ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050031
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
The "What's a Hokie" debate went national Thursday morning, thanks to Regis Philbin's live morning show from New York City.
It started when Blacksburg's Tammy Wright was chosen to answer the daily trivia question on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."
As the hosts engaged her in the usual banter to learn more about her hometown, Wright asked Philbin if he'd ever heard of Virginia Tech.
It's an age-old question that's been met, on occasion, with vague nods or shrugged shoulders.
Not this year.
Especially not from Regis Philbin, whose beloved Notre Dame was ranked 11th in a national college football poll - right under Tech. Just Wednesday evening, when the rankings came out, Wright's husband had joked: "Wouldn't you like to talk to Regis now?"
"They're the Hokies, aren't they? What does that mean?" a perplexed Philbin asked Thursday.
Wright told him it had something to do with a team spirit song.
She missed the show's trivia question, though, and the hosts moved on to another caller.
But 20 minutes later, Philbin came back from a commercial break with an update on the Hokie definition dilemma.
A Christiansburg woman had called to tell the show, a grinning Philbin said, that "a Hokie is a castrated turkey!"
The gelded turkey explanation is a common misconception that local media (not to mention Tech officials and alumni) have tried to dispel.
The word "Hokie," true fans know, comes from - as Wright said - a team spirit song.
In 1896, Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College changed its name to Virginia Polytechnic Institute. It was an occasion that required a new cheer. Oscar Meade Stull, a senior in 1896, won a plaque and $5 when his cheer was selected:
"Hoki, Hoki, Hoki Hy!
Tech! Tech! V.P.I.!
Sola-Rex Sola-Rah
Polytech-Vir-gin-i-a!
Rae, Ri, V.P.I."
The words had no meaning beyond creating a stirring spirit song, Stull said later.
Wright, meanwhile, is pleased that she was familiar enough with Tech trivia to know that "Hokie" was rooted in song, not poultry population control.
"I'm glad I said that instead of the other," she said.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines Type first letter of feature OR type help for list of commands FIND S-DB DB OPT SS WRD QUIT QUIT Save options? YES NO GROUP YOU'VE SELECTED: QUIT NO login: cby CNB