Hot Topic: John Paul Jones & Student Seating

John Paul Jones Arena

News hit the message boards this week about the planned student seating divisions at the new John Paul Jones Arena. The plan places the Hoo Crew, a student group entering its second year, along one sideline (opposite of TV cameras) and possibly along the first several rows of the end zone bleacher seating (if the group's numbers create a need for spill-over seating).

The news led to an interesting exchange of thoughts, beginning with this thread on the Basketball Message Board. Some interesting posts are provided below, but share your thoughts on the topic through the link.

What makes me most upset is that the "forum" held in March to decide on a seating chart was a slap in the face. They didn't listen to a thing we said. Not even the Hoo Crew wanted that proposal. Essentially those who cannot make the required amount of games, or have friends they want to sit with that cannot make the required amount of games, are being forced to sit behind people with absolutely no basketball knowledge. Let me remind you that this is a group that was absolutely quiet every moment we were down last season.

And one final thing: I thought the goal of all this was to try and bring the two groups together? This seating chart clearly creates the biggest divide between the two groups.

Seating Chart

Subject: My experience over the years ...
Posted by: WahooFla on Thu May 4 2006 5:03:07 PM
Message: is that, if the students strongly oppose the current plan, it will get changed. It might take a year or two, but it will, over time, get handled properly.

I agree with Grinch that the Athletics Dept overstepped its bounds in setting aside these seats, although I'm somewhat a fan of the Hoo Crew in principle. I've always felt the student body should decide what's best for the student body. Over time, I believe that will happen.

Subject: Sorry you feel that way about the Hoo Crew ...
Posted by: puckhoo06 on Thu May 4 2006 4:19:21 PM
Message: All we wanted to do when we got together to create a fan organization about 2 years ago was improve the atmosphere. I was sick and tired of sitting behind GA fans who didn't move the entire game or, even worse, 5 Tek fans sitting right behind our basket. I give plenty of kudos to anyone who camped out for games to get good seats, and thats the kind of enthusiasm we need in Hoo Crew, so I encourage you to join and "show us how its done" if you think we were too quiet (although if you ask Dave Leitao, Craig Littlepage, Sean Singletary, or Dirk Kastra what they think, you'll get a much different perspective.

The problem was, as many can attest to, we simply didn't have enough rabid fans camping out to make anything more than the pathetic showing of the Gillen era.

Now, those who were camping out (a practice that the athletic department and Casteen looked down upon, hence the reason for the SHOTS ticket system) can still get there plenty early to guarantee front row seats as memebers of Hoo Crew.

I honestly wish that there never was a need to create a required attendance student group. If we had been packing the section with STUDENTS game in and game out, there would never have been a demand or need for this kind of group.

Sorry for the long winded message, but we are all about bringing students together as an organized force to make JPJ a hellhole to play in. Not that anyone who chooses not to join is any less of a fan, but we would love to have all the lovers and the haters of Hoo Crew together in support of the WAHOOS.

There really are no bad seats in the new John Paul Jones Arena, but courtside seats are coveted by students.

Subject: Here is my counterproposal
Posted by: Faz d' Hoo on Thu May 4 2006 2:55:00 PM
Message: 1. Hoo Crew gets no more than half the good seats reserved for them. Give them sections 101, 102, and 103.
2. Hoo Crew members are guaranteed a ticket. Everyone eles has to use SHOTS. However, Hoo Crew members are not guaranteed prime seats. For big games, showing up a half hour before hand might not be sufficient.
3. To get credit for attendance, they have to register with the man, on time, with ID card, etc. Other rules of membership apply.
4. Hoo Crew members can sit in any student section they want. If they want to sit in the Hoo Crew sections, they must wear the uniform. However, they can sit elsewhere and get credit as long as they register.
5. Any Hoo Crew seats not taken half an hour before tipoff are open to anyone.

Subject: HC represents much better deal than other fan groups
Posted by: Schnoo on Thu May 4 2006 6:38:16 PM
Message: They don't pay? You must mean they don't pay nearly as little as it takes to be a member of 'Hoo Crew. Examples:

Screamin Demons (Wake Forest): $25
Student Wolfpack Club (NC State): $30
Zona Zoo (Arizona): $60
6th Man Club (Stanford): $65
Izzone (Michigan State): $125
'Hoo Crew (University of Virginia): $20

Those groups listed are some of the premier fan groups and a sampling of their prices. Note that the 'Hoo Crew membership fee is $20 and simply covers some of the operating expenses that the groups incurs as well the benefits that member's receive.

For $20, members receive a Cavalier Corner subscription ($33 value), 'Hoo Crew shirt ($10), and membership card ($2) among other things. These things by themselves cost more than double ($45) the membership fee ($20). Given thsi breakdown, even if you don't go to a single game all year it benefits you to be a member so taht you can receive the Cav Corner subscription if nothing else. Note that each $20 membership fee is also counted as a donation to the VAF, so members receive VAF donor points as well.

That's just a sampling of the posts in the thread. Join the Discussion Now!

Basketball recruiting .

Football recruiting .

No new commitments just yet, though there are some prospects who could have decisions by the end of the month. Potential decision-makers include Pottsville (PA) OL Brad Hallick and Gloucester LB Aaron Taliaferro. Hallick has Virginia and Vanderbilt as his top two while Taliaferro may be waiting to see which other programs offer before making a decision. UVa was the first to extend an official offer. VT has not offered but is giving him a look. Kansas State and Missouri have offered as well.

The Tidewater/Virginia Beach combines were held this week, and TheSabre.com was there to cover the Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News events. A few new names on the recruiting radar are Clover Hill OL Blake DeChristopher and Kellam TE/OT Greg Nosal.

DeChristopher is a 6-5, 290-pound offensive line prospect who turned in a solid performance at the Norfolk combine. He ran a 5.0 40 and benched 185 pounds 28 times. Virginia Tech has offered and Maryland has verbally offered. Virginia coaches have told DeChristopher's coach that they are "throwing their hat in the ring."

Nosal plays tight end and defensive end for coach Chris DeWitt. He projects as a blocking type of tight end or an offensive tackle on the next level. At 6-7, 255-pounds, he benched 185 pounds 18 times and ran a 4.9 in the 40-yard dash. Virginia Tech has offered Nosal, while Virginia and North Carolina have been at Kellam during the evaluation period. UVa seems very interested.

Stay tuned for more on the Newport News combine.

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Ask the Experts - Questions for Ahmad Hawkins

Former Virginia standout Ahmad Hawkins is next up in the Sabre's "Ask the Experts" series. Past guests include Chris Slade, George Welsh, and Matt Blundin. "Ask the Experts" is designed to help you learn more about the sports you love. After all, George Welsh himself once said: "The greater your knowledge of the game, the greater your enjoyment of it."

So, please submit your questions for Ahmad to [email protected]. We'll pick the best of the best for the article. Of course, our expert will do the rest by providing you with quality, in-depth knowledge about football. Remember Ahmad plays both defensive back and receiver for the AFL's Colorado Crush and he played both at Virginia. So he will be able to give you quality insight on those positions and the skills needed to play those positions.

Ahmad spent some time in NFL training camps with the Falcons and Chiefs and he was on Kansas City's practice squad in the 2001 season. He played in NFL Europe in 2002 (second in the league in interceptions wth four) and helped lead the Berlin Thunder to the World Bowl title. In the AFL, he is the only player to appear in every game in Crush history. Ahmad was also the Defensive Player of the Game in ArenaBowl XIX after he forced a fumble and had an interception as the Crush won the league title.

At Virginia, Ahmad was a four-year letterman at Virginia where he played wide receiver in his first three seasons before moving to cornerback as a senior. He started all 12 games as a senior in 2000 and finished with 43 tackles and a team-high four interceptions. Of course, no Hoo will forget one of Ahmad's plays as a sophomore receiver. He caught an out-pattern from Aaron Brooks and ran 47 yards for game-winning touchdown over archrival Virginia Tech to give the Cavs a 36-32 win in what is the largest comeback in school history.

EDGE Subscribers, read archived versions of "Ask the Experts" here. (Make sure to see the related articles at the bottom of #11 with Chris Slade!)

License Plate section is up in Wahoowa!

A few weeks ago, SabreMail made a request for anyone who had license plates that reflected your status as a Hoo fan. The responses have started to trickle in and the Plates Photos are up and running the Wahoowa! section of the site. The Wahoowa! section of the Sabre is dedicated to all things associated with UVa Fan-dom. There are various fan-related areas including desktop wallpaper, Fan of the Week photos, V-Sabres Worldwide, and more. If you have suggestions for new and interesting things in the Wahoowa! section, please email us at [email protected] with the header: Wahoowa! suggestion.

We'd like to keep adding photos to the section so if your license plate shows that you're a Hoo fan, let us know so we can include you in our gallery. All you need to do is snap a picture of your license plate and email a jpeg version of the photo to [email protected] with the email header: License Plate Photo.

Newslink - Your One Stop Shop for UVa News

TheSabre.com provides an excellent service for the Virginia fan base that you may not know about: Newslink. Sabre NewsLink provides you with links to the daily news on your Hoos. Our staff checks the Internet each morning to locate and link to articles from various online media sources from around the state and beyond. We even throw some interesting ACC news to let you know what the Hoos' opponents are up to. Sabre NewsLink is updated every morning, 365 days a year!

Today's Virginia articles included updates on men's basketball, baseball, football, and more! Check out Sabre NewsLink today,

Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Two Cavs Earn National Honors: For the second time in 2006, Tyler Leachman and was named the National Player of the Week, and her teammate Blair Weymouth earned her second National Rookie of the Week honors after their performances in the 2006 ACC Women's Lacrosse Championships.
• Virginia Men's Tennis Receives No. 8 Seed in NCAA Tournament: The Virginia men's tennis team received the No. 8 seed for the 2006 NCAA Tournament and will host first and second round action at the Snyder Tennis Center next weekend. The Cavaliers will meet Army in a first round match on Saturday, while Wake Forest will play Kentucky in the other first round match in Charlottesville.
• Cavalier Women's Tennis Receives NCAA Tournament Bid: The Virginia women's tennis team earned a selection to the 2006 NCAA Tournament and will travel to a regional in Durham, N.C, next weekend. The Cavaliers will play Alabama in a first round match, while host Duke plays Winthrop in the regional's other first-round match-up.

• Ferguson and White Honored as Virginia's Top Athletes: D'Brickashaw Ferguson (football) and Brielle White (women's swimming and diving) were honored as the University of Virginia's top male and female athletes for the 2005-06 academic year at Virginia's annual awards dinner Wednesday at University Hall. Ferguson received the WINA Award as the top male athlete and White received the IMP Award as the top female athlete.

To read the full stories or gather more information on Virignia athletics, check out Virginiasports.com.

Sabre articles from the past week

Best Seat: N.Y. Jet D'Brickashaw Ferguson
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, a star offensive tackle at Virginia, joined some rare company recently when he was the No. 4 selection in the NFL Draft. The only other player to go in the top 5 in Cavalier draft history was Bill Dudley. Jed Williams caught up with Ferguson to talk about his new team, the New York Jets, and his NFL expectations on the Best Seat in the House.

Why or Why Not? - Spring Football
The spring practice period has wrapped up for the Virginia football team, but there's still plenty to talk about in relation to the gridiron. Who will emerge as the stars of this year's team? Who will be a force in the ACC? Can the Cavaliers make a run in the Coastal Division? The Sabre unveils another new feature with "Why or Why Not?" We present several statements to an expert and, in true or false style, they tell us why it will happen or why it won't. ESPN 840 AM's Wes McElroy kicks things off with some Virginia football thoughts.

Look Hoos Talking Now
In watching the spring practice period of the Virginia football team, something seemed a little bit different. There was more intensity. The players were louder and their praise for one another was more vocal. The helmet taps and pad slaps were more frequent and more earnest. Fans noticed. Players noticed. Casual observers noticed. So, the big question is will this "new attitude" bring better results?

The Sabre 7: Jon Oliver
Prior to becoming an Executive Associate Athletics Director at the University of Virginia, Jon Oliver spent time as a businessman and high school basketball coach. That followed a college career at Boise State University where he had shut-down defender's mentality and quite a dunking arsenal. Oliver is the debut guest of "The Sabre 7" as we hang out on the lighter side of life with some of UVa's recognizable faces.

Around the Horn: Cavs Close Road Stretch Strongly
The Cavaliers are coming off an impressive two-week run with a 2-1 series win at then-No. 11 Miami and a three-game road sweep of Maryland. That helped the Hoos wrap up their ACC road schedule with an 8-1 streak that left them at 8-7 for the year in conference road games. Coach Brian O'Connor is pleased with how the Cavs are playing as they host "Turn Back the Clock Night" tonight before taking an exam break.

Lundy, Smith Round Out Drafted Cavaliers
Virginia running back Wali Lundy, one of the most productive players in school and ACC history, and Kurt Smith rounded out the Cavaliers' selections in the NFL Draft on Sunday when they were each taken in the sixth round. Lundy was taken by the Houston Texans as the first pick of the sixth round, while Smith is headed to San Diego as the No. 188 overall pick.

Butler, Hagans Selected in NFL Draft's 5th Round
The Virginia football program had its quarterback and one of his lineman drafted with back-to-back picks in the NFL Draft's fifth round on Sunday. Brad Butler and Marques Hagans became the second and third Cavaliers selected when they were taken in the fifth round. Buter, an offensive tackle, is headed to the Buffalo Bills at No. 143, while Hagans, a quarterback/receiver, is getting a chance with the St. Louis Rams at No. 144.

Ferguson Selected No. 4 In NFL Draft
Virginia offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson became the second highest NFL Draft pick in school history Saturday when the New York Jets selected him with the No. 4 overall pick. Prior to Ferguson, only "Bullet" Bill Dudley was a higher pick when he went No. 1 overall in 1942 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ferguson is also the highest Cavalier lineman taken since Ray Roberts was the Seattle Seahawks' No .10 selection in 1992.

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week ...

Virginia Beach Combine News and Notes
It was a good turnout for yesterday's Virginia Beach combine at Ocean Lakes High School. Among those in attendance were Kellam TE/OT Greg Nosal (who has an offer from one of the two state 1A schools), Kempsville standouts Lester Bell and Trenton Hughes and one very large Salem product who could get some further looks in the coming weeks.

Norfolk Combine News and Notes
Division 1A coaches from Louisville, North Carolina, Penn State, Virginia and Virginia Tech were on hand for yesterday's combine held at Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk, Virginia. UVa targets in attendance included Clover Hill OL Blake DeChristopher, Norview LB Tolbert Matthews and Kempsville WR Jay Smith, among others.

ACC, SEC Schools Interested in Sumter OL
Sumter (S.C.) star offensive line prospect Kyle Nunn has received an official offer from N.C. State and is drawing very serious interest from a number of programs in the ACC and SEC, respectively. "Kyle has received one offer and that's from North Carolina State, but the boy gets about 10 pieces of mail a day and that's just here," Sumter head coach Paul Sorrells said. "It seems like everybody has contacted him."

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