When ACC Commissioner John Swofford gave his state of the league speech to kick off the ACC Kickoff Media event in Charlotte Wednesday, the most popular topic on the agenda seemed to be gambling. As he fielded questions on a wide variety of topics from the gathered media, three different times the subject returned to the what-ifs that could occur if a state with an ACC School legalized gambling. Swofford gave good answers in the folksy, aw-shucks method he often effectively employs. But they really didn’t leave you with the feeling of a strong plan being in place. It instead […]

CHARLOTTE, NC – With still a little over a year to go until its official launch in August 2019, the anticipation building for the ACC Network was one of the hot topics discussed by conference commissioner John Swofford during his yearly press conference at ACC Kickoff Wednesday. Two years ago at the annual event, Swofford announced plans for the future cable network in conjunction with ESPN — which will be similar to the SEC Network — and on Wednesday he provided an update on its progress heading into the 2018-19 season. “Bottom line, whether it’s production, distribution, scheduling or anything […]

CHARLOTTE, NC – Media days in college sports are generally lackluster affairs, with the league controlling the agenda, coaches saying what they’re supposed to say, and players doing the same. They are obligatory to the media, not so much for what IS said, but for what somebody MIGHT say. UNC football coach Larry Fedora did not let the media down at today’s ACC kickoff meeting. Fedora was chatting during a breakout session when a question about the new kickoff rules led into how football has changed, how coaches now teach it, the drills employed and the protocols used as it […]

CHARLOTTE, NC – Bronco Mendenhall has a wish list on how to turn around Virginia football. Part of that list includes ending the long draught against state rival Virginia Tech. Part of the list is not only reaching bowl games, but winning bowl games. In order to get there, his program could use a little help and that help is coming from Carla Williams, the new director of athletics. Williams, with an administrative football background that includes Georgia and Florida State, has granted some of Mendenhall’s list to help Virginia’s program reach industry standards. Those were very important first steps […]

Jerry joined WINA Sports Director Jay James on his very successful sportstalk radio program, Best Seat In The House on July 14, 2018. The conversations went from memories of the UVA-Virginia Tech football rivalry, to Bronco Mendenhall and the UVA football program, to Tony Bennett and UVA basketball, and concluded with a conversation on former athletic director Craig Littlepage and current AD Carla Williams. Here are the four segments, where you click on each link and listen to the program: UVA-Virginia Tech football rivalry Bronco Mendenhall and the UVA football program Tony Bennett and UVA basketball A conversation on former […]

If you have visited the site since last night, you may notice a new menu tab that says “Plans”, which signifies we have finally finished our original plans for the website. Our original intent was to put up a front end of content as soon as we could, then a month later install the back end, which allows people to login, subscribe and make changes to their information within our system. It also will control access to the different areas of the site. Subscribers got an email last night explaining how to use this, but I’ll repeat it for those […]

When you start a business, there are several milestones that make you step back and go “cool.” One is when you print the company’s first business card. Another is when the company website goes live for the first time. And then there’s the day that a big box arrives at the office, you open it up, and inside are the golf shirts with your company logo that our Marketing and Advertising Director, Wendy Peery, had been working on. Jerry just sent me a picture of them, and while Hootie is entirely too humble to post a picture online, I’m not. […]

As mentioned last week, we are going to try to bring regular features to the site, including Hootie’s Wayback Machine and my look at business and media in the ACC. Another one we’re considering is a regular look at good old-fashioned number crunching involving statistics of UVA and the ACC, examining trends in anything from football stats to school finances. Our first look will involve the USA Today annual survey of the financials of major college sports programs, which was released earlier in the year. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the link for it. Through 2017, the state of […]

Although it’s only been a little more than a week since we’ve gone live, you should start seeing the site evolve into more regular features such as Hootie’s Wayback Machine, as we want to make sure we’re producing not only the news stories involving University of Virginia sports, but perspective, commentary and analysis of those things that also affect UVA sports. I won’t be getting the DeLorean up to 88 miles per hour, but in addition to Hootie’s Wayback Machine, we will also be having a regular column on business and media as it relates to UVA and the ACC. […]

WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – Steve Marino is the seasoned warhorse of Virginia golf. No Cavalier golfer has remained on the professional level longer than Marino, who has been earning a living since 2002. I remember writing a story on Marino once he earned his PGA Tour card 16 years ago. He was getting ready to make his debut at an event in Hawaii.I’ll never forget what he told me. “I don’t want to be a one-and-done guy,” Marino said. “I don’t want to play for a year and then vanish. I want to be making a career out of […]

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – It was late March and even though Denny McCarthy had not yet made a cut in his rookie year on the PGA Tour, the former University of Virginia golfer felt like he was playing well. Then the Corales Puntacana Resort Club Championship in the Dominican Republic came along. McCarthy carded two sub-70s rounds to open the tournament and finished fourth, not only making his first cut but making his first substantial payday ($144,000) in the process. He’s been solid ever since, missing only one cut and earning almost $400,000 heading into this weekend’s Military Tribute […]

One of the features that will become regular on JerryRatcliffe.com is “Hootie’s Way Back Machine,” when I climb into our company’s time machine and visit a memorable moment in Virginia sports history. For anyone unaware, yes, my nickname is Hootie, something I’ve had long before the Blowfish came into existence. So here is the first installment. Come along with me, but as our friend Rod Mullins in the Southwest corner of the state reminds us, remember that we have to hit 88 mph on the keyboard before the flux capacitor will start. And try not to interact with yourself or […]

Earlier this week, David Teel of the Newport News Daily press wrote this piece on the ACC Network, set to launch in 2019. It noted Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel had told the university’s Board of Regents last week that his department’s share of Big Ten revenue was $51.1 million in 2017-18, with $52.1 million projected in 2018-19. That’s a stark comparison to the ACC’s $26.6 million divulged in its most recent federal tax filing, according to Teel. Wow, I thought. The gap just keeps getting bigger and bigger between the Big 10 and the ACC. Wow, I also thought. […]