A new video report filed by ESPN feature producer Kris Schwartz for “ACC Huddle” has provided a definitive history of one of college football’s most enduring spectacles: the Virginia Tech Hokies‘ entrance to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”.
According to the report, the tradition began on August 27, 2000. Following a standout 1999 season led by quarterback Michael Vick, the university invested in a new video scoreboard for Lane Stadium and sought an anthem to match the upgraded technology.
Brian Walls, senior associate athletics director at Virginia Tech, explained that the team’s on-field success directly facilitated the upgrade.
“1999 was obviously a magical year for Virginia Tech. We went 11 and 0 in the regular season, and Michael Vick was our quarterback,” Walls stated in the segment (via Blabbermouth). “We fell just a little bit short of the national championship, but that afforded us the opportunity to buy a video board for the very first time. And so in 2000, we got our first video board here in Blacksburg.”
University officials tested several potential anthems, including Guns N’ Roses‘ “Welcome To The Jungle”, AC/DC‘s “Thunderstruck”, and The Alan Parsons Project‘s “Sirius”.
“We were throwing out ideas of just buildup songs, pump-you-up songs,” Walls recalled. “But, obviously, there was only one choice for us to make.”
Walls also revealed that the tradition required adjustment in its early years. Initially, the production team would cut the Metallica track short to transition into the school’s fight song, a move that proved unpopular with the student body.
“The first 10 years that we edited this video, we would get to the crescendo of ‘Enter Sandman‘. The team runs out, and we would fade out the music, and the [Virginia Tech] band would start in with our fight song, ‘Tech Triumph‘,” Walls said. “And we got so many complaints about that. The fans were, like, ‘We don’t wanna hear that stuff. We just wanna hear Metallica.'”
The 25-year relationship between the band and the university culminated on May 7, 2025, when Metallica brought their “M72” world tour to Lane Stadium. Supported by Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies, the concert drew over 66,000 attendees.
The event generated significant local impact, both culturally and physically. The Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory confirmed that the crowd’s reaction to the opening notes of “Enter Sandman” generated registered tremors.
“The magnitude would have been less than 1.0,” confirmed research associate Martin Chapman. “Too small to be felt even a mile away.”
Metallica remains on the road supporting their 2023 studio album, 72 Seasons, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
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