Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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SUMMER 2024 21 effect, where student-athletes can be com- pensated. So, we're having to recalibrate all of our priorities because of the financial impact of the settlement." Cavalier Corner: From the start of your tenure here, you have prioritized im- proving facilities. How gratifying is it for you to see these projects being completed? Williams: "It is such a blessing. I'm so thankful to everyone that supported us, and I'm so happy for the student-athletes and to see their faces. When we moved from U-Hall to the [Training Grounds] trailers, I saw their faces and how excited they were to be in the trailers, which were nicer than U-Hall. "And then after see- ing the football players move out of McCue into their new facility, I've got great anticipa- tion of those 11 sports moving into this new Olympic Sports Center. So yes, it feels really, really good. "It never ends, but it does feel good to make sure that they have what they need to compete." Cavalier Corner: The football pro- gram has had an excellent offseason that included the opening of the operations cen- ter. What are your thoughts on the direction of head coach Tony Elliott's program? Williams: "I don't think anyone outside of the program will ever understand what these coaches and these student-athletes on our football team have been through and how difficult it has been. And so to see them doing well mentally, physically and academically, it just means so much. "Coach Elliott and his staff were able to retain all of our [key] players. Once the portal opened, we had players who could have left, and they decided to stay. And that's an indi- cator to me of a very strong culture and con- nection to the University and the program. "It started there, just being able to retain our players, and then the coaches and those players did a great job in recruiting. I think having a strong NIL program through Cav Futures was instrumental in that effort. And so we're very thankful our supporters recog- nized the importance of NIL and Cav Futures, because you can see the evidence of what that means in our retention and in our re- cruiting. So, that's been really important. "Also, the team has done a tremendous job in the classroom. They had over a 3.0 [GPA] as a team, several players made the ACC academic honor roll, and several have graduated and still have eligibility remain- ing, so they're in graduate school. "And then I think moving into the [Hardie Operations Center], just seeing them in our precinct now, you can see that there's a different bounce in their step, there's a dif- ferent cadence in how they move. It's a mes- sage that all of us who love and support Vir- ginia football sent to them and the coaches, which is that football is important and we care about doing really well in football." Cavalier Corner: Do you feel better about where UVA is positioned with name, image and likeness (NIL) than you did, say, six months ago? Williams: "Yes, I feel somewhat better. There are two things that I think are really important. I think the commitment from our supporters to recognize and acknowledge how valuable NIL is in today's landscape, that was a big help, but it's just like scholarships. You have to continually raise money for NIL. "The second thing that was huge was [Vir- ginia] Governor [Glenn] Youngkin signing the bill into law that will be effective July 1. That gives our coaches, particularly in football and basketball, an opportunity for a level playing field. And now our supporters can help us compete by investing in Cav Futures." Cavalier Corner: How much has it helped having a rector [Robert Hardie] and a president [Jim Ryan] who wholeheartedly support athletics at the University? Williams: "Having the support of Rec- tor Hardie, the Board of Visitors and Presi- dent Ryan has meant a great deal to athlet- ics. Having the support of VAF and its board has meant a lot. "College athletics is changing so rapidly and we need the support to maintain excel- lence moving forward." Cavalier Corner: What do you see as the major challenges for UVA athletics mov- ing forward? Williams: "I think that we are no differ- ent from anyone else in the country, and it doesn't matter what level of Division I we're talking about. It's all relative. All of us are facing significant challenges to our budgets given the NCAA-House settlement that will be effective in 2025 and all of us have to figure out how to make that work financially. "And it's going to be difficult. There are going to be reductions and cuts in expenses. So it's just going to be a really rough road. The impact of this settlement will be unlike past challenges. "I'm hopeful the core mission of college athletics will not be impacted, but there will be a significant financial impact, not just at UVA, but across the country." Cavalier Corner: The ACC added three new members on July 1: Stanford, Cal and SMU. What do think expansion will mean for the conference? Williams: "Obvi- ously, they're three great academic institutions with broad-based programs. Stanford has always been near the top, if not the winner, of the Directors' Cup, so that's going to add some competition to a lot of our sports. "I don't think we'll know what it really means until we run through a cycle or two with travel and scheduling and the impact of that, but we're all excited, because it cre- ates more competition." Cavalier Corner: One of UVA's leg- endary coaches, Kevin Sauer, retired at the end of the school year. What's it been like working with Kevin? Williams: "The first time I met him was when I was interviewing for this job. He was on the search committee, and I was introducing myself to everyone and he said, 'I'm Kevin Sauer, head coach of the rowing team here.' I just called him Coach, and I've called him Coach ever since. "We'll miss him. I'm hoping that he'll stick around and help us fund-raise for the rowing program a little bit. But he's a tremendous hu- man being first and then a top-shelf coach. "I think all of our coaches have relied on Kevin's wisdom through the years, and he's been a willing mentor, advisor, confidant and friend to many, many coaches. He has mentored a lot of our coaches and shared a lot of wisdom, and they've learned a lot from him. We'll miss him, but we're hoping that we can keep him in the fold a little bit." " It's a premier academic institution, and they meet the challenge athletically, they meet the challenge academically, they meet the challenge in the community. It's just phenomenal." WILLIAMS ON UVA'S STUDENT-ATHLETES