University of Virginia Library

From The Sidelines

The Cavaliers
And
The Future

by Tom Bell

Athletics at the University, like just about everything else,
are changing. After long years of failure in just about
everything, many of our teams are now reaching respectable
levels of performance, and those which have not provided that
it will not be long before they do. Gone are the days when the
Cavalier passively accepted defeats as an excuse for drowning
his sorrows at a local tavern.

Sports fans here have gotten a taste of winning in recent
years. The lacrosse team is now a national power, as a result of
its undefeated regular season last year and its national title two
years ago. The basketball squad generated unprecedented
excitement last winter when it reached the top 20 in the wire
service polls. The soccer team has won two ACC titles in a
row. Having learned the thrill of victory, Cavalier fans are
finding it hard to accept the agony of defeat.

Nobody likes to lose. Head Football Coach Don Lawrence
looked like a man who had lost his last friend after last week's
loss to Navy and there are many Wahoo supporters whose
aversion to losing is at least as bad. The pressure is on the
athletic department to build a winning program, and it is not
going to decrease until there is one.

These attitudes are good for a program such as ours.
Everyone wants a winner. However, we must be careful in our
rush to free ourselves from the chains of mediocrity.

One of the traditions which has evolved at the University is
that of the student-athlete. Athletes here are traditionally
students first, athletes second. What this means is that they are
regular members of the University community and not an
isolated group of hired hands brought in for the sole purpose of
winning games. It is important for the academic, as well as the
athletic integrity of the University that this tradition be
maintained. When college athletics become a business rather
than an extracurricular activity, it is time for a reevaluation of
the importance of athletics at the University.

Whenever this argument is offered, someone always says
that it sounds as if this writer is against winning. Perhaps it
sounds that way, but it isn't so. It's just that winning is not the
most important thing in the world. I could get little
satisfaction out of an undefeated season with a team of
imported pros masquerading as students.

This is not to say that the concept of the student-athlete is
in immediate danger. The gentlemen in the athletic
department respect this tradition and seem to be willing to
work within its limitations. However, college athletics has
become such a big business and pressures on athletic directors
and coaches are so great that many schools have decided that
no price, monetary or otherwise, is too great to pay to have a
winner. The University, to this point, has not succumbed, but
the temptation is always present.

In the last five years, many traditions of the University have
disappeared because they have lost their importance to today's
student generation. The ones that have worth, however, will
survive as the University changes. One of these will hopefully
be the concept of the student-athlete.

Cavalier teams will continue to improve and reach higher
levels of respectability during the coming years, and much can
be done to help the program rise. The letter on page 11 from
the Student Athletic Committee is certainly worth
considering. You don't have to be a superstar to help.

When Mr. Lawrence says, "We have academic excellence at
Virginia and we will have athletic excellence", he sounds as if
he means it. Let us do everything within reason to achieve that
excellence, but let's keep things in proper perspective.