UVa Media Relations Assistant Director Colley Dies

UVa Athletic Media Relations Official Release

Michael Colley, a long-time assistant director in the University of Virginia athletics media relations office, died Saturday (July 10) during a walk while vacationing with friends in Virginia Beach. He was 46.

"Whether it was one of our future professionals or a walk-on, Michael viewed any student-athlete who wore orange and blue as a friend," said Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage. "Michael's knowledge and respect of the history of UVa sports was unequaled. Our program has lost a friend, a colleague and our No. 1 fan."

Colley worked for 18 years at Virginia with his primary responsibilities involving the football and men's lacrosse teams. His duties with both programs included compiling and distributing information to media, facilitating interviews between media and student-athletes and coaches, coordinating game-day press operations at all home games as well as other sport-related media activities. He previously worked with the men's basketball program and directed publicity efforts for the men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's tennis programs.

"There was no one more passionate about Virginia athletics," said Jim Daves, assistant athletics director for media relations. "Michael was a tireless worker who made so many contributions in the department. He was a walking history vault when it came to UVa athletics. He took great pride in serving the media, our coaches, administrators and mostly our student-athletes. His passing is a huge loss for all of us."

A native of Charlottesville, Colley received his bachelor's degree from UVa's McIntire School of Commerce in 1985. Following graduation, he worked three-and-a-half years as a sales representative for NCR Corporation in Norfolk, Va. From 1989-90, Colley worked in the UVa athletics media relations office as a volunteer assistant. He then completed a one-year internship with the Atlantic Coast Conference Media Relations Office in Greensboro, N.C., before returning to UVa in 1991 as an assistant sports information director.

He served as the chief statistician at UVa football, men's lacrosse and men's and women's home basketball games and at various NCAA Championship events. He also worked on the statistics crew at the NCAA Division I, II and III Men's Lacrosse Championships and was a primary contributor to the first-ever NCAA Men's Lacrosse Statistics manual released in 2009. Colley was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America and the Virginia chapter (VaSID) of that group as well as the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

"Michael loved the University of Virginia and Virginia athletics," said Rich Murray, associate athletics director for public relations. "I believe he found his calling when he came to work in the athletics media relations office. Michael was a presence in the office and had a positive impact in many areas. In addition to his outstanding professional work, he was a huge fan of Virginia athletics. He will be missed in many ways, but especially as a good friend."

He is survived by his parents, Bert and Don, who reside in Charlottesville.

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Today, EDGE subscribers can find out the latest on 6-5 rising senior guard Kyle Collinsworth, a target of head coach Tony Bennett and company. Collinsworth, a product out of Provo (UT), participated in the NBAPA Top 100 Camp last month and stayed around a day to tour Virginia's grounds and meet with the new coaching staff, who he has known for quite a while.

Collinsworth updates the latest on his recruitment and names a top five. The 3-star prospect, who has been offered by UVa, expects to make his college decision sometime this fall and will likely sign a letter of intent in November.

We'll have more on the basketball recruiting front later in the week as well, including a check-in on Miller School rising senior guard Mychal Parker, who is supposed to narrow his list of schools to 10 on July 15. We'll check in with Parker for the finalists and more.

We also hope to check in with Joe Harris, a 6-6 rising senior guard out of Lake Chelan High School in Washington, and 6-9 forward Michael Cobbins, a standout rising senior out of Palo Duro (Amarillo, TX). Harris, who has been offered by Virginia and Washington State, attended Coach Bennett's Elite Camp last month. Cobbins, who seems to be rising in the recruiting ranks, received an offer from the Cavaliers staff prior to participating in the NBAPA Top 100 camp.

Virginia currently has one commitment in the 2010 class, from 6-8, 220-pound Nichols School (Buffalo, NY) standout Will Regan. In case you missed it, check out last week's in-depth Q&A with Regan on the EDGE. Here is a sample from that piece ...

TheSabre.com: Has basketball always been your top sport? Have you played your whole life?

Will Regan: "When I was younger, I told my dad I didn't want to play basketball. I started playing hockey in the first, second and third grades. I swam for a year and then played hockey again. I went to my first basketball camp when I was in the third grade. It was an overnight camp, just for fun. My dad went with me as my coach. He told me if there was one thing I'd have to do it would be to run the floor hard. One time I wasn't. I was kind of lagging down the court and he screamed at me. I think that affected my basketball later on. Then, I played for the fourth grade competition team. I played AAU basketball in middle school and I played for the 8th grade team, junior varsity and varsity."

On the football recruiting front, UVa lost out on two targets last week in Woodward Academy (College Park, GA) DE Henry Anderson and Green Run (Virginia Beach, VA) outside linebacker Jamal Wallace. Anderson committed to Stanford, while Wallace chose Duke over offers from East Carolina, Louisville and Virginia.

We'll continue on the football recruiting beat this week, so stay tuned for more updates on 2010 class prospects.

Chris Horne, our resident recruiting expert, provides updates throughout the week for Edge subscribers about UVa's commitments and recruiting targets in football and men's basketball. To sign up for an Edge subscription, please check out the Sabre Edge Sign Up and Information Page. If you're already on board as an Edge subscriber, click the links below to catch up on recruiting.

Sabre Edge recruiting updates from the past week ...

Profile: New UVa Commit Chris Brathwaite
Prior to his standout performance at UVa's camp in late June, Chris Brathwaite had already turned in impressive performances on the combine circuit. The 6-1, 255-pound Holy Cross (Flushing, N.Y.) linebacker prospect has shown off impressive athletic skills all year, running a 4.65-second 40 at a combine in Connecticut, posting a 28-inch vertical leap and bench-pressing 185 pounds 21 times. At UVa, he posted a 4.4-second shuttle time and impressed while performing at linebacker.

DeMatha Product Reflects on UVa Commitment
A week prior an unofficial visit to the University of Virginia on June 14th, Kyrell Latimer knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to be part of UVa's 2010 class. The 5-11, 192-pound followed through, pledging to head coach Al Groh before heading home on that Sunday. Latimer, a defensive back prospect out of DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, MD), reflected on the day he committed.

Q&A with UVa 2010 Commit Will Regan
Last month, Will Regan, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward out of Nichols School (Buffalo, N.Y.), became head coach Tony Bennett's first verbal commitment as University of Virginia head coach. TheSabre.com caught up with Regan for a Q&A, to go more in-depth on the decision he made, his basketball background and more.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Green Run's Wallace Still Eyes July Decision
• Top WR Talks Recruiting Visits
• VA Standout Simmons May Narrow List Soon

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Mini-Ticket Packages For UVa Football On Sale

UVa Athletics Media Relations Official Release

Two Virginia mini-ticket packages as well as single-game tickets to the Cavaliers' non-conference home games and all away games during the 2009 football season will be available for purchase by the general public beginning July 13. The mini-ticket packages and select single-game tickets will go on sale Monday, July 13, at 9 a.m. The Rivalry package includes three home games at Scott Stadium, while the Family package features four tickets, four hot dogs, and four small sodas to UVa's first three games played in Charlottesville. Both packages will be available to purchase online at VirginiaSports.com.

The Rivalry package includes the Cavaliers' games vs. William & Mary (Sept. 5), TCU (Sept. 12) and Virginia Tech (Nov. 28) and costs $108.

The Family package is available for $280. The package features four tickets, four hot dogs, and four small sodas to each of the Cavaliers' first three home games (12 tickets, hot dogs, and small sodas in total). Those games are against William & Mary (Sept. 5), TCU (Sept. 12) and Indiana (Oct. 10). Additional Family package tickets may be purchased for $70 each.

Single-game tickets for Virginia's home games against William & Mary ($23), TCU ($35) and the Homecomings match-up with Indiana ($35) as well as single-game tickets for away games at Southern Mississippi ($40), North Carolina ($50), Maryland ($48), Miami ($49) and Clemson ($48) will also be on sale on Monday, July 13, at 9 a.m.

Fans may also purchase the mini-ticket packages and single-game tickets by calling the UVa athletics ticket office at 1-800-542-8821 or 434-924-8821 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The ticket packages and single-game tickets can also be ordered in person by visiting the athletics ticket office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Season tickets also remain available. Virginia's current season ticket figure for 2009 is 30,140, down approximately 14.6 percent from the 35,274 season ticket figure at a comparable time last year. UVa's final season ticket figure for 2008 was 35,538.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Virginia Wrestling Recruiting Class Ranked Sixth Nationally: The Virginia wrestling program's incoming recruiting class for 2009-10 has been ranked as high as No. 6 nationally in the national publications. Coach Steve Garland's class is ranked No. 6 by D1CollegeWrestling and No. 7 by InterMat and W.I.N. Magazine. The class is comprised of eight true freshmen as well as one transfer student-athlete.
• Baseball Finishes Third in 2009 RPI Ratings: Following its first trip to the College World Series, the Virginia baseball team finished third in the final RPI rankings, according to the NCAA. It was Virginia's highest finish ever in the RPI. UVa was ranked fifth nationally in the final USA Today/ESPN and Baseball America polls and sixth in the Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and Rivals.com polls - all program records to end a season.
• O'Connor Adds CBI National Coach of Year to '09 Ledger: Virginia baseball head coach Brian O'Connor was named the CollegeBaseballInsider.com 2009 National Coach of the Year today, marking his second national coach of the year award this season. He also nabbed the NCBWA National Coach of the Year Award a few weeks ago. Earlier this week, he gleaned ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honors as well. The CBI award is the second such honor for O'Connor, who also was named the CBI National Coach of the Year in 2004 following his first season as head coach at Virginia.
• Sargent Named Coach of the Year in Virginia: Virginia's men's golf coach Bowen Sargent has been named the Coach of the Year by the Virginia State Golf Coaches Association. It marks the second straight year the Commonwealth's golf coaches have honored Sargent with the award.
• Neuhauser Wins VSGA Women's Amateur Championship: Whitney Neuhauser finally owns the Virginia State Golf Association title she's long sought. A rising senior at the University of Virginia, Neuhauser played a pitching wedge approach to 10 inches to set up a conceded birdie at the second extra hole, the par-4 second, to outlast teammate and friend Lauren Greenlief in 20 holes in the championship final at the 84th VSGA Women's Amateur Championship.
• Altomare Finishes Play at US Open: Incoming Virginia freshman golfer Brittany Altomare shot 10-over 81 during the second round of the U.S. Women's Open and failed to make the 36-hole cut. She opened with a 4-over 75 for a two-day total of 156 to stand 104th.

For more Hoo news or to read full releases, check out Virginiasports.com.

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Issue No. 207 - September 16, 2005

This Week In Recruiting
By Chris Horne

Earlier this week, Virginia added verbal commitment #16 in Darnell Carter. Carter, a 6-1½, 225-pound LB prospect out of Dwight Morrow HS (Englewood, N.J.), chose Virginia over offers from Illinois, Purdue and Connecticut. Carter is not only a 4-year starter for head coach Bill Davis, but he is a 4-year captain as well.

A good athlete, Carter also plays varsity basketball and was timed at 4.65 in the 40 during U-Conn's summer camp this year. On the gridiron, he plays outside linebacker in a 4-4 scheme and is a tight end on offense. Carter earned second-team all-league honors at tight end and was the defensive MVP for his team.

Check Out SabreMail #207.

Coming Soon

The Sabre has you covered when it comes to Hoo news. Here are a few of the articles to expect on the site soon:

• JHoo's Summer Reading JHoo's Summer Reading Series continues this week.
• Bennett's Beginning: Editor Kris Wright takes a look at the early months of new basketball coach Tony Bennett.
• Jed Williams: Jed Williams is working on his next column about the Hoos.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles since the last SabreMail

JHoo's Summer Reading '09: Defensive Line
After the offensive line column, I thought about writing an easy column about a simple-to-break-down unit, a unit where there was little confusion, where there were locked-in starters, where prognostication could be based on clear facts. So does the defensive line qualify? I guess. Sort of. Maybe. At the very least, I have a good idea of who the starters will be. But as for what level of play we are going to get from the line ... well, maybe it is not the easiest of columns after all.

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