The University is a prestigious place, home to dozens of world-renowned academic programs — and one of the nation’s top athletic departments. All students interact with the academic component, of course. As for sports, some students engage deeply with Virginia Athletics, while others seldom cross paths with it. In the middle of that spectrum, however, is a set of students who say that their time at the University strengthened their preexisting but smaller relationship with sports.
Consider, Feb. 11, 2023. No. 8 Virginia men’s basketball played host to Duke in front of a sold out crowd. In true Tony Bennett fashion, the Cavaliers held ACC Rookie of the Year Kyle Filipowski scoreless en route to a thrilling overtime victory. But the celebration extended beyond just the Commonwealth — 3,878 miles away from Grounds, in fact.
Class of 2025 alumna Sophia Ditty was studying abroad in Spain at the time. She and her friends watched the game from a European club, elated when the final buzzer sounded.
“I just remember being in the middle of Madrid, and me and my friend were so excited that U.Va. beat Duke,” Ditty said. “And everyone around us was like … ‘Who are these people? What is U.Va.? What is Duke? What just happened?’”
If her Madrid experience were any indication, Virginia Athletics played an important role in Ditty’s college experience. She and her friends frequently attended men’s basketball games over the past few years. However, Ditty did not grow up as a hardcore sports fan.
A native of Hershey, Pa., she grew up playing lacrosse. But after she tore her ACL in high school, she drifted away from sports.
At Virginia, things turned around. While a prominent sports scene is far from the primary reason Ditty attended the University, it certainly added some extra joy and community to her four years.
Fourth-year College student Nathan Snow had a similar experience. He also dropped sports in high school, to play in the marching band. Football was a much bigger deal at his Salem, Va. school, and Snow was always present because of the marching band. But he never found himself engaging with what was happening on the field.
“The atmosphere of the stadium, the fans around me, them being excited for the team ignited the same excitement in me,” Snow said.
For both Ditty and Snow, this relationship with sports was quick to change upon their respective arrivals in Charlottesville. And they cite similar rationales for the renewed interest.
“Once I came to U.Va., I really wanted to immerse myself into the culture and all that [it] had to offer,” Ditty said. “So I started going to a lot more football games, basketball games, baseball games, all of that, which I never really did in high school.”
Meanwhile, Snow joined the Cavalier Marching Band, meaning that he would once again be attending every home football game. But he looked at the experience with more enthusiasm and engagement than he did in high school, mainly because of the more lively atmosphere.
“We score a touchdown, everyone sings the ‘Good Ol’ Song,’ and it’s this moment of unity of an entire stadium of people,” Snow said. “It’s this school pride — this type of unity that occurs in collectively cheering for a team of our fellow classmates.”
For Snow, this sense of camaraderie is epitomized by the 2021 Virginia Tech football game. In that game, the 6-5 Cavaliers were hosting the 5-6 Hokies with a chance to win just the second of the programs’ last 18 matchups. Although Virginia lost a close one, Snow still looks upon the memory fondly.
“There were a lot of [Virginia] Tech fans … [and] a lot of U.Va. fans,” Snow said. “And so there was just this very intense environment,” Snow said. “I feel like the unity within that environment of U.Va. fans were very strong.”
Snow is not the only sports fan converted by the CMB, either. Fourth-year College student Emily Mortman also ended her interscholastic athletic career in high school to pursue the marching band. But the sports interest that had begun as a product of her band involvement, as well as a way to support her boyfriend — a Virginia student sportswriter, himself — quickly blossomed into a serious fandom.
“I started getting really into it,” Mortman said. “It’s like, ‘Sure, I’m supporting my partner’s interests,’ but also, ‘Wait, I really like this, too.’”
The “I really like this” moment came for Mortman at her first ever men’s basketball game. Virginia hosted Pittsburgh in early December 2021. Then-senior forward Jayden Gardner threw up a mid range shot to win the game at the buzzer. It rattled, and rattled, and rattled around the rim before falling. John Paul Jones Arena erupted.
“That moment, it kind of hit me,” Mortman said. “I was like, ‘Oh, if I’m not actually watching and following and paying attention to these games, I’m losing so much of the experience’ … If I’m going to be here anyway, I might as well have fun and get really into it.”
Though each one of these experiences looks different from the next, there is something to be taken away from Ditty’s, Snow’s and Mortman’s connections with Virginia sports — the community, the atmosphere and the excitement of Virginia Athletics are enough to make an individual’s time at the University the best four years of their life.
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