Three years ago last month, I started my first semester as a student here at Mr. Jefferson's University.
[caption id="attachment_45083" align="alignleft" width="291" caption="Entering the Ohio Volleyball Tournament, senior outside hitter Simone Asque leads the team with 69 kills.
[caption id="attachment_44968" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Sophomore forward Carissa Vittese increased her season scoring total to five points after preventing the shutout with a 64th minute goal against Old Dominion.
Flabbergasted. That's the word Tiki Barber's agent, Mark Lepselter, used to describe how he felt about his client not getting the opportunity to make an NFL roster this offseason, save for a single workout with the Dolphins in early August.
During the next 20 or so Sundays, I will fail to get any homework done. If my personal trend continues, I will watch more football this season than last year or any year before.
[caption id="attachment_44964" align="alignleft" width="202" caption="B.J. Stith's father, former Cavalier basketball great Bryant Stith, led Virginia to four consecutive 20-win seasons from 1989 to 1992.
[caption id="attachment_44921" align="alignleft" width="161" caption="During his debut as starting quarterback, sophomore Michael Rocco demonstrated poise and patience in the pocket en route to a 21-for-29 passing performance.
OK, I'll admit it. When I first heard about it, I was scared. Heck, you might even say I was petrified.
Finally. We've been through 236 days of the longest offseason in memory, but, at long last, college football is back complete with actual kickoffs, touchdowns, head-jarring hits and everything else that makes us love the sport of football.
[caption id="attachment_44917" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Junior forward Britt Knouse notched the Cavaliers' lone goal during their 4-1 loss against Old Dominion Sunday.
It's the 2009 season opener, and William & Mary cornerback B.W. Webb is intercepting Virginia quarterback Jameel Sewell for the third time.
[caption id="attachment_44827" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Redshirt freshman tailback Kevin Parks pounded William & Mary for three touchdowns and 114 yards during his debut.
[caption id="attachment_44830" align="alignleft" width="254" caption="Junior midfielder Julia Roberts has notched three goals and three assists in six games this season.
The No. 16 Virginia men's soccer team concluded the Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational with two wins in as many games this weekend.
It was an emotional night as the Virginia volleyball team took the court Friday evening against top-ranked California, a team which had yet to drop a set all year.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford addresses a hall filled with reporters, attempting to convince the room that his conference's recent NCAA infractions are an aberration, not a trend. "Any time one of our schools has an NCAA problem, wherever it is, whichever one it is, I'm disappointed and concerned because that's not who we are as a league," he said. Swofford paints a picture of the ACC as a balanced conference - one that may not have produced recent national championships, but still prides itself on sending players to the NFL.
Virginia's four-way quarterback competition dominated preseason press, but perhaps more important than the arm throwing the ball are the hands which will catch it. "I think the better our receivers are in running their routes, the better it's going to make it for those young quarterbacks to throw where they're supposed to throw," coach Mike London said.
A bowl game - it's in the forefront of collegiate players' minds all across the nation. And while many gridiron warriors mask their desires for a coveted postseason appearance with a one-game-at-a-time attitude, wide receiver Kris Burd and the rest of the seniors on the Virginia football team are not shying away from the fact that they are already freeing up their schedule during the months of December and January. "Our first year, we went to the Gator Bowl, and I feel like you're not really experiencing college football without going to a bowl game," Burd said.
[caption id="attachment_44710" align="alignleft" width="278" caption="Senior defensive end Cam Johnson highlights the group of 10 defensive starters which the Virginia coaching staff welcomed back for the 2011 campaign.
[caption id="attachment_44708" align="alignleft" width="157" caption="Freshman midfielder Eric Bird earned the praise of coach George Gelnovatch after displaying crisp passing skills during Virginia's 7-1 rout of Richmond Monday.
