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UVa band hits sour note for W.Va.
Although noted for its barbed humor, the pep band's performance drew hundreds of complaints.
THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Once again, the University of Virginia's pep band has managed to spark an international - well, at least interstate - incident.

In a repeat of a 1985 halftime show performance that prompted a border war of words, the irreverent UVa pep band performed a skit at Saturday's Continental Tire Bowl that mocked West Virginia students as overall-wearing hillbillies.

The latest spoof prompted more than 200 complaints to UVa administrators - from West Virginia fans and the school's own alumni - as well as outraged letters to The Observer and organizers of Charlotte's inaugural bowl, who expressed regrets.

The skit was "unflattering and stereotypical," said Ken Haines, chief executive and president of bowl organizer Raycom Sports. "It was not done with class."

UVa administrators apologized on a West Virginia morning radio show Monday and promised a full review of how the skit was approved by the school's athletic department. UVa president John Casteen is expected to issue a statement today.

The UVa pep band is known for its cheeky performances and mocking the school's opponents, from lampooning an ex-Maryland governor's felony conviction in 1997 to mock-killing an Elvis impersonator during the 1991 Sugar Bowl against Tennessee.

It's one of about a dozen "scramble bands" in the country, including Stanford and Rice, that eschew traditional marching formations for skits and on-field antics - and sometimes delight in offending great numbers of the other team's fans.

But West Virginians took extra offense Saturday to a send-up of the TV show "The Bachelor," in which two female band members - one portraying a UVa student and the other an overall-wearing WVU student - vied for the affections of a male heartthrob.

The UVa student won, of course, and the announcer exclaimed that the loser was headed "to Beverly Hills, that is," while the band struck up the "Beverly Hillbillies" theme song.

The mostly West Virginia crowd cursed and booed, while the pep band blew mock kisses as it left the field.

WVU fans recall a similar skit from 1985 - the last time the two teams met - when a takeoff on the game show "Family Feud" suggested that West Virginia lacked indoor plumbing, education and birth control. State officials demanded an apology.

The incident led to constraints against Virginia's student-run band, which was required to submit its scripts to a review board of students, faculty and alumni before subsequent performances.

The school still reviews the band's scripts, but they only have to be approved by the athletics promotions department now, Virginia spokeswoman Carol Woods said. The university might go back to a stricter process, she said.

"I've never seen anything they've done that was intended to be mean-spirited," Woods said. "It's always intended to be humorous, but it's possible for humor to miss the mark."

Bowl organizers reviewed a written script, as well, but Haines said it didn't convey what happened during the performance. "The execution of the skit was not what we expected," he said.

Pep band director Adam Lorentson, a third-year student, said Friday in Chsarlotte that the band planned a funny show but wasn't aiming to offend. "We're always told to not to stay out of trouble," he said, "but we never do."

 

 

Virginia apologizes, plans action
UVa officials seeking videotape of pep band’s halftime performance
Wednesday January 1, 2003

By The Associated Press

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The University of Virginia apologized Tuesday for the performance of a student pep band that made fun of West Virginians during halftime of the Continental Tire Bowl.

The independent band of Virginia students staged a parody of the television show “The Bachelor’’ at Saturday’s game, with a male Virginia student choosing between two female contestants.

One female, purported to be from West Virginia, had blue overalls, pigtails, a talent for square dancing and a dream to move to Beverly Hills, Calif. — a reference to “The Beverly Hillbillies.’’

West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise demanded an apology from Virginia President John T. Casteen.

“This type of performance merely perpetuates the unfounded stereotypes that we in West Virginia are fighting so hard to overcome,’’ Wise wrote Casteen.

Virginia spokeswoman Carol Wood said Tuesday that Casteen and other university officials are reviewing the pep band’s performance.

“We take this issue very seriously and we are sorry that this incident occurred,’’ Wood said. “We respect our colleagues at West Virginia University and all the citizens of West Virginia and do not in any way favor action that might insult them.’’

Wood said officials are seeking a videotape and other information about the performance, “which is proving a little difficult during a time with so many of the people from whom we need information on winter break.’’

She said Casteen’s response is expected by the end of the week.

Casteen already has called West Virginia University President David C. Hardesty about the performance, but Wood said she did know what Casteen said. Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage phoned his counterpart at West Virginia to express “disappointment and regret at what happened,’’ Wood said.

Virginia has received about 200 e-mails from West Virginia and Virginia fans.

Ken Haines, the Tire Bowl’s executive director, said he approved a five-paragraph script presented by band officials before the game but decried the performance as “childish.’’ He said the pep band is not welcome at future Tire Bowls.

The pep band also lampooned West Virginia at halftime of a 1985 game in Charlottesville. That performance, a parody of “Family Feud,’’ included derogatory references to indoor plumbing and birth control in West Virginia.

School officials later apologized.

The Tire Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., a 48-22 Virginia victory, was the first meeting between the two schools since that game.

 

 

UVa. band leader says aim wasn't to offend
WVU calls `hillbilly' skit unsportsmanlike
MARK WASHBURN
Staff Writer
 

The University of Virginia's pep band wasn't aiming to ignite a war between the states, its leader said Wednesday, but was merely trying to parody the TV show "The Bachelor" with its skit at the Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte.

"A lot of people are trying to find something to be mad about when nothing's really there," said Adam Lorentson, 20, a UVa. junior who leads the school's often-irreverent pep band.

Saturday's halftime skit featured a takeoff on the TV show in which a bachelor had to choose between a refined woman from the University of Virginia who was destined to become a pediatrician, and a woman from West Virginia University whose ambition it was to move to Beverly Hills.

The WVU character -- barefoot and wearing blue-jean overalls and pigtails -- square-danced with the bachelor and, after losing the contest, came to mock blows with the Cavalier contestant.

"I'm surprised that pigtails are offensive," said Lorentson, who is double majoring in foreign affairs and cognitive sciences. "And I saw plenty of fans from both sides in overalls."

But West Virginians criticized the oafish stereotype as offensive and demeaning. West Virginia's governor, Bob Wise, called for an apology from the University of Virginia.

Unlike traditional college marching bands, the UVa. pep band, also known as a scramble band, focuses on skits and satire rather than music.

"I want the record straight on what we did and didn't do," Lorentson said, noting that the only allusion in the script to mountain stereotypes was a line from the old "Beverly Hillbillies" show.

"We thought it was pretty innocuous," Lorentson said.

"It was offensive to West Virginians and in poor taste," said WVU's president, David Hardesty. "Given the similar offensive events involving the UVa. pep band at the last encounter between WVU and UVa. in 1985, I am surprised that the UVa. pep band would again adopt a program that exemplifies such poor sportsmanship."

In the 1985 skit, the pep band performed a "Family Feud" parody that included derogatory references to outhouses and lack of knowledge about birth control in West Virginia.

Lorentson said that he heard boisterous booing from WVU fans during Saturday's show, but wasn't sure if it was directed at the "Bachelor" skit or the 1985 show. "They'd been booing us all weekend," he said.

Lorentson said the band was verbally abused by fans when it left the stadium after Virginia's 48-22 victory. "A couple people tried to muscle onto our bus," he said. "I just wanted to get my people out of there."

A script for the show was requested in December by the UVa. athletic department, Lorentson said. The band's show committee wrote the script during final exams and submitted it to the department, which sent it on to bowl officials. Lorentson said no one asked for any changes.

Ken Haines, the bowl's executive director, said he had approved the script but this week decried the performance as "childish.''

A copy of the script provided by the band made no reference to square dancing, mock fighting, bare feet or overalls.

 

 

Billet looks to regain shooting touch tonight
 By ANDREW JOYNER / Daily Progress staff writer
Jan 1, 2003
 
Virginia junior guard Todd Billet should perhaps request that the rims from Rutgers be shipped to University Hall.

Billet scored 22 points in his return game at Rutgers, the school he spent his first two seasons, but has struggled to find his shot since.

In Virginia's last two games against Georgetown and Liberty, Billet is a combined 3 of 13, including a 2 for 12 performance from behind the 3-point arc.

"I'm a little frustrated. He was unbelievable at Rutgers but the last two games at home he hasn't been himself. He had some pretty good looks tonight I thought," said UVa coach Pete Gillen after Monday's win over Liberty. "I don't really know what it is."

Billet admits to a little frustration as well but is not overly concerned with his shooting touch at the moment.

"I've played a lot of games and you are not going to shoot great every game. I've gone through stretches when I haven't shot well and you just have to keep shooting," Billet said. "The odds will come back in your favor."

When asked if he's had a great shooting game yet by his standards, Billet said he felt that he hadn't.

"Not really. Not from start to finish I haven't. There have been a couple of spurts," Billet said. "I think I have to be a little more aggressive and less passive."

Billet, a 40 percent 3-point shooter while at Rutgers, has connected on 35.1 percent of his treys (25-73) so far this season and there is quite a disparity from his shooting on the road compared to at U-Hall.

In road games, Billet is 23 of 58 and 16 for 43 on 3-pointers while at home he's 11 of 39, 9-30 from behind the arc.

U-Hall has never seemed to be a shooter's paradise but Billet says there is nothing about the building affecting his shooting.

"It's a little different but I'm just getting used to playing in game situations here. You just have to adjust," Billet said. "For me, if I have my confidence going you will see a difference. That's the point I'm trying to get to."

Weathered Terriers. Wofford will be playing an ACC, SEC or Big East opponent for the seventh time tonight. Wofford, who won at Virginia Tech on Dec. 2, is coming off an 86-71 loss at N.C. State last Sunday. According to collegerpi.com, the Terriers own the nation's toughest schedule at the moment. In addition to N.C. State and Virginia, Wofford has played Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, West Virginia and South Carolina. The Terriers have lost all those games's but only by an average of 12 a contest.

Free throws. Virginia has three players that have connected on at least 40 percent of their 3-point attempts: Devin Smith (18-44, 40.9 percent), Derrick Byars (14-35, 40 percent) and Keith Jenifer (5-12, 41.7 percent). …

Jenifer, who made a career-high two treys against Liberty, has made a 3-pointer in each of his last four games. …

Smith, whose brother, Steve, is a junior guard for Iona, said he talked to his brother after Iona's upset of North Carolina last week. "Everyone was pretty happy," said Smith, noting that the Smith family was hoping for three victories over the Tar Heels this season. …

Wofford assistant coach Alex Peavey is a 1999 UVa graduate. Peavey, a Richmond native, worked in UVa's football recruiting office while at Virginia and also compiled statistics for UVa's sports information office. Also an assistant on Wofford's staff is Mark Prosser, the son of Wake Forest head coach and former Gillen assistant Skip Prosser.

 

 

Mapp Is Headed in the Right Direction
Thursday, January 2, 2003; Page D10
CHARLOTTESVILLE
For Majestic Mapp, the waiting is almost over.

He hopes. He believes. He prays.

Maybe it will be tonight against Wofford. Or it might be Sunday at North Carolina State. "Worst case, it will be North Carolina on the 11th," he says, steel in his voice. Then he pauses, and the voice becomes a lot softer. "If everything keeps going okay."

It has now been almost 34 months since Mapp played in a real basketball game for Virginia in a first-round NIT loss to Georgetown. That was the end of his freshman year, a solid season in which he averaged almost 19 minutes as the Cavaliers' third guard, backing up veteran Donald Hand.

"I was on my way," he said, remembering back to the spring of 2000. "I'm not sure why I've had to go through this, but God works in mysterious ways. I guess I needed to be grounded for some reason. I went from being on top of the world, to being out in the cold in a place where it feels like no one knows you. Before this happened, I had tunnel vision about basketball. I can guarantee you that's not the case anymore."

What happened was one of those fluke injuries that changes a life forever. On Aug. 2, 2000, Mapp was back home in New York playing three-on-three pickup at his alma mater, St. Raymond's High School. He started to make a move and felt something give in his right knee. "I knew it was bad," he said, "because I couldn't push off at all. I had to stop playing."

It was bad, very bad. The doctors told him he had torn the anterior cruciate ligament. Two weeks later, he had surgery. His sophomore season was gone. "My attitude at first was, 'Okay, let's get through this, rehab the knee and come back,' " he said. "But it wasn't that simple."

Not nearly. Twice in the next 12 months he had the knee scoped because he was still in serious pain. The first time he was told he had scar tissue that was causing most of the pain. The second time, a second doctor gave him crushing news: He needed ACL surgery again. The ligament had to be reconstructed. Another season gone.

Now, more than a year after that fourth operation, he is close to playing again. He knows his minutes will be limited, and he knows he still has a long way to go to "be me again. That's where I want to get first -- back to being me. If I can do that, I can help this team. If I can get out there on the court and provide some energy, just show the guys I made it back, I think I can help. They know what I've been through. Seeing me make it back will help them. I really believe that."

So, apparently, do his teammates and coaches. Not knowing if he would play a single minute this season, they chose him to co-captain the team along with leading scorer Travis Watson. "I've contributed my voice," he said. "Now I think I'm ready to contribute more."

The first 19 years of his life were about as close to perfect as any kid from the streets of New York could hope for or dream about. He was a star basketball player; a good student. He grew up in a loving home, the third of four children, taught by two hard-working parents to believe in himself, not just as an athlete, but as a person. He was all-everything as a senior at St. Raymond's, a 6-foot-2 point guard with a feel for the game, the kind of guard who makes other players better. He was recruited by everyone. He chose Virginia because he liked the school and what Pete Gillen was building.

The basketball was paramount, but the school mattered too. He won several scholar-athlete awards at St. Raymond's to go with all the basketball awards.

"I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say basketball was the most important thing in my life," he said one afternoon this week, relaxing a few hours before Virginia played at home against Liberty. "Where I grew up, if you could play, the prize for everyone was the idea of playing in [the NBA] someday. You know you'll get the chance to play against the best, to prove yourself, to show people what you can do. The key is making yourself good enough when the chance comes."

Prior to the injury, he was being groomed to take the point guard spot when Hand graduated. Hand (class of '01) is long gone. Mapp is still waiting.

"You wouldn't wish something like this on your worst enemy, much less on a good kid like Majestic," Gillen said. "It's been painful to watch him go through this. Basketball was his whole life. The mood swings were tough. One day, he'd feel better and be up. The next day you were worried he might jump off a bridge."

Mapp insists it never got quite that bad, but like so many athletes who suddenly lose their identity, he had tough times. "I obsessed about the knee," he said. "All I thought about was, 'When will I get better?' I let my grades slip. I was sitting around at home thinking that a 19-year-old kid should not be inside all day doing nothing. Fortunately, my family and my friends were there to talk sense to me when I needed it most."

He lost a grandmother and an aunt during that period. This fall, his mother had a serious and scary bout with kidney stones. "It's a cliche I know, but sometimes adversity is what makes you understand how fortunate you are. I know now that basketball is only part of my life, not all of it."

As the pain lingered and the trips to new doctors continued, he came to understand that the last thing he could do was let his grades slip. He righted himself academically and will graduate this spring with a degree in economics. He already has been granted one medical redshirt year by the NCAA and is almost a lock to be given a second year given his injuries and his academic standing. He will enroll in grad school in the fall, working towards a degree in education.

"I'm really not sure what I want to do when I'm not playing basketball anymore," he said. "Sometimes I think stocks, sometimes I think I'd like to start a law firm. Then I think teaching or social work would be fun. What's important though, is I'll have options whenever basketball ends."

It never occurred to him, he says, even through all the pain, that basketball might be over now.

"No way," he said. "Quitting would be hard, not quitting is harder -- which is why I'm still here. I have no idea what kind of player I'm going to be when I get back out there. It's been a long, long time and my knee can't be the same. You get stabbed with a knife four times in the same place, that part of your body won't be the same. But I'll get better as I go. The key is patience. That's been the key all along."

That patience was severely tested this fall when practice began. One week in, the knee was killing him -- again. Near tears, he went to Gillen to tell him he just couldn't play with the pain. Gillen told him it was his call to decide how much or how little he would practice or play. He called his doctor, Arthur Ting, in California and consulted with two other specialists. All told him the same thing: Your knee is strong; you have to rehab the area around the knee more.

That's what he did. A week ago, he returned to full contact in practice. His eyes are full of life now as he talks about how it feels to be playing again, not just doing shooting drills or scooting through a layup line. "I'm ready to give it a try," he said. "Even if it's just for three, five, 10 minutes at first. There's no pain. I just have to convince Coach that it's time."

Gillen isn't about to take any chances at this stage. "I feel like I'm tiptoeing on glass," he said. "I know how much he wants to play. We all want to see him out there. I think the goal for this season is to get him back on the court, a few minutes a game and go from there. He's come back so far physically, but there's a long way to go -- mentally, emotionally. It's been a rocky ride."

But a ride that Mapp says will benefit him in the long run. "I don't know why I had to go through this," he said. "But I know I've learned a lot. To me, the prize is still the NBA and I want to get there, want to compete against the best. But if I don't get the prize, I know I can handle it. I'm going to be fine either way.

"I always loved basketball. If anything, I love it more now because I've had to fight to get back to where I can play it again. But basketball isn't my obsession anymore. I am as close to being at peace with myself as I can be."

He smiled. "But when I get back out there, then I'll be completely at peace. I'll be me again."
 

 

 

BCS exposed to wind of change
Playoff possibilities: Colleges consider adjusting postseason format after 2005.
Tony Barnhart - Staff
Thursday, January 2, 2003

Tempe, Ariz. --- What if the college football season didn't end Friday night with the Fiesta Bowl?

What if there were another national championship game between the Fiesta Bowl winner and the winner of one of the other Bowl Championship Series games?

What if there were three more games, with the BCS bowl champions playing a four-team tournament to decide the national championship?

One of those things could happen, but not until four years from now.

The BCS contract runs through the bowl games that follow the 2005 regular season. But college presidents and conference commissioners are discussing what the Division I-A postseason will look like after that. Interviews with the commissioners and others reveal that the discussions on college football's future will center on four options:

> Keeping the BCS.

> Tweaking the BCS by adding a game or games after the current bowls.

> A playoff.

> Going back to the old bowl system that existed before the BCS.

Neither of the last two options is likely.

"Based on the people I've talked to, I don't see a whole lot of support for the two extremes on that spectrum," said Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany. "But there could be another option out there that could get some political traction."

If the BCS does change after the 2005 season, it probably would come in one of two forms:

> The addition of a national championship game to be played after the four BCS bowls, with participants chosen from among the four winners of the BCS bowls.

> The addition of three more games, with the four BCS bowl winners playing a semifinal round followed by a national championship game.

"Option two would be more than a tweak, but it wouldn't be a true playoff either," said ACC commissioner John Swofford. "But at this point we owe it to all parties to consider everything."

Earlier playoff deal rejected

Implementing one of these "tweaks" to the BCS will be problematic.

College presidents are unhappy with the commercialization that exists in college athletics. Three years ago, they rejected a big-money proposal that would have created a 16-team playoff. This stance is expected to get stronger now that former Indiana University president Myles Brand is the NCAA president.

The presidents are not interested in expanding the football calendar so that play continues into the next academic semester, said Baylor president Robert Sloan, chairman of a group of CEOs from BCS universities who will have a strong oversight role in determining what happens to postseason football.

"We want to make sure that whatever we do doesn't harm our current bowl partners and it doesn't harm the academic calendar," Sloan told USA Today. "But as we all know since 9/11, life changes. And I think everybody's willing to keep an open mind on these things."

The BCS bowls are nervous. They oppose adding more games to the structure.

"We simply feel that it would devalue our game and change the experience for both the athletes and the fans who attend," said John Junker, the executive director of the Fiesta Bowl. "We can't support that idea."

Junker's bowl hosts this year's national championship game: No. 1 Miami (12-0) against No. 2 Ohio State (13-0). They're the only two unbeaten teams in Division I-A, but it's far from unanimous that they're the two best. Teams like Georgia, Southern California, Iowa and Kansas State finished strong and, despite losing a game or two, might now be favored over Ohio State.

Other NCAA divisions settle their championships with a 16-team playoff. And Division I-A?

"There is no question that the public wants us to have a conversation about a playoff," said Mike Tranghese, the Big East commissioner and chairman of the BCS. "I think they want those of us in charge of college football to lay everything on the table."

None of the commissioners of college football's six most powerful conferences said he thinks a playoff is imminent.

"We'll have meetings on this subject in January, but during informal discussions with our presidents and chancellors I don't detect any enthusiasm for an extended playoff format," said SEC commissioner Mike Slive. "That may change once we begin our formal discussions, but right now I just don't see it."

Momentum for change

Playoff proponents entered this season with some momentum because for the past two years the BCS formula has led to controversy about one of the two teams in the national championship game.

After the 2000 season, Miami was left out of the Orange Bowl in favor of Florida State, although both teams had one loss and the Hurricanes beat the Seminoles. Florida State lost 13-2 to Oklahoma.

After the 2001 season, Oregon was rated No. 2 in the reporters' and coaches' polls, but the BCS formula ranked Nebraska No. 2. The Cornhuskers did not win their conference and were crushed 62-36 in their final regular-season game. Miami embarrassed Nebraska 37-14 in the Rose Bowl.

Playoff advocates had even more momentum in late October when there were eight undefeated teams and it seemed likely an undefeated team would get left out of the national championship game. But six of those teams fell, the national championship matchup became clear and the momentum for change was lost.

There is no postseason system that is going to make everybody happy, Tranghese said. That's why, within the next two years, college football has to come up with a serious plan for its future --- one that makes the most sense for institutions involved.

"I think we have to take a long hard look at what we want to be in the future and map out our plan to get there," Tranghese said. "And at the end of the day, if we don't want a playoff, then we have to be able to stand up in public and say why. We can't function in a vacuum."
 

 

 

U.VA. NOTES
Jan 02, 2003

EXPANDING HIS GAME: As a senior at Maryland's Towson Catholic High in 1999-2000, Keith Jenifer averaged 18.8 points. He averaged 13 a season later for Hargrave Military Academy's postgraduate team, but Jenifer has been reluctant to shoot since enrolling at the University of Virginia last year.

The 6-3 point guard averaged 4 points as a freshman and made only 2 of 18 attempts from 3-point range. Ever so slowly, however, Jenifer is becoming more of a scoring threat.

He had a career-high 13 points in U.Va.'s win over Kentucky at the Maui Invitational last month and is averaging 6.3 per game. Especially pleasing to fifth-year coach Pete Gillen, who's tired of seeing opponents play 5 on 4 when Virginia has the ball, is that Jenifer has begun to find his touch from the perimeter.

After missing his first six attempts from 3-point range this season, Jenifer has made five of his past six. His two treys Monday against Liberty were a career best.

"We beg him to shoot the ball," Gillen said. "We've got to take him out if he doesn't shoot sometimes. We need him to be a threat."

CHALLENGES AHEAD: After the Cavaliers (8-2) play host to Wofford (4-5) tonight at University Hall, they'll turn their focus to the ACC. But this won't conclude the Wahoos' non-conference schedule. Virginia plays at Virginia Tech on Jan. 21 and visits Ohio University on Feb. 26. Those games are likely to prove crucial in U.Va.'s bid to reach the NCAA tournament.

WANTED MAN: The Los Angeles Daily News, citing anonymous sources, reported yesterday that UCLA's new football coach, Karl Dorrell, interviewed U.Va. offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave on Tuesday. Dorrell is looking to fill those positions on his staff.

The Los Angeles Times also reported yesterday that Dorrell is interested in Musgrave, a former University of Oregon star who recently completed his second season under U.Va. coach Al Groh. Musgrave, a native of Colorado, has been hailed for his creative play-calling in U.Va.'s 48-22 rout of West Virginia in last weekend's Continental Tire Bowl at Charlotte, N.C.

Musgrave could not be reached for comment yesterday.

IMPRESSIVE AUDITION: Virginia loses only one wideout from a 9-5 team, but he's the school's all-time leading receiver: Billy McMullen. Among those who'll try to fill the void left by McMullen is Ryan Sawyer.

A redshirt junior from Marietta, Ga., who rooms with quarterback Matt Schaub, Sawyer gave U.Va. fans a preview Saturday of what they might expect from him next season.

After McMullen left early in the first quarter with an injury, Sawyer replaced him and had four catches for 41 yards against WVU. Each of his receptions went for a first down. Sawyer finished the season with 11 catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

IT'S OFFICIAL: Dogged research by Mike Colley of U.Va.'s athletic media relations department has confirmed that Marques Hagans is the only football player in school history - at least in the modern era that dates to 1937 - to return a punt for a touchdown and pass for a touchdown in the same game.

Hagans, a redshirt freshman from Hampton, threw a 14-yard TD pass to tailback Wali Lundy on a trick play in the first quarter Saturday. Hagans returned a punt 69 yards for a score in the second quarter of U.Va.'s romp over West Virginia.

Only three other Cavaliers had thrown a TD pass and scored on a punt return in the same season: Jim Gillette in 1939, Bill Dudley in '41 and Ray Brown in '46.

THE CHASE IS ON: The Cavaliers' football recruiting class for 2003 quickly is filling up, and only a few players remain on coach Al Groh's wish list. One of the most coveted is Chase Anastasio, a senior at Robinson High in Fairfax. Anastasio, who's also seriously considering Virginia Tech, starred at wideout and safety for Robinson, a perennial power in Group AAA.

Anastasio's aunt, Lyn Anastasio, lettered three times for the U.Va. women's basketball team in the 1980s. His father, Mike Anastasio, is a former basketball standout at the University of Richmond.

DROUGHT TO END? The Cavaliers haven't been ranked in The Associated Press' final football poll since 1998, when they went 9-3 and finished No. 18. But don't be surprised if Virginia (9-5) claims a spot when the AP's last poll for 2002 is released after the Fiesta Bowl.

U.Va., unranked when it met No. 15 West Virginia, posted its third victory in four games over a ranked opponent. - Jeff White