features a matte black helmet with a Hokie Stone VT outlined in white. This marks the second time "Virginia Tech" is across the back bumper.
The triple-color helmet returns to the rotation in 2016. It was featured in the Nike redesign promotional video.
Justin Fuente was a huge fan of the orange helmet the Hokies wore when he watched the 2015 Ohio State game. Due to the low visibility of the clear VT decal in 2015, the new decal is solid white with a maroon outline.
The Justin Fuente era begins with the addition of the tapered helmet stripes worn on the Frank Beamer tribute helmet in 2015. It marks the first time stripes are worn on the maroon helmet on a regular basis since the 1997 season. A new Commonwealth of Virginia decal is added with a VT inside the outline. The American flag is moved to the left side of the helmet.
For the final two games of the season, Tech adds white facemasks and stripes to replicate the helmet worn at the beginning of Frank Beamer's career. The Hokies won the final two games.
The program debuts black uniforms for Frank Beamer's final home game. The solid black helmet features a three-stripe tapered design with orange VT logo on one side. The other side features the number 25, signifying Beamer's uniform number when he played at Tech.
A decal honoring Frank Beamer is added to the helmet for the first game after his retirement announcement.
The Virginia decal on the back is moved to the left side of the helmet.
Slight change to the VT decal with the distance increased between the V and T to more resemble the logo used by the university. The gold metal fleck is changed to orange metal fleck in the base of the maroon paint.
The WDBJ tribute decal is removed.
The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund decal is removed.
A white, orange and maroon striped design is worn for Military Appreciation Day similar to the design worn by Navy in 2012 and 2013.
A solid metallic orange helmet with a transparent VT decal to allow the paint to shine through. The ACC changed the logo to a football design used by the conference. The team pays tribute with a helmet decal to WDBJ-TV employees Alison Parker and Adam Ward who lost their lives less than two weeks before the game. Ward was a 2011 graduate of Virginia Tech and an avid Hokie fan. The decal features the 7 logo from WDBJ along with a teal ribbon honoring Parker and a maroon ribbon honoring Ward.
The same Stars & Stripes helmet worn for Military Appreciation is worn again for the Military Bowl without the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund decal.
A design similar to the 2012 white helmet with a VT decal featuring a metallic finish.
A solid white helmet design is worn for Military Appreciation Day featuring an American Flag VT design with a white-blue-red stripe across the top that tapers and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund logo on the back.
Minor changes and additions are made in 2014 with the addition of the new ACC logo, orange state of Virginia and a bell signifying to "Never, ever ring the bell." - A slogan used by Navy Seals to never quit.
The second Hokiestone helmet featuring a maroon VT logo instead of the pillars design.
Stripes are added similar to the 2011 version.
Hokiestone, which is used on every building on Virginia Tech's campus, is featured for the first time on a helmet. The wrapped design features the maroon pillars logo along with the words "For those who have passed, for those to come... Reach for excellence". The words are at the top of the tunnel at Lane Stadium.
A solid orange digital-camo design is worn for Military Appreciation Day featuring a white VT logo outline and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund logo on the back.
The Virginia Tech pillars shield is added to the back.
The final helmet of 2012 features the Fighting Gobbler logo, which was announced would be dropped as an official logo of the university at the end of the 2012 calendar year. The matte maroon helmet features a three-stripe tapered design and maroon neck bumper.
The third different white helmet of 2012 becomes the most controversial. The design isn't released until hours before the game and featured the player number on the right side and the flexing HokieBird logo on the left.
The second white helmet is introduced featuring an orange VT logo.
A solid woodland-camo design is worn for Military Appreciation Day featuring a maroon VT logo and Corps of Cadets shield on the back.
A solid white helmet is introduced for the second game of the season featuring "Hokie Tracks", which are official logos of the university.
Minor changes are made to the standard maroon helmet including a new die-cut VT decal and maroon chinstrap. The NCAA decal makes a return for the first time since 2003.
Stripes are added to the 1974-1977 throwback helmets.
Stripes are added to the standard maroon helmets for the first time since 1997. The stripes are similar to the ones worn on the previous white helmets.
The orange helmet returns for one game in 2011 with inverted stripes from the Orange Bowl design. The team pays tribute to the 75 victims of the 1970 Marshall plane crash, including Virginia Tech graduates Frank Loria and Rick Tolley who were coaches for the Thundering Herd, by wearing a special sticker on the back of the helmets. The round stickers have the initials RT and FL for the two former Tech players involved, as well as a 75 for the number of victims of the crash.
The third throwback helmet is introduced. The helmet was worn from 1974-1977 and features a popular "TV" logo and white facemask.
A decal signifying Frank Beamer's 25th season as head coach is added.
For the first time in school history, an orange helmet is worn. Playing in the Orange Bowl, the helmet features a maroon VT logo and stripes similar to the white helmet. It also features the BCS logo and a different "212°" decal. This helmet also marks the first time an all-maroon chinstrap is worn by Tech.
The white helmet returns for the ACC Championship against Florida State. A "212°" decal is added to the back. During the season team chaplain Johnny Shelton told the team a story about water going from cold to boiling at 212 degrees. He told the team they began the year "moderately cold" but by the ACC championship game, they were "boiling over" for a title.
The orange crown logo is added with "COASTAL" inside to signify winning the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division.
Stripes are added to the white helmet from earlier in the season, but only halfway down the back. A crown decal with a "9" is added as a goal for the team to win its ninth-straight game and a division championship.
An "E.L." decal is added in support of paralyzed Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand.
The popularity of the white 2009 Nike Pro Combat helmet leads to another white design without the stripes in 2010.
Nike continues the one-off uniform program in 2010 featuring 10 spotlight football programs. The all-black uniform features a matte black helmet with an orange VT logo and a unique wedge stripe that split near the front of the helmet. The stripe also features a circuit board pattern in the back. The Corps of Cadets shield is added to the back and the Virginia Tech motto: Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) is added to the neck bumper.
Nike introduces a one-off uniform program in 2009 featuring 10 spotlight football programs. The all-white uniform features a white helmet with a maroon VT logo and non-symmetrical stripes that taper off to a set of white triangles. The uniform was so popular that it was worn again two weeks later at UVA.
The second throwback helmet is introduced. The helmet was worn by Frank Beamer in his playing days and features the classic "TV" logo and gray facemask. It marks the first time Tech has worn stripes on the helmet since 1997.
No changes are made in 2009 from 2008 on the standard maroon helmet.
A Bowl Championship Series decal is added for the Orange Bowl against Cincinnati.
The first throwback helmet is introduced. The helmet was worn from 1971 to 1973 and features a solid white shell and gray facemask with an orange state of Virginia and maroon "TECH" letters. It was worn with a throwback uniform as well.
A "JD" memorial decal is added.
A Bowl Championship Series decal is added for the Orange Bowl against Kansas.
The Corps of Cadets decal is removed.
The American Flag is moved to its original location and a VT logo is added to the back in honor of the Corps of Cadets.
The yellow ribbon and American Flag decals are swapped on the back of the helmet. A minor difference is made with the VT decals between the V and T at the bottom.
A Bowl Championship Series decal is added for the Sugar Bowl against Auburn.
Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004 and swapped to a conference-specific decal on the back. A yellow ribbon decal is also added.
The NCAA slightly changed their logo to the NCAA font used today.
Only a very minor change is made with the American Flag decal, which is now outlined in white.
Tech adds the American Flag decal after the September 11 attacks.
A light gold metal fleck is added to the finish for the first time.
A Bowl Championship Series decal is added for the BCS National Championship game against Florida State.
The first game of the 1999 season commemorated the 1,000th game for Virginia Tech football. A large white decal with the 1,000th game logo was worn on the helmets.
Subtle changes are made in 1999 including a clear Riddell warning decal, modern NCAA football logo and "HOKIES" in Rockwell Font is added to the back neck bumper for the first time.
Tech makes the first radical change to the helmet under Frank Beamer with the removal of the stripes and changing the facemask to maroon. An "EF" memorial decal is added to the back in memory of former football trainer Eddie Ferrell.
The large NCAA football logo is added on the back and the white stripes are shortened on both sides.
Tech played against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and added the game logo on the back.
Only a minor change from 1992-1996 with the chin piece going to maroon.
Frank Beamer began his tenure as Virginia Tech's head coach in 1987. That year Tech re-introduced the stripes for the first time since 1970 and eliminated the star merit decals on the front. The white VT and facemask remained the same.