The immediate challenge faced by the athletic department personnel was checking to see if their athletes and family members were safe. With phone lines choked and information coming out in drips and drabs, this simple task took hours.

"We couldn't get through to anyone," Virginia Head Men's Basketball Coach Seth Greenberg said. "It was really windy and phone line service wasn't working. We just kept pounding away.

"I had them each communicate with their parents," Greenberg added. "As a parent, I wouldn't want to hear from the coach telling me my child was OK. I made sure each one of them contacted their loved ones."

As the enormity of the situation sank in, many in the athletic department had little time to reflect deeply on it. A memorial service for the 32 victims was scheduled for the next day at Cassell Coliseum, normally the home of the Hokies men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball teams—an event that no one could have anticipated when they arrived at work Monday morning.

In addition, the department decided to cancel softball and baseball games during the week as well as the remainder of spring football practice, including the Hokies spring football game scheduled for Saturday.

"I'm not sure asking our players to come and play football when maybe they've got some other things on their hearts, is not the right thing to do," Head Football Coach Frank Beamer told the Richmond Times Dispatch. "They probably knew some of these kids that were directly involved. I think this is the best thing to do ... There are some things more urgent than us practicing football."

The ripple effects of the shootings extended well beyond Blacksburg. Countless coaches and athletes at other schools have Virginia Tech ties and they could do little but watch news reports while trying to contact their friends and family. Chris Beamer is an Assistant Football Coach at South Carolina, a Hokie alum, and the son of the Virginia Tech head coach. His story, while higher-profile than most, was likely typical of many people with ties to the school who live outside of Blacksburg.

When fellow Gamecock assistant Ron Cooper told Beamer about the death toll, "it hit me like a ton of bricks," Shane Beamer told the Associated Press. "All I tried to do was call home. But I couldn't get through."

Even some football coaches from Coastal Carolina University visiting Virginia Tech to observe spring practice found themselves caught up in the confusion that day, only to return home that night so their hotel rooms would be available to victims' families. There's no doubt the short trip will have a lasting effect on the Coastal Carolina coaches.

"We went up there to learn a few things about football and instead we got two valuable lessons," CCU head coach David Bennett told the Myrtle Beach Sun News. "One, get your heart right because you never know how long you've got and, two, don't take a day for granted. Thank God we're all safe. Now we just want to get home to our families. "

But as always, the games eventually go on. The baseball team was the first to play again on campus, hosting the University of Miami in a three-game series that started Friday.

For many, it will be a tangible sign of moving forward, although Greenberg wonders if things can ever be the same as before.

"I'm not sure if we can get beyond it," he said. "It sure puts in perspective the crazy e-mails we get about missing a free throw, missing a block out, not making a shot . . . You're supposed to be in a safe haven when you step on a college campus."

Dennis Read is Associate Editor at Athletic Management.