About Us

Learn More about the Paintball Club at Virginia Tech

What is the Paintball Club at Virginia Tech?

Our Mission

The Paintball Club at Virginia Tech is committed to fostering, developing, and introducing the student population to competitive college paintball. From recreational paintball to X-ball, our mission is to introduce Virginia Tech students to the exhilarating world of paintball and ignite a passion for the sport. We strive to cultivate a competitive, tight-knit team environment that empowers our members to learn, grow, and excel in paintball.

We wouldn’t be here without the support from Virginia Tech and our passionate club members. We are growing more and more each year and appreciate each person who is willing to try something new and explore what paintball has to offer

Paintball Club at Virginia Tech members of the competitive team break out during the college national championship tournament

Paintball Club at Virginia Tech members pose for a picture after a fun day of recreational paintball

Active Members

Club History

1992 – First founded as the Paintball Club of Virginia Tech! Founded by Mike Simon with Ryan Kresse as VP and Scott Mahl as the first treasurer. The club originally consisted of members from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. (Mike Simon was a member of Hotel Company!)

1995 – David Mertz, the very first civilian member from 1993, takes over as President of the Paintball Club of Virginia Tech.

1996 – Dave Shuman becomes the third official president of the Paintball Club of Virginia Tech.

1998 – Ron Weber takes over as president.

1999 – Chris Forrester starts the next millennium as the president.

2000 – Dan Stevens serves as president.

2001 – Matthew Hiteshew takes over as president until 2004, and the Paintball Club plays their first competitive tournaments as a team!
10/21/2001 – Virginia Tech runs 2 lines in the Pev’s 3-Man Tournament; Virginia Tech Black places 6th (Travis Hunning, Tom Fong, Dan Stevens)
Virginia Tech Maroon places 8th (Chris Fierer, Nathan Greene, Jonathan Burnstein)
12/9/2001 – Virginia Tech Black places 4th at the Pev’s 5-Man Tournament (Travis Hunning, Tom Fong, Dan Stevens, Chris Fierer, Tim)

2002 – The Paintball Club of Virginia Tech plays their second year of tournaments as a team!
11/02/2002 – The Paintball Club placed 3rd at the Southeast Intercollegiate Conference 5-Man Tournament. Shown below are pictures featuring Virginia Tech Orange (Matthew Hiteshew, Jon Maurath, Jeremy English, Mitch Rainero, Justin North) and Virginia Tech Black (Mike Horrell, Jon Allen, Matt Sowers, Adam Tomey, Matt Karfakis)
2/10/2002 – The Paintball Club places 1st at the Skyline’s 5-Man Series! Secured by Virginia Tech Black (Travis Hunning, Tom Fong, Dan Stevens, Chris Fierer, Ryan Tarantelli)
3/23/2002 – The Paintball Club placed 4th in the next Southeast Intercollegiate Conference 5-Man Tournament. Shown below are the Virginia Tech Hokies (Matthew Hiteshew, Jon Maurath, Jeremy English, Andy Jordan, Will Jannaman)

2013 – The Paintball Club at Virginia Tech attends their first recorded college paintball tournament on pbleagues at MSCC Event #2 against 18 other colleges. They had 2 lines named Virginia Tech Maroon and Virginia Tech Orange

2014 – They attend the first NCPA National Championships against 51 other colleges and finish in 36th place

2015 – They attend the 2015 National Championships against 50 other colleges and reach an impressive 17th place

2017 – The Paintball Club at Virginia Tech reach 2nd place against 34 other teams during the 2017 National Championships!

2021 – After diminishing numbers during COVID, the team is dissolved

2024 – The Paintball Club at Virginia Tech is reinstated at Virginia Tech

2024 – They earn 1st of 7 teams at the C3XL Easter Shootout tournament!

2025 – The Paintball Club at Virginia Tech plays their first NCPA National Championships as a reinstated team! They don’t make the cut and finish in dead last, 7th place.
10/25/25 – The Paintball Club earns a 1st place finish out of 18 teams at the CFOA 3-Man!

2026 – The Paintball Club at Virginia Tech comes back and earns their first-ever NCPA National Championship win in their long 34-year history, avenging themselves and ending Embry-Riddle’s double-win streak. An incredible and emotional comeback story for the Paintball Club at Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech Hokies shown below (John Gorak, Ethan Babaran, Roman Howard, John Martin, Tom McEntire, Joseph Candiotti)