Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus Capt. Daniel Richardson, U.S. Air Force, who earned a degree in industrial and systems engineering from the College of Engineering and a minor in leadership studies from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development in 2004 has been selected as the Hokie Hero for the Virginia Tech versus Central Michigan University game.

The corps Hokie Hero program started in 2006 by ISP Sports and sponsored by the University Bookstore, honors Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumni who are currently deployed. Recipients of this honor are highlighted by Bill Roth and Mike Burnop during the radio broadcast of Virginia Tech football games, on the corps website, on the corps alumni website and in the Corps Review magazine.

Richardson is currently stationed at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, as a member of the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. He flies the C-17 aircraft, sustaining operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan via troop and supply movements as well as combat airdrops to remotely deployed personnel. Richardson is from Springfield, Va., and this is his second combat deployment.

A Class of 2004 graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, Richardson was the regimental commander during his senior year and was the first of seven consecutive cadets to be selected as the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Student Leader of the Year.

Richardson says he sends his love to his wife, Christie Roark Richardson who earned a degree in industrial and systems engineering in 2005 from Virginia Tech; his parents, Ron and Kit, both 1975 Virginia Tech graduates; and his sister, Kate, who "beat him at a lot of things, but whose Orangemen wouldn't stand a chance in a football game against the Hokies."

Below are the previous Hokie Heroes from the 2010-11 season.

  • Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus Cmdr. Jeff Woods, U.S. Navy Reserve, who earned a degree in marketing management from the Pamplin College of Business in 1989,
  • Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus Lt. Col. Steven Carter, U.S. Army, who earned a degree in history from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences in 1989,
  • Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus Maj. Dave Sadlier, U.S. Marine Corps, who earned a degree in psychology from the College of Science in 1995,
  • Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus retired Col. James Tom Roberts, U.S. Army, who earned a degree in business administration from the Pamplin College of Business in 1962, and
  • Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumnus Capt. Timothy Owens, U.S. Army, who earned a degree in political science and a minor in international studies from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences as well as a minor in leadership studies from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Rice Center for Leader Development in 2004
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