Six years ago, Michael Vick came to Jerry Diffell's store in downtown Blacksburg for a news conference. With his No. 7 jerseys hanging on retail racks around him, Vick announced the start of his own clothing line, with some of the proceeds going to Virginia Tech scholarship programs.

It was a proud day for Diffell, who has owned and operated the Tech Bookstore since 1986 and who watched Vick's star rise during Tech's run to the national championship game in 1999.

Pride was not on the menu Tuesday, as Diffell sat at PK's, a sports bar in Blacksburg, for a business luncheon.

"All the TVs, on CNN and ESPN, kept flashing Michael Vick," he said.

The Atlanta Falcons quarterback was indicted by a federal grand jury that day on a conspiracy charge that he helped create an interstate dogfighting operation.

"He's done some good for this place," Diffell said by phone Wednesday. "But this news is bad, it's sad, because he really did put us on the map. He was a hero to everybody at Virginia Tech, and you hate to see your heroes be knocked down."

Vick's name is nearly synonymous with the Virginia Tech football program. His two seasons as the team's electric quarterback helped elevate the Hokies' national profile.

Vick's jersey hangs in Lane Stadium. There are four pictures of him on two of the first 12 pages and the inside cover of last season's football media guide. His name, coach Frank Beamer has said, has gotten the coaching staff into the living rooms of top recruits. At the Merryman Center, Tech's football building, Vick's likeness is on a set of double doors leading to Michael Vick Hall.

But lately, Tech officials aren't talking about Vick. The football coaching staff has declined comment since his indictment. Carmela Smith, administrative assistant for Jim Weaver, said Friday the athletic director would have no comment.

"He's not a student-athlete of ours, so there's no need to comment," Smith said.

Others have the same approach.

"What's there to say?" asked Ryan Ruggero, manager of Top of the Stairs, a Blacksburg watering hole that brims with Hokie fans after every home game. "Sure, everybody that comes in here has talked about it. But it's not a long conversation. There's not much to talk about. We went through this with his brother, so we know the deal.

"At this point, it's not like there's something wrong with Virginia Tech. It's more like, 'What's wrong with that family?' "

Marcus Vick followed in his older brother's footsteps as a star quarterback for the Hokies, but his stay in Blacksburg was tumultuous. He was suspended for one season after multiple arrests and was later booted from the team after stomping an opponent's leg on national TV.

"For all the grief Marcus brought upon Virginia Tech, I was always comforted to know that Mike was a different person," said Michael Willis, a 2001 Tech graduate, Annandale resident and season-ticket holder. "But now ..."

In the 18-page indictment, Vick and three associates are accused of creating a dogfighting venture at Vick's Surry County home, gambling on dogfights and mistreating -- even executing -- dogs that did not perform well.

Even before the indictment, Vick's fan base had started to erode in the Tech community, said Will Stewart, who operates TechSideline.com, a message board that averages 9.5 million page views per month.

Vick was sued in 2005 by a woman who said he had infected her with genital herpes. Last November, he flipped off Falcons fans after a game. And in January, Vick was stopped by airport police for carrying a water bottle with a secret compartment.

"But this has pushed almost every Tech fan over the edge," Stewart said.

This week Stewart issued a note to his subscribers to play nice after a deluge of angry message board posts.

Marion Devoe, a 2000 graduate from Centreville, said her emotions have gone from disappointment to disgust.

"It's painful, because as a parent you never want to believe your child is capable of doing anything bad," she said. "Michael Vick was Virginia Tech's favorite son. But you can only be in denial for so long."