Over the past two decades, Virginia has seen five basketball coaches, four football coaches, two athletic directors and 22 NCAA championships. More broadly, there has been a dramatic shift across the country in how athletic programs strategize — whether it be increased budgets, NIL, the transfer portal or the impact of social media on recruiting.
While riding the waves of this sea of change, though, Virginia has employed only one director of equipment operations, Matthew Althoff, a steady ship, who has braved the storm.
“Change is hard, but I think the one constant in athletics is certainly change,” Althoff said.
As director, Althoff oversees day-to-day equipment operations and budgeting for all 27 varsity sports. However, the design, preparation and distribution of Virginia’s uniforms is the aspect of his work with which Cavalier fans engage the most. Amidst turnover, Althoff has been the constant behind the threads student-athletes have sported for the past two decades.
During his time in Charlottesville, the Athletic Department has significantly expanded, with notable additions of sports nutrition, sports psychology as well as more staff overall. According to Althoff, the mission of the equipment room has remained the same through it all.
“What hasn’t changed much is really just the core values or core purpose of what we’re here for,” Althoff said. “Our core function is really to support the student athletes and coaches in their process of winning championships.”
This passion has been with Althoff for a while. He has over two decades of experience working in equipment management for Virginia. Yet, he has been in the game since childhood, having been introduced to the industry by his uncle, who spent time as the equipment manager for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Althoff began his college education at Old Dominion as an engineering major, but he did not stick to it for long. After encouragement from his uncle, he switched his major to sports management, and an internship search brought him to Charlottesville working in Virginia’s equipment room.
“They hired me after I graduated,” Althoff said. “I’ve been here ever since. Didn’t plan it out that way, didn’t think that was the way it was going to happen.”
Since his start, he rose through the ranks quickly, getting promoted to head football equipment manager in 2001 and then director of equipment operations in 2004, a position he has held since. Two decades in the same role means that he knows what works, what doesn’t, what athletes like and what looks good on camera. Althoff’s tenure has also allowed him to build lasting relationships with student-athletes, coaches, administration and vendors so that preferences can be matched and deadlines can be made by game day.
“A big part of our job is trying to do all the uniform projects … It's become increasingly harder and harder to keep a lot of those projects under wraps so that nobody knows about them before they come out,” Althoff said, “So it's definitely a big part of our job, and something that we take a lot of pride in.”
Secrecy in uniform projects has always been a challenge for the equipment room. Althoff recounted the process of preparing uniforms for the 2011 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the biggest games in Virginia football history. The administration and coaches wanted the players to don something special for the occasion — orange helmets. Preparation began soon after their final regular season game.
“After the Virginia Tech game, we were taking [the helmets] apart and shipping them out to get painted over orange,” Althoff said. “Because we didn't have orange helmets then.”
The helmets were intended as a surprise for not just the fans, but also the players. When the parts came back in all their orange glory, Althoff and other equipment staffers would reassemble the pieces before tucking them away, hidden from sight. Ultimately, they were successful in preserving the surprise, even after a player stumbled upon their future headgear.
“One of the kickers came in to ask for something … they just had it sitting out there, but he didn't even blink about it, didn't say a word about it,” Althoff said. “So we were able to keep it a secret.”
The Cavaliers would go on to wear orange helmets on orange jerseys in what ended as a 43-24 loss to then-No. 25 Auburn.
“We tried hard to make sure to get the orange colors to match, and they did,” Althoff said. “I think it looked really well. We didn't necessarily play as well in that game, the outcome certainly wasn’t what we wanted.”
Historical endeavors aside, one of Althoff’s most recent projects included redesigning uniforms for Virginia basketball. The fresh-faced 15-player roster, which consists of 12 newcomers, is currently donning three equally new uniforms — a crisp white-on-white number, an all-navy edition finished with orange trimmings and a head-to-toe orange kit out — all featuring the vintage-style “V” on the shorts. These new threads, courtesy of Althoff and his equipment staff, have already seen plenty of action en route to an 11-1 record heading into conference play — one of the most promising starts to the basketball season in recent history.
Althoff himself expressed optimism for the direction the basketball program appears to be headed in, and he anticipates increased engagement from the community.
“I think they’ll be really pleased with the product they see,” Althoff said. “Our community and our fan base have shown that they have a great love and passion for this university and athletics, and a lot of times they rally around a winner.”
In his time with the University, Althoff has created memories for himself, his family and generations of the Virginia sports fandom. He has many fond personal experiences with the basketball program in particular, especially from the Tony Bennett era, when John Paul Jones Arena was consistently packed on game days. Althoff recalled taking his son with him to his job on many occasions.
“[Bringing my son] with me to work and help rebound for Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris, and stuff like that … Those are some really cool experiences that I certainly remember,” Althoff said, “Hopefully he’ll remember them some point down the road too.”
More memories — for Althoff and the Virginia community he has served for two decades — may be on the horizon. Multiple Virginia programs could be playing for national titles in the next few years wearing threads curated by Althoff and his team.
After more than 20 years of placing shoe orders, re-stickering football helmets, rethinking uniform designs and more, Althoff has been the constant against the tides of change within Virginia Athletics. As programs embark on new seasons through 2026, Althoff and his team will continue to ensure student athletes are looking their best.
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