Virginia Tech hasn't given up on the dream of winning a national championship, but the trophy case that's been waiting on a championship trophy has been replaced. By a statue of the school's mascot.

The famous empty trophy case in Merryman has been replaced by a giant Hokie Bird. pic.twitter.com/fWm91sW3JO — Chris Coleman (@ChrisColemanTSL) April 3, 2014

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Tech built the case in 1998, when the school's then-director of football operations John Ballein wanted to have a place for a national championship trophy in the hall of memorabilia.

Virginia Tech came close in 1999 and 2000, going 11-1 in each season and losing the 2000 Sugar Bowl, then the BCS title game, to Florida State. But the Hokies haven't come close since. And thus the trophy case has sat empty and become a bit of a laughingstock.

It's not like Virginia Tech has been bad; the 7-6 season coach Frank Beamer's team had in 2013 was the worst season since the trophy case's creation. But when you have clear self-proclaimed national championship expectations, well, national championships are expected. Being one of the best programs in college football over the last 15 years isn't good enough.

If Tech does win a College Football Playoff in the near future, will the bird get replaced? The Hokie's arms are folded currently, so maybe the statue could be modified to make its wings be a platform for any future trophy? Changing the statue for hardware from a championship is a much better problem to have than an empty box.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @NickBromberg