The Virginia Cavaliers compete in NCAA Men's Basketball as a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Some notable opponent teams from the conference are Duke, Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina. The name was adopted in 1923 to pay homage to the Royalist supporters from Virginia who were called the Cavaliers. They are also called the Wahoos or simply the Hoos, which is an unofficial nickname.
The current logo was introduced in April 2020. It features an embossed letter V in orange and two blue crossed swords below. It is an updated version of the logo that was in usage since 1994. The Cavaliers introduced their first logo back in 1978, which was a portrait of a cavalier.
Founded | 1905 |
Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
Athletic Director | Carla Williams |
Head Coach | Tony Bennett |
Arena | John Paul Jones Arena |
Championships (1) | 2019 |
Conference Tournament Titles (3) | 1976, 2014, 2018 |
Conference Regular Season Titles (10) | 1922, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 |
Website | https://virginiasports.com/sports/mbball/ |
The current coach of the Cavaliers is Tony Bennett. After spending a decade coaching in the NCAA, Bennett joined the Cavaliers as head coach back in 2009.
In 2019, Bennett led the team to a historic championship victory. He became one of the three former NBA players to have won the NCAA Div 1 title. He led the team to a 35-3 record, which is the best campaign in Cavaliers history. Bennett also holds the record for the best winning percentage in Cavaliers history.
The current Athletic Director of the Cavaliers is Carla Williams. She was appointed in 2017 after working as an athletics administrator at the University of Georgia for the past 13 years. This is her first stint as an athletic director.
For her contributions to the program, she was named as the Women Leaders in College Sports 2019 Administrator of the Year.
The Virginia Cavaliers are the reigning NCAA Division 1 champions. A year after they lost the 2018 Finals, Virginia beat Texas Tech in the 2019 Finals to win their first-ever title. It was their first appearance in the Final Four since 1984.
With 98 appearances in the Top of the AP Poll, Virginia ranks 9th best among all NCAA teams.
They are one of the two teams to have finished as the #1 seed in all four regions of the NCAA Tournament.
They have won just one NCAA Division 1 title so far, with their victory coming in 2019.
The Virginia Cavaliers basketball program has been a successful launchpad for many NBA players over the years. The best NBA player to have played for the Cavaliers is Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson. The 7'4" giant played four seasons at Virginia during the early 80s and is one of the best players to don the Cavaliers uniform.
There are currently seven players in the NBA who are former Cavaliers. Malcolm Brogdon, DeAndre Hunter, and Joe Harris are the most notable out of them.
The official mascot of the Cavaliers is called CavMan. Initially, Virginia had a Cavalier on horseback as their official mascot. It started back in 1947 and went on for three decades. Then, in 1987, the costumed CavMan made his debut and has since been the official mascot.
He dons an orange and blue outfit with a feathered hat and also has a cape. Earlier the outfit had orange and blue stripes, but now it has been modernized and the costume also has been made to look muscular.
The team's primary colors are Jefferson Blue and Rotunda Orange.
The Cavaliers roster for the 2020-21 season has 17 players.
Position | JerseyNumber | Name | Height | Weight |
Guard | 0 | Kihei Clark | 5-9 | 160 |
Guard | 1 | Jabri Abdur-Rahim | 6-7 | 214 |
Guard | 2 | Reece Beekman | 6-3 | 174 |
Forward | 4 | Justin McKoy | 6-8 | 215 |
Guard | 5 | Jayden Nixon | 6-3 | 187 |
Forward | 10 | Sam Hauser | 6-8 | 218 |
Guard | 11 | Malachi Poindexter | 6-2 | 193 |
Guard | 12 | Chase Coleman | 5-9 | 157 |
Guard | 13 | Casey Morsell | 6-3 | 196 |
Forward | 21 | Kadin Shedrick | 6-11 | 216 |
Center | 22 | Francisco Caffaro | 7-0 | 250 |
Guard | 23 | Kody Stattmann | 6-7 | 204 |
Forward | 24 | Austin Katstra | 6-6 | 237 |
Guard | 25 | Trey Murphy III | 6-9 | 206 |
Guard | 30 | Jay Huff | 7-1 | 240 |
Guard | 33 | Carson McCorkle | 6-3 | 184 |
Forward | 53 | Tomas Woldetensae | 6-5 | 197 |
The Cavaliers begin their 2020-21 season with a game against Maine on November 25. They have 27 games in their season, and they end their regular season with an exciting away game against rivals, Louisville, on March 6, 2021.
The full schedule is available on the college website.