UVa to Name Indoor Practice Facility for Welsh

Virginia Athletics Media Relations Official Release

Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage announced that, following the formal approval Friday by the University of Virginia's Board of Visitors, the athletics department's new indoor practice facility will be named in honor of former Cavalier football coach George Welsh. The facility will be known as the George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility.

The facility, scheduled to be ready for the start of spring football practice in 2013, will cost about $14.5 million, including financing costs to account for pledge payments being made over the next several years. Nearly $12 million has been committed, including a $5 million anonymous gift that launched the project.

The 78,000 square-foot facility will feature a full-sized football field (120 yards long). It will have a clearance of 65 feet to its arched ceiling. A viewing platform will be available for coaching and videotaping of practices. All field sports at Virginia will have access to the building for training purposes.

The George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility was designed by VMDO Architects of Charlottesville, in association with Knight Architects from Atlanta.

"Anyone that has followed the development of our football program in the last 30 years knows that George Welsh is the person that consistently brought high levels of achievement on the football field at the University of Virginia," Littlepage said. "Coach Welsh had great teams, great players, and great coaching staffs during his 19 years as our head coach. Through naming the new indoor practice facility in George Welsh's honor, we recognize the impact he and those he coached have had on our program and the University as a whole."

"At first I was surprised and didn't believe it," Welsh said. "This is a singular honor and I feel very humble about it. I had a lot of help, between the great staff people I had and the great players I had for 19 years. It is also a tribute to those people.

"I think the indoor facility is going to help the football program. When I first heard we were going to build an indoor facility, I started thinking about the late 80s when we finally got enough money together to start the McCue Center here. For us to stay current at that time we had to have a building like that. Listening to the coaches today, the indoor facility is the big thing you have to have. I feel very honored to be associated with this."

Welsh coached the Cavaliers for 19 years from 1982 to 2000. During that span he recorded a 134-86-3 record to become the winningest coach in UVa history. In nine years at Navy he produced a 55-46-1 record for a career mark of 189-132-4 in 28 seasons. Welsh was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

"It will be an honor for our team and future generations of Virginia football teams to practice and train in a facility named for Coach Welsh," said Virginia football coach Mike London. "If you want to talk about someone being a foundation for a football program, George would be that person at Virginia. He showed that Virginia football could be a nationally-competitive program.

"On a personal level, I'm thrilled for Coach Welsh. He coached my brother Paul and I know the type of impact he had on his players. His influence reached far beyond the football field. He helped to mold them into the men they are today."

When Welsh took over the Virginia program in 1982, the Cavaliers had managed just two winning seasons, won only 33 conference games over the previous 29 seasons and had never been to a bowl game. Welsh reversed that trend quickly. After finishing 2-9 in his first season in Charlottesville, the team posted a 6-5 mark in 1983. The following season the Cavaliers posted an 8-2-2 record, placed second in the ACC and won the Peach Bowl.

Starting in 1987, Virginia compiled a conference record streak of 13 consecutive seasons with at least seven victories. The Cavaliers shared the ACC crown in 1989 and in 1995 and made 11 more bowl appearances. Welsh's 1989 squad won a school-record 10 games and in 1990 the Cavaliers were ranked No. 1 in both major media polls for the first time in the program's history. In 1995 the Cavaliers defeated Florida State to hand the Seminoles their first-ever ACC defeat.

Welsh was named the ACC Coach of the Year four times - 1983, 1984, 1991 and 1995. He retired as the winningest coach in conference history with 134 victories. His career win total of 189 was the 24th most in Division I history at the time of his retirement.

The Virginia Athletics Foundation is continuing to raise the remaining contributions required to fund the entire project. For more information on the project, visit www.UVAindoorfacility.com.

This Week In Recruiting With Chris Horne

It has been the case for the latter part of the summer, but UVa football's class of 2013 is all but finished. This week, in a new "Strategy Session," I'll take a look at what is left on the class of 2013 front and take a closer look at the class of 2014, including what positions the staff may target in the next class.

Virginia is of course already on the board in 2014 with a commitment from Victory Christian Academy (Lakeland, FL) defensive tackle Chris Nelson.

This week, I plan to profile more in-state juniors including Varina (VA) wideout Donovan Dowling, who has impressed in the first two games of the 2012 season. Dowling is a teammate of UVa class of 2013 commitment Tim Harris. I also plan to have the latest on LCA (Lynchburg, VA) junior receiver BJ Farrow, who impressed at Virginia's 7-on-7 tournament earlier this summer.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out my latest installment of "Recruiting News & Notes." This latest edition, posted last Friday, includes an in-depth look at basketball commitment London Perrantes, reaction from top junior football prospects Jamil Kamara and Steven Moss on UVa's win over Penn State, and more.

The Good Ol Blog's Week In Review is now up. Both of Virginia's class of 2013 quarterback commitments performed well on the gridiron, with Brendan "Whitey" Marshall turning in an efficient effort in a blowout win for Good Counsel and Corwin "Turtle" Cutler playing great in Ocean Lakes' (Virginia Beach, VA) big win over Bayside.

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 since the last SabreMail ...

Recruiting News & Notes
In this edition of "Recruiting News & Notes," Crespi Carmelite (Encino, CA) head coach Russell White provides a closer look at UVa men's basketball commitment London Perrantes. On the football recruiting front, two prominent in-state juniors give their reactions to Virginia football's 17-16 win over Penn State. And finally, EDGE subscribers can learn more about the in-state sophomore Virginia football verbally offered this week

The Latest On Austin Nichols
Briarcrest Christian (Nashville, TN) 5-star power forward Austin Nichols made an official visit to the University of Virginia last weekend. Today, Briarcrest head coach John Harrington revealed one of the aspects of UVa that most impressed Nichols. He also updated the prized prospect's visit plans.

More recent recruiting updates on The Sabre ...

• Future Hoo LB Recovering Well
• QB Cutler Shines In Big Win (blog)
• UVa Offers In-State Sophomore (blog)

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Sampson Enters Hall of Fame

Virginia basketball legend Ralph Sampson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame recently. Sampson was the three-time National Player of the Year while at Virginia. He became the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NBA Draft and won NBA Rookie of the Year. Sampson earned NBA All-Star status four times before knee injuries slowed his career.

Watch Sampson's induction speech on NBA.com: click here.

Also make sure to read this FREE essay from Emily Giffin, who writes that Sampson always did his best, where he was, with what he had.

Notre Dame To ACC

TheACC.com Official Release

The Atlantic Coast Conference Council of Presidents has unanimously voted to accept the University of Notre Dame as a new member. The Irish will compete as full members in all conference sponsored sports with the exception of football which will play five games annually against league programs.

"We are committed to keeping the Atlantic Coast Conference a vibrant and competitive league dedicated to ensuring the appropriate balance of academics, athletics and integrity," said the ACC Council of Presidents in a joint statement. "The addition of Notre Dame further strengthens the rich tradition and culture of the ACC as well as allowing for future academic collaboration and we enthusiastically welcome them into the league."

Virginia fans can read UVa reactions from VirginiaSports.com here.

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Around the World of Wahoo Sports ...

• Virginia Battles No. 19 Xavier to 1-1 Draw: he Virginia men's soccer team played No. 19 Xavier to a 1-1 draw Friday evening at Klockner Stadium. Brian James tallied the Cavaliers' goal in the 67th minute for his first career score. Earlier in the week, Will Bates recorded a hat trick and Chris Somerville added a pair of goals as Virginia rolled to a 6-1 victory over Mount St. Mary's
• Cavaliers and Tar Heels Play to 2-2 Draw: The No. 5 Virginia women's soccer team ran its unbeaten streak to nine games with a 2-2 draw with No. 6 North Carolina on Sunday in front of a season-high 1,603 fans at Klockner Stadium. Senior forward Caroline Miller scored both Cavalier goals and posted her second consecutive multi-goal game. Miller scored twice in an 86-second span in a 4-0 win over NC State on Thursday night. She now has eight career multi-goal games and she's the 13th player in Virginia history to reach the 30-career goal mark.
• Women's Tennis Wins Two Titles at UVa Fall Classic: The Virginia women's tennis team concluded its first tournament of the fall by winning a pair of titles at the UVa Fall Classic. Freshman Julia Elbaba won the A-1 singles fight and the duo of Li Xi and Stephanie Nauta won the A doubles flight.
• No. 9 Virginia Wins on National Field Hockey Day: Paige Selenski had her third hat trick of the season, lifting the Virginia field hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Miami (Ohio). Earlier in the week, UVa shut out William & Mary, 2-0, behind two goals from Rachel Sumfest.
• Cavaliers Among Olympic Athletes at the White House: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama honored the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams at the White House at a ceremony on the South Lawn on Friday. Three current Virginia student athletes and one recent alum were among the athletes attending the ceremony. Senior swimmer Lauren Perdue, former Cavalier swimmer Matt McLean (Class of 2011), and senior field hockey standouts Paige Selenski and Michelle Vittese all attended the ceremony.
• Virginia Comes From Behind to Defeat Liberty, 3-2: The Virginia volleyball team came from two sets down to defeat Liberty, 3-2, in the final match of the Marriott Cavalier Classic on Saturday. Sophomore Tori Janowski hit a career-high .524 with 25 kills and 30 assists, while freshman Kayla Sears tallied a season high 18 kills. The Virginia volleyball team fell in its 2012 ACC opener to Virginia Tech, 25-23, 25-15, 25-17, on Friday.

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

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Issue No. 385 - March 16, 2009

Morgan Honored As ACC Legend

Former Virginia standout guard Richard Morgan was honored as the Cavaliers' 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Legend at the tournament on Saturday (March 14). Morgan lettered four times for the Cavaliers from 1986-89 and was a three-year starter. He ranks eighth on Virginia's career steals list (160), 10th on the career field goals made list (605) and 15th on UVa's all-time scoring list with 1,540 points.

Morgan was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection and an honorable mention selection to The Sporting News' All-America team as a senior in 1989 when he was a team captain. He led the Cavaliers in scoring (20.4 ppg.), free throw percentage (86.4 percent, 121-140) and steals (55) for the 1988-89 season, and was fourth in rebounding (4.1 rpg.). Morgan led the ACC in free throw percentage that season and was fourth in scoring. The 673 points he scored during the 1988-89 season ranks fourth on UVa's single-season scoring list.

Read SabreMail No. 385 here.

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:

• The Sabre Interview: Mike Ingalls is working on his latest in-depth interview with some of your favorite Hoos. Up next? Basketball star Jimmy Miller.
• Postgame coverage: The Sabre brings you all kinds of coverage following the football team's games. Stay tuned for more articles from the loss to Georgia Tech.

In Case You Missed It ...

Sabre articles and blog posts since the last SabreMail

The Sunday Sampler 2012 - Georgia Tech
The Virginia football team did not play well Saturday in a 56-20 loss at Georgia Tech. That's an obvious statement. As coach Mike London said in the aftermath, "There are always things when you lose a game like this, you're quick to point fingers, you've got to do this, you've got to teach that." Certainly, a long list of issues could be compiled from the defeat: poor tackling, big plays allowed, no running game, inconsistent pass blocking, turnovers ... The Sunday Sampler dives into some of the topics.

Georgia Tech Smashes UVa
The fears of an inexperienced defense facing Georgia Tech's spread option offense turned into nightmares for Virginia on Saturday in Atlanta as missed assignments and poor tackling led to a big-play bonanza for the Yellow Jackets. So when the UVa offense struggled for the second straight week and a shootout didn't materialize, the scoreboard turned ugly in a 56-20 loss for the Hoos.

2012 Watch List: Georgia Tech
Virginia and Georgia Tech lock horns this week in a pivotal ACC Coastal Division showdown. The two teams have played some close contests over the years and UVa barely leads the series 17-16-1. In other words, the Cavaliers' first road game of 2012 could be a thriller in Atlanta. What do Hoo fans need to know about the details of the match-up? The Georgia Tech Watch List breaks it down.

Greg's Grades And Trends: PSU, GT
It's been said that most teams realize the most improvement from week one to week two. Let's hope for the Cavalier offense that is more like week 2 to week 3. Aside from the three scoring drives, the Penn State game was an ugly, unimpressive performance by the Virginia offense. Of the team's 11 chartable offensive possessions, only three received an above average grade. Let's look at the grades at the trend report to prep for Georgia Tech.

Tailgating With Chefhoo 2012: Georgia Tech
I don't make a statement like this lightly ... this is one of the best chicken recipes you will ever try. What does it have to do with Georgia Tech? Absolutely nothing. I just really wanted to share it with the Sabre family, that's all. My family won't allow a month to pass without having Huli Huli chicken ... it's just that good!

Game Preview 2012: Georgia Tech
Al Groh vs. Virginia. OK, that's not really the storyline for this week, though that situation does still carry some intrigue behind it for some fans. The real theme for the week from UVa's perspective, however, is two beginnings. This game it marks the team's first game on the road in 2012 and it opens ACC play for the Hoos as well.

Georgia Tech Challenge Awaits UVa
In search of its first back-to-back winning seasons since 2004-2005, the Virginia football team opened on the right foot with a 2-0 start for the second straight year. Things get tougher this week for the Hoos as they open ACC play and hit the road for the first time as well. The Cavaliers face a powerful option attack and Al Groh's defense at Georgia Tech. Read about that, Demetrious Nicholson, Drew Jarrett, and more in this notes article.

JHoo's Things I Learned 2012: Penn State
Having seen UVa's game against Penn State, having talked to several of my friends who likewise watched the game, and having double-checked every media source I can think to check, I now can confirm what I have been doubting for the better part of 48 hours: Virginia did, in fact, win the game over Penn State and is, in fact, 2-0. This certainly was a game after which there is a thing or two to talk about.

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