University of Virginia Library

THE
SPORTS
SCENE

By Bob Cullen

THERE'S A STORY often told about Virginia athletics, but
I won't repeat it here because it probably isn't true and it might
give you callow youngsters the wrong impression. There will be
plenty of time over the next four years for you to draw your
own impressions. If those next four years are anything like the
last two, there will be a surfeit of close, exciting contests and a
seeming surfeit of disappointing losses.

They tell me that Virginia sports have come a long way in the
last ten years, but permit me to assure you (though it is by no
means an original assumption) that there is still a long, long way
to go. To support their contention that great progress is being
made, the athletic establishment will point to the bygone days
when the football team lost 29 games in a row, and the
basketball team lost its games in the dank confines of Memorial
Gym. Next to that last year's 5-5 record and the beautiful new
arena on Emmet St. gain added lustre.

BUT THE DISSIDENTS will tell you that the record should
have been 7-3, that the Cavaliers should have beaten VMI and
South Carolina, and that they always blow a couple of wins a
season. They will say that the tendency is even worse in
basketball, that the Cavaliers feature the same dispirited teams,
and that the only improvement has been University Hall, which
replaced Memorial Gym in 1966.

Some will tell you that the chief deficiencies are in the
administration of the program. They will say that the Athletic
Department operates on the ethical level of a Clemson or
Alabama, but produces teams that play on a par with the Ivy
League. They point to the fact that the University has never had
a black athlete and conclude that somewhere in the recruiting
process, someone is discriminating. They point to the recent
decision to compel football and basketball players to live
together and conclude that the athletic program is detracting
from the intellectual atmosphere of the Grounds. They point
with scorn to the woeful state of the minor sports, whose poor
facilities and recruiting resources force them to compete at
what amounts to a small college level.

WHAT MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS finally amount to is
that some people are winners and some people are losers, and
that Virginia has been, and will continue to be, a loser. It once
was said that there was something about putting on a New York
Yankee uniform that made an ordinary ballplayer great. By the
same token, there seemed to be something about putting on a
Virginia uniform that made a good player fumble on the two
yard line.

The complainers attribute that something to many things-the
coaching, the officiating, an apathetic student body, poor
recruiting, high scholastic standards, and the dissipating aspects
of University life. And to a certain extent, they are probably
right. Virginia does lose games that they ought to win, and there
are times when it does seem like nobody out there is really
trying. But more often than not, the chronic complainers are
speaking from ignorance.

BEHIND EVERY LOSS there are an infinite number of
contributing factors many of which are beyond anyone's
control. But there are some that can be controlled, and
everyone concerned is making an effort, and beginning to
succeed, in controlling them. The football program is improving
measurably every year, but so is everyone else's. Virginia has not
had a winning season in 16 years, but Coach Blackburn has
assembled the staff, the athletes, and the spirit to produce a
winner in '68. Bill Gibson's basketball team should be
strengthened by the return of two injured players, the recruiting
talent of Coach Chip Connor, a former Virginia great, and
hopefully, a confidence and tenacity that has been lacking in
the past. For the minor sports, help is on the way, in the form
of a new swimming pool, new track and baseball fields, and
maybe a few scholarships. Things are changing, and we believe
for the better.

So if you have an impression now, it should be a mixed one.
There are a great many things in the University that need
improvement, and the Athletic Department is one of them.
(Another is the Cavalier Daily Sports Department.) Through the
year we will try to do more on the sports page than report the
scores. We hope to give you a rational analysis of what is
happening, what should be happening, and why.

WE HOPE THAT you will all seek in some way to become
acquainted with athletics at the University. Not every- one has
the talent to compete on an intercollegiate level, but for those
who do there are few endeavors more rewarding. For those less
talented, the University's intramural program is one of the finest
and most comprehensive in the nation. You can compete for
your dormitory or later on with a fraternity in the High Point
league. And finally, you really owe it, both to yourself and to
that classmate of yours who competes, to come out and see the
Cavaliers in action. A student card is all you need for
admittance, and we guarantee that you'll be seeing the greatest
show on the Grounds.