In 2018, when the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine was named the university’s ninth college, a study found that Tech’s biomedical complex in Roanoke accounted for $214 million worth of economic impact.
Further, that report — prepared by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia — predicted that its economic impact would more than double in eight years to $465 million.
That seemed a pretty heady goal back then.
Those eight years have now passed. A new study, this one by a Kansas City-based consultant, finds that Tech’s Roanoke Valley operations have met that target — and exceeded it. The study by the Tripp Umbach consulting firm put the current figure at $475.7 million.
Those numbers come in a 54-page economic report that was released this week in conjunction with Tech President Tim Sands’ State of the University address.
That report attempted to assess Tech’s overall economic impact, which we all know is large. This report defined just how large: $6.4 billion worth of economic impact nationally, with $4.7 billion of that in Virginia. That’s computed as $1.6 billion in direct impact, the rest indirect as the money cycles through the economy.
Some numbers are simply too large to comprehend, but the message here isn’t hard to decipher. Anytime an institution releases a study of its economic impact, you can assume the motive isn’t simply curiosity. Virginia Tech obviously wants to make the case that it’s worthy of more state (and federal) support — especially at a time when there’s a new governor in Richmond and federal research dollars coming out of Washington are being cut. That doesn’t make the numbers suspect; we just need to understand the context in which they’re being presented.
How Tech’s operations in Blacksburg, Roanoke and Northern Virginia compare
Not surprisingly, Tech’s biggest economic impact is in the New River Valley — $3.4 billion worth, with $1.1 billion of that being direct spending. The study finds 9,108 jobs in the New River Valley connected directly to Tech’s spending, with another “16,512 indirect jobs created by Virginia Tech’s spending and attraction of visitors.” Whenever we talk about universities as “economic engines,” this is what we mean.
For me, the more fascinating numbers deal with the Roanoke Valley. To appreciate those, we need to look beyond this report to the broad sweep of history.
Four decades ago, Virginia Tech had only a scant presence in the Roanoke Valley. The 1980s were also a time when the valley started to feel the effects of a changing economy: The railroad headquarters had moved out and manufacturing employment was starting to decline, both nationally and in the valley. When then-Mayor Noel Taylor started talking up closer ties to Virginia Tech, that vision seemed fanciful to some.
Even three decades ago, Virginia Tech’s presence in the Roanoke Valley was mostly symbolized by the Virginia Tech Foundation’s acquisition of the shuttered Hotel Roanoke, which reopened after six years in 1995.
Today, Tech’s flag is firmly planted in the Roanoke Valley in ways that would have seemed unimaginable to many then, with a medical school (the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine) and a biomedical research institute (the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC).
This report counts 1,294 jobs in the Roanoke Valley directly connected to Tech, and another 2,334 indirect. What has happened here is the creation of an entirely new industry in the Roanoke Valley, one that has been growing while more traditional sectors have been shrinking.
Tech’s other growth recently has come in Northern Virginia with the launch of its Amazon-inspired Innovation Campus. This report puts the economic impact there at $220.5 million, so slightly less than half the Roanoke Valley (or about where the Roanoke Valley was eight years ago). Tech accounted for 602 direct jobs in Northern Virginia, another 1,080 indirect. For those who fret that Northern Virginia is supplanting Tech’s Blacksburg base, that does not seem to be the case at all, although Northern Virginia is clearly a growing node in Tech’s sprawling operations.
For those who want to see all the numbers in one place, here they are:
Region Direct economic impact Indirect economic impact Total New River Valley $1.1 billion $2.3 billion $3.4 billion Roanoke Valley $159.7 million $316 million $475.million Northern Virginia $74 million $146.5 million $220.5 million Rest of Virginia $201.5 million $398.9 million $600.4 million Region Direct jobs Indirect jobs Total New River Valley 9,108 16,512 25,629 Roanoke Valley 1,294 2,334 3,628 Northern Virginia 602 1,080 1,682 Rest of Virginia 1,245 3,335 4,580
The economic impact of Tech sports
The report attempted to quantify the economic impact of Virginia Tech athletics. In 2015, a Tech study found that its football program was responsible for $69.1 million of economic activity in the New River Valley, a reminder that a college football coach isn’t just responsible for a win-loss record but also a chunk of the local economy.
This report looks at Tech athletics more broadly, so we can’t make a direct comparison to that 2015 report, but that previous study is a useful starting point since football is the marquee college sport. This report concluded that Tech athletics generates $479.5 million in economic activity statewide each year, with $407.6 million of that in the New River Valley. This works out to 661 direct jobs, another 3,711 indirect, although the report doesn’t say if these are full-time or not. In any case, $479.5 million is still $479.5 million. If college athletic directors sometimes seem quick to fire coaches who have lost a few games, this is why. This isn’t just fun and games; this is a business.
Of note: This weekend, the budget-writing committees in the General Assembly will release their proposed versions of the state’s spending plan. Among the budget proposals before the Senate Finance Committee is one from state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, that would allow James Madison University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia to rely on student fees as a bigger share of their athletic budgets than they’re now allowed to. It could also set in motion a study to “assess the local, regional, and statewide economic impact of college athletics.” This report has already done some of that work.
A research university or a football factory?
That’s often how many discussions of college athletic spending get framed, usually in unflattering ways for the schools involved. This report has the data to let us make those comparisons anew, so let’s do it.
The report says Tech research generates $1.1 billion of economic impact, compared to $479.5 million for athletics.
If you prefer just the direct impact numbers (and I often do because they seem more solid to me), it’s research $519.5 million, athletics $54.1 million. If you wanted to reduce that to a football, just divide by seven (a touchdown and an extra point) and that works out to research 74, athletics 7.7 (so maybe that’s really a touchdown and a two-point conversion). In sports, we’d call that a blowout and wonder whether the coach ran up the score to influence the national rankings. As critical as I sometimes am of the attention (and money) devoted to college sports, these numbers don’t suggest that athletics has shoved research aside.
On the other hand, Virginia Tech athletics would be competitive against some aspects of Tech’s operations.
The economic impact of Tech athletics ($479.5 million) is about the same as Tech’s biomedical-driven Roanoke presence ($475.7 million). You can argue that one two ways: Tech athletics is more valuable than biomed! Biomed now rivals Tech athletics for economic impact! If you look at the tax revenue these things generate, Tech athletics generates $35.6 million in tax revenue, the Roanoke operations $32.4 million.
Ultimately, that’s how Virginia Tech would likely want people to view all these numbers — that Virginia taxpayers get more out of the school than they put in. This report says that for every $1 spent on Tech, it generates $10 in economic impact. In fiscal year 2025, taxpayers put $467 million into Virginia Tech.
You can read the whole report here.
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