University of Virginia

Athletics

The University of Virginia's sports teams are called the Cavaliers. The mascot is a mounted swordsman referring to the time when Virginia earned its nickname, the "Old Dominion." The Commonwealth was a hotbed of persons loyal to the English crown, called cavaliers in the days of the English Civil War and Interregnum. An unofficial moniker, the Wahoos, or 'Hoos for short, based on the University's rallying cry "Wah-hoo-wah!" is also commonly used. Though originally only used by the student body, both terms — Wahoos and Hoos — have come into wide use by the media as well.

Related Topics:
Virginia - Commonwealth - English Civil War - Interregnum - Wahoos

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The school colors, adopted in 1888, are orange and navy blue. The athletic teams had previously worn silver and cardinal red, but those colors did not show up very well on dirty football fields as the school was sporting its first team. A mass meeting of the student body was called, and a star player showed up wearing a navy blue and orange scarf he had brought back from a University of Oxford summer boating expedition. The colors were chosen when another student pulled the scarf from the player's neck, waved it to the crowd and yelled: "How will this do?" (Exactly 100 years later in 1988, perhaps ironically, Oxford named their own American football club the "Cavaliers", and soon after the Virginia team adopted its "curved sabres" logo in 1994, the Oxford team followed suit.)

Related Topics:
1888 - University of Oxford - 1988 - 1994

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When boxing was a major collegiate sport, Virginia's teams boxed in Memorial Gymnasium and went undefeated on a six-year run between 1932 and 1937, also winning national championships in 1938 and 1939.

Related Topics:
Boxing - 1932 - 1937 - 1938 - 1939

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Virginia's athletic teams have participated in the Atlantic Coast Conference since the league's first year in 1953. Its men's basketball team has five times been part of the NCAA Elite Eight (1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995), twice advancing to the Final Four (1981 and 1984). The Virginia Cavaliers football team has twice been honored as ACC Co-Champions (1989 with Duke, and 1995 with FSU). Women's cross country won national titles in 1981 and 1982. The soccer and lacrosse programs have both been tremendously successful. The Virginia men's soccer team has won five national championships, four consecutively (1989, 1991–1994). The lacrosse teams have won three national titles each. Men's lacrosse won national championships in 1972, 1999, and 2003; the women's lacrosse team won national titles in 1991, 1993, and 2004.

Related Topics:
Atlantic Coast Conference - 1953 - Elite Eight - 1981 - 1983 - 1984 - 1989 - 1995 - Final Four - Duke - FSU - Cross country - 1982 - Soccer - Lacrosse - 1991 - 1994 - 1972 - 1999 - 2003 - 1993 - 2004

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Funding from benefactor Carl Smith created the foundation for the Cavalier Marching Band, which was introduced in 2004 and has grown to 230 pieces. This replaced the controversial Virginia Pep Band in its official capacity at athletic events.

Related Topics:
Cavalier Marching Band - 2004 - Virginia Pep Band

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Scott Stadium sits across from the first-year dorms along Alderman Road, and it is home to the University of Virginia's most popular sport: football. Students, fans, and alumni generally cover themselves in orange clothing for the games. The Cavaliers share the South's Oldest Rivalry with UNC and the schools have played 109 times, including every year since 1919. In a somewhat less historical but more bitterly contested rivalry, the team faces off with in-state foe Virginia Tech annually for the Commonwealth Cup, given since 1999 to the winner of this game played 85 times and each year since 1970.

Related Topics:
Scott Stadium - Football - South's Oldest Rivalry - UNC - 1919 - Virginia Tech - Commonwealth Cup - 1999 - 1970

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Basketball is also very popular at the University. At its recent height in the 1980s, the men's basketball team was better than perennial power Duke and second only to UNC in that decade's cumulative ACC standings. The 1990s and 2000s have seen a bit of a slide for the program to the middle of the pack in the conference, but U.Va. is currently building a new facility, John Paul Jones Arena (construction webcam), to replace the second-smallest — and for many years the smallest — facility in the ACC, University Hall. The new arena is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2006.

Related Topics:
Basketball - 1980s - Duke - UNC - ACC - 1990s - 2000s - John Paul Jones Arena - University Hall - 2006

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Klöckner Stadium is home to several great programs, including Virginia men's soccer. More years than not, the University of Virginia fields one of the best squads in the country, and the program has, by far, the most successful history in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. Since ACC Tournament play began in 1987, Virginia has played in 14 out of 18 ACC Tournament championship matches, wining nine ACC titles (including 2003 and 2004), to go with their five NCAA Tournament championships. The man who built the U.Va. program, Bruce Arena, compiled an amazing 295-58-32 record before leaving in 1995 to coach D.C. United to their first two MLS championship seasons, and later the U.S. National Soccer Team to their best World Cup showing since 1930.

Related Topics:
Klöckner Stadium - Soccer - 1987 - 2003 - 2004 - Bruce Arena - 1995 - D.C. United - MLS - U.S. National Soccer Team - World Cup - 1930

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