| 1963 Virginia Tech Gobblers football | |
|---|---|
SoCon champion | |
| Conference | Southern Conference |
| Record | 8–2 (5–0 SoCon) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Miles Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virginia Tech $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Virginia | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VMI | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Furman | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William & Mary | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Richmond | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| George Washington | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Davidson | 0 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1963 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute—now known as Virginia Tech—as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1963 NCAA University Division football season. Led by third-year head coach Jerry Claiborne, the Gobblers compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 5–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. It was the program's only conference championship during its time as a member of the SoCon, which ran from 1922 to 1964.
Bob Schweickert, the team's dual-threat quarterback, passed for 687 yards and six touchdowns, and ran for 839 yards and scored seven TD's. Sonny Utz was the team's scoring leader, rushing for 567 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns.[1]
Schweickert was named to the third-team of the 1963 College Football All-America Team by the Associated Press.[2] He was also honored as the Southern Conference Player of the Year as voted by the media.[3] The media did not vote for an all Southern Conference team, but did vote on an all-star team selected from the five Division I teams that played in the commonwealth of Virginia at the time. Schweickert was joined on the first time by Utz, end Jake Adams, and guard Newt Green. The second team included tackle Gene Breen and center Burton Mack Rodgers. Tommy Marvin made the honorable mention team at end.[4] [a]
Tech was never ranked in national polls, losing its first game of the year to Kentucky, which ended the year 3–6–1. The team's three non-conference wins came against ACC foes Virginia (2–7–1), Florida State (4–5–1), and Wake Forest (1–9). Tech's other loss came late in the year against NC State, which was the only non-conference opponent that had a winning record (8–3).[5][6]
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