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22 CAVALIER CORNER BY RYAN TICE S HORTLY AFTER CRAIG Littlep- age took over the Virginia athlet- ics department on Aug. 21, 2001, the school introduced its "Un- compromised Excellence" brand statement and laid out its 10-year goals. From 2002-12, the Cavaliers claimed 53 ACC championships and seven NCAA team titles while graduating 93 percent of the student-athletes who completed their eligi- bility and raising more than $350 million through the Virginia Athletics Foundation. The school has called it the program's most successful decade ever. After such a stretch, ambitious goals were re-established for the 10-year period that followed, including winning 70 ACC titles and 12 NCAA championships. Midway through the span that will conclude in the spring of 2022, 23 more ACC crowns and six additional NCAA team championships have been added to the trophy case. The 76 conference titles won from 2002 through the spring of 2017 lead the league. In the classroom, 323 UVA student-ath- letes were named to the 2016-17 ACC Aca- demic Honor Roll, while the current "All In For Excellence" fundraising initiative has already raised more than 153 million dollars. The Daily Press' David Teel — one of the foremost authorities on UVA athletics — wrote that the longest-serving AD in school history "helped elevate Cavalier sports to new heights for 16 years." The outpouring of love and respect for Littlepage after he announced he would be stepping away was not surprising. Cur- rent and former UVA coaches and athletes heaped praise on the man who has been with the school in some capacity since 1988 and also served as UVA's interim athletics director from December 1994 until July 1995. Former UVA AD and head men's basket- ball coach Terry Holland lauded his succes- sor for helping to "build one of the finest athletic programs in the country." Big East commissioner and former UVA women's basketball player Val Ackerman noted the program at her alma mater is "synonymous with excellence and integrity, and much of the credit for that belongs to Craig Littlepage." Even rival athletic directors came forward with their admiration for the way Littlep- age has gone about his business. Purdue's Mike Bobinski and Stanford's Bernard Muir called him a role model and mentor — for both themselves and others. Florida State's Stan Wilcox noted that Littlepage paved the way for just as many. "Craig is one of the best athletic directors of all time," Maryland AD Kevin Anderson said. "Intercollegiate athletics will not be the same without him." Littlepage served on the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Committee, including a year as the chair, and on the Executive Committee of the National As- sociation of Collegiate Athletics Directors, and in many other leadership roles on vari- ous national and conference committees. His impact could not be contained to just Charlottesville. "Craig Littlepage has been the steady hand at the helm of the University of Vir- ginia athletic department for the last 16 years," ACC commissioner John Swofford concluded. "His leadership and positive in- fluence are well known, beginning with his days as a student-athlete and continuing throughout his coaching career and his 25- plus years in athletics administration. "Craig is one of the most highly respected individuals within the ACC, among his peers and across the overall landscape of collegiate athletics." UNCOMPROMISED EXCELLENCE Director Of Athletics Craig Littlepage Steps Down After Leading UVA To Its Most Successful Era Ever For 11 straight years, UVA has finished among the top 20 in the Directors' Cup standings — a national competition that began in 1994 and tries to deter- mine the best overall athletic depart- ment in the country by awarding each school points for its national finish in 10 men's and 10 women's sports. The Cavaliers have never finished lower than 30th and are one of just 12 programs nationally, and two from the ACC, to place among that grouping in the land each year. In the seven years prior to Littlepage taking over, the school checked in with an average ranking of 16.4 and a high of eighth. In 17 years under Littlepage, the average has improved to 15.6, with a high of third. There have been a pair of three-year stretches with all top-eight placements, and if his first four years are removed from the equation (aver- age finish of 26.5) UVA's average rises to an impressive 12.2 over the last 13 years. A look at the finishes since Littlepage took over in 2001: 2001 — 30th 2002 — 27th 2003 — 19th 2004 — 30th 2005 — 13th 2006 — 26th 2007 — 13th 2008 — 17th 2009 — 8th 2010 — 3rd 2011 — 7th 2012 — 15th 2013 — 20th 2014 — 4th 2015 — 6th 2016 — 8th 2017 — 19th VIRGINIA'S ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT IS AMONG THE NATION'S ALL-AROUND BEST