Cavalier Corner

October 2023

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32 CAVALIER CORNER Wally Walker (COL Psychology '76) has been hired to serve as chief revenue officer in collaboration with UVA Athletics external affairs. He will be responsible for fostering relationships and strategic partnerships with Cav Futures, Cav Futures Foundation, multi-media rights holder PlayFly/Virginia Sports Properties and the Virginia Athletics Foundation to maximize revenue generation. He will serve as a major gifts officer in col- laboration with the Virginia Athletics Foundation. Many Wahoo fans know Walker from his college athlet- ics glory days as he led Virginia to its first ACC basketball championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance as a senior in 1976. He was named the Ev- erett Case Award recipient as the ACC Tournament MVP after the Cavaliers' title run. As a senior, Walker averaged 22.1 points per game and finished his Cavalier career with 1,849 points. He was a first-team Academic All-American in 1976 and later had his number 41 jersey retired by UVA. Walker was a first-round pick (fifth overall) by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1976 NBA Draft and his eight-year NBA career also included stops with Seattle and Houston and NBA Championship wins with both Portland (1977) and Seattle (1979). Following the conclusion of his professional basketball career, Walker enrolled in the Stan- ford Graduate School of Business where he graduated in 1987 with a master's in business administration. After obtaining his MBA, Walker worked for seven years for Goldman Sachs and started his own money management firm before returning to the NBA as a part-time tele- vision announcer and consultant for Seattle. In 1994, he was named the general manager of the SuperSonics. He served as a minority owner for 12 years and held the titles of president and CEO from 2001 to 2006. He also served as the president of the WNBA's Seattle Storm starting in 2001. Walker served on the University's Board of Visitors from 1997-2001 and has served on the NCAA Honors Committee. In 2001, Walker was one of five former collegiate players named to the Hillyard Silver Anniversary All-America basketball team, which was selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Joining Walker on that team were John Lucas (Maryland), Quinn Buckner (Indiana), Ron Lee (Oregon), and Phil Sellers (Rutgers). In 2007, Walker formed Hana Road Capital LLC and has worked in the financial services and executive leadership fields for the past three decades. Wally Walker Joins Virginia Athletics We know that you're excited about the prospective student-athletes who will be signing National Letters of Intent with the University of Virginia. However, please re- member that only coaches are permitted to recruit prospective student-athletes in any manner. NCAA rules outline who is permitted to engage in recruiting activities. Specifi- cally, the rules state that only coaches can engage in on- or off-Grounds contact, including telephone calls, sending text messages or email, or making contact via social media. You may be tempted to reach out to prospective student-athletes and encour- age them to sign a National Letter of Intent or approach a prospective student- athlete when they're visiting Grounds. However, you're precluded from engaging in these types of activities under NCAA rules. We appreciate your passion and en- thusiasm, but please remember that our coaches are the only individuals allowed to recruit prospective student-athletes to attend the University of Virginia. If you have any questions, please con- tact athleticscompliance@virginia.edu. COMPLIANCE CORNER Contact the Virginia Athletics Foundation to learn about the benefits of these gifts: Bequests and Beneficiary Designations | Life Income Gifts | Qualified Charitable Distributions | Gifts of Non-Cash Assets, including Stock and Real Estate PLANNED GIFTS COMBINE YOUR PHILANTHROPIC GOALS WITH SMART FINANCIAL STRATEGIES. virginiaathleticsfoundation.com | 434-982-5555 Planned gifts to the VAF allow you to be a part of the future of Virginia Athletics and often provide tax and other benefits. Contact the VAF to learn how charitable gift annuities, bequests, and other planned gifts can be smart ways to support our student-athletes. THE TEAM YOU LOVE, the future you envision In 1976, Walker led Virginia basketball to its first ACC championship and initial NCAA Tour- nament appearance.

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