Williams’ Goal: Reconnecting UVA Football’s Past With Present

One of Carla Williams’ goals for the Virginia football team is to reconnect the Cavaliers’ past with the present by bringing former Wahoos back to meet and inspire the current team.

Williams, UVa’s director of athletics, stated that goal when she met with state sportswriters back in May. Apparently that project has gone well over the past few months.

“I think there has been a significant uptick because there has been a significant emphasis,” Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Carla has done a really nice job with that.”

Mendenhall pointed out that it was brought up in a team meeting Monday that Virginia had 22 former players that were Super Bowl champions. Many of them have been back over the summer to visit UVa’s program.

Guys like Chris Long, Heath Miller, Herman Moore, Matt Schaub, and many more have graced the Grounds with their return visits.

“The ones that have interest in coming back, it has been fun because they consider this their program,” Mendenhall said. “I’m currently the steward over the program and of the program. I really want it to be something that they’re proud of and support and love the results.”

Having those former players returning is important to Virginia’s program on so many levels, and something that Williams is very familiar with in her background at Georgia.

“It is huge,” she said. “In the last five years at Georgia, I spent a lot of time getting those former players back to Athens and getting current NFL players in Athens during their bye week.”

Williams recognized that there were so many UVa players that are either retired from or participating in the NFL and wanted to continue the program in Charlottesville.

“We’ve got to be very intentional,” she said. “I’ve talked to those guys about coming back. We’re going to pick weekends and invite players back and have something meaningful for them to engage in.”

Williams’ strategy is simple. Virginia football needs help financially, plus NCAA rules allow past and present NFL players to talk to recruits on campus.

“We need their presence,” the AD said. “It doesn’t matter what era they’re from. You played for the University of Virginia. This is your university, this is your team. We’re trying to bring them together as one. It’s OK if you played for a certain coach, but you played for the University of Virginia.”

All that is just fine with Mendenhall, who recognizes the benefits for his program.

“It matters to me that they’re proud of what we’re doing and like what we’re doing,” the coach said. “I would say the overwhelming majority that have come back have shared that. They’re coming back because they are UVa, and I am appreciative of that. Our team is appreciative of it.

“There have been some very special people on the field, and man, there have been some amazing people off the field in terms of what they’ve accomplished,” Mendenhall said about the former Wahoo players.

He believes on and off the field success is the essence of what Virginia football is all about. He wants his players to lead quality lives, and that the players who return resonate that philosophy and have aligned with it.