Stokes was hired in 1999 by Jim Weaver, the new director of athletics at Virginia Tech, to replace the fired Bobby Hussey.
Beginning with the 2000–01 season, the Hokies departed the Atlantic 10 Conference and joined the much tougher Big East.
Stokes was unable to recruit Big East level talent to Virginia Tech and the team's record suffered accordingly.
The highlight of his four seasons at Tech were blowout wins over #18 Connecticut and rival Virginia his final year.
[5] After compiling a 14–44 record in two seasons, Stokes chose to resign rather than accept an administrative position within the ECU athletic department.