Media Relations Assistant Director Michael Colley Dies
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 07/12/2009

Charlottesville, Va. –– Michael Colley, a long-time assistant director in the University of Virginia athletics media relations office, died Saturday (July 11) during a walk while vacationing with friends in Virginia Beach. He was 46.

“Whether it was one of our future professionals or a walk-on, Michael viewed any student-athlete who wore orange and blue as a friend,” said Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage. “Michael’s knowledge and respect of the history of UVa sports was unequaled. Our program has lost a friend, a colleague and our No. 1 fan.”

Colley worked for 18 years at Virginia with his primary responsibilities involving the football and men’s lacrosse teams. His duties with both programs included compiling and distributing information to media, facilitating interviews between media and student-athletes and coaches, coordinating game-day press operations at all home games as well as other sport-related media activities.

He previously worked with the men’s basketball program and directed publicity efforts for the men’s golf, men’s and women‘s soccer, and men’s and women’s tennis programs.

“There was no one more passionate about Virginia athletics,” said Jim Daves, assistant athletics director for media relations. “Michael was a tireless worker who made so many contributions in the department. He was a walking history vault when it came to UVa athletics. He took great pride in serving the media, our coaches, administrators and mostly our student-athletes. His passing is a huge loss for all of us.”

A native of Charlottesville, Colley received his bachelor’s degree from UVa’s McIntire School of Commerce in 1985.

Following graduation, he worked three-and-a-half years as a sales representative for NCR Corporation in Norfolk, Va.

From 1989-90, Colley worked in the UVa athletics media relations office as a volunteer assistant. He then completed a one-year internship with the Atlantic Coast Conference Media Relations Office in Greensboro, N.C., before returning to UVa in 1991 as an assistant sports information director.

He served as the chief statistician at UVa football, men’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s home basketball games and at various NCAA Championship events. He also worked on the statistics crew at the NCAA Division I, II and III Men’s Lacrosse Championships and was a primary contributor to the first-ever NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Statistics manual released in 2009.

“Michael loved the University of Virginia and Virginia athletics,” said Rich Murray, associate athletics director for public relations. “I believe he found his calling when he came to work in the athletics media relations office. Michael was a presence in the office and had a positive impact in many areas. In addition to his outstanding professional work, he was a huge fan of Virginia athletics. He will be missed in many ways, but especially as a good friend.”

Colley was a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America and the Virginia chapter (VaSID) of that group as well as the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

He is survived by his parents, Bert and Don, who reside in Charlottesville.

 

Farewell to a friend - David Teel/Daily Press

Unknown to most fans but indispensable to all reporters, sports media relations folks work endless hours for modest pay.

But Michael Colley didn't view his job in the University of Virginia's operation that way. He grew up in Charlottesville, graduated from U.Va., and developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the Cavaliers.

In short, he loved the athletics department, and the Baltimore Orioles by the way.

Eighteen years ago, Mike took his institutional memory to his alma mater's athletics media relations, a.k.a. sports information, office. We hacks were all the better and wiser.

Today we're simply sad at the news of Mike's untimely death Saturday in Virginia Beach, where he was vacationing with friends. He was 46 years old and collapsed while walking.

Mike's primary duties involved football and men's lacrosse. He was especially helpful coordinating player interviews -- few appreciated the challenge of balancing athletics and academics as Mike did -- and explaining lacrosse's nuances to dunces such as me.

Not to portray Mike as a saint -- his grumpy side would not approve. He was just a good guy and a fount of information.

"Whether it was one of our future professionals or a walk-on, Michael viewed any student-athlete who wore orange and blue as a friend," athletic director Craig Littlepage said in a statement today. "Michael¹s knowledge and respect of the history of U.Va. sports was unequaled. Our program has lost a friend, a colleague and our No. 1 fan."

"Michael loved the University of Virginia and Virginia athletics," said Rich Murray, associate athletics director for public relations. "I believe he found his calling when he came to work in the athletics media relations office."

Seemed he did. He will be missed.

 

Longtime UVa media liaison dies at 46
By Jay Jenkins
Published: July 13, 2009

For Virginia men’s lacrosse coach Dom Starsia, loyalty remains one of the most important traits that a person can maintain.

For well over a decade, Starsia had that luxury with Virginia assistant director of media relations Mike Colley by his side.

That was all taken away Saturday — Colley died of an apparent heart attack during a walk at Virginia Beach, where he was vacationing with friends.

Colley, 46, had worked at the University of Virginia, his alma mater, for the past 18 years, serving as a liaison between the school’s athletic teams and the media.

One of Colley’s duties — in which he took immense pride — came with Starsia’s nationally-acclaimed program.

“I felt like Mike was one of those selfless guys that works behind the scenes and makes these things go,” Starsia said. “It may be that it is more my face or the face of the players that is on the program, but there are these guys that are just invaluable to the operation of these endeavors, and Mike was one of those guys.

“I just felt like he was as loyal as the day is long. He was someone that as much as [the media] are sometimes looking to take a shot at us or at somebody else, I always felt like Mike was watching my back. I put loyalty very high on the chart of qualities that are most important in terms of the hierarchy of an athletic organization or a coaching staff or an athletic program. For Mike, that was what I felt like more than anything.”

Colley, a 1985 graduate of UVa, worked on stat crews at the NCAA Division I, II and III men’s lacrosse championships and spearheaded the creation of the first-ever NCAA men’s lacrosse statistics manual, which was released this year.

“He was one of the truly loyal soldiers that makes this go,” Starsia added. “I have had an awful lot of success with this program over the last 17 or 18 years, and I owe it to the contributions of Mike Colley.”

Colley also bonded with members of Virginia’s football teams, a sport that he worked closely with. Numerous players were devastated, even speechless, in finding out the news of his passing Sunday.

“It is so sad,” said former Virginia wideout Kevin Ogletree, now with the Dallas Cowboys. “That was too young for Mike. He was truly the best.”

Former punter Ryan Weigand remembers receiving a sincere “thank you” from Colley every single time he showed for an interview opportunity.

“He was the nicest guy,” he recounted, “and he lived for the university.”

Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage praised Colley for his work at the university.

“Whether it was one of our future professionals or a walk-on, Michael viewed any student-athlete who wore orange and blue as a friend,” he said. “Michael’s knowledge and respect of the history of UVa sports was unequaled.

“Our program has lost a friend, a colleague and our No. 1 fan.”

In addition to his true affinity for Virginia athletics, Colley was also a diehard Baltimore Orioles fan that could produce lineups from years past after being asked.

That created some playful tension at times with Starsia.

“Between the moodiness of a college lacrosse coach and the fact that I was a hardcore New York Yankee fan and the head coach of the program, he had to sit through an awful lot and he was very patient with me,” Starsia said with a chuckle. “He put up with an awful lot that way.”

Colley is survived by his parents, Bert and Don, of Charlottesville.

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.
 

U.Va.‘s baseball coach wants fan support to grow
By Jeff White
Published: July 12, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE In the aftermath of the greatest season in the history of University of Virginia baseball, the accolades keep coming for coach Brian O'Connor.

Three days ago, CollegeBaseballInsider.com honored O'Connor as its national coach of the year. O'Connor, a native of Omaha, Neb., sat down that afternoon with a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter at Davenport Field to look ahead to 2010 and to reflect on Virginia's magical season.

U.Va. (49-15-1) set a school record for victories, won the ACC championship, captured an NCAA tournament regional in Irvine, Calif., and a super regional at Ole Miss, and became only the second team from this state to advance to the College World Series. The Cavaliers went 1-2 in Omaha, beating Cal State Fullerton and losing to eventual champion LSU and Arkansas.

In six seasons at Virginia, O'Connor, 38, has compiled a 265-104-1 record. He's guided the Wahoos to the NCAA tournament in each of those seasons.

What was the CWS experience like for you?

It was just an amazing run to get there. That's what I will always remember, going 4-0 in the ACC tournament and winning that title. Going out to Irvine and winning our first regional and then going to Ole Miss. Our road to Omaha was as challenging as it gets.

And then when we were in Omaha, for me personally it was great, being back there, being home, seeing so many families and friends and supporters that I've had in my career. . . . But really, I just wanted our players to experience it. I think the hardest thing about getting to Omaha is getting there the first time. Because for so long it's something that's talked about, it's like a distant dream, and until it becomes a reality, it's just a word. And now that we've made it happen, our players in the program understand what it takes to get there.

What must U.Va. do to keep progressing as a program?

From our players' standpoint and our team standpoint, I think that we're right there. We've proved that in winning two of three at Ole Miss, and we were right there in the LSU game. And that's just baseball. Sometimes you win those games and sometimes you don't. But as far as what we're doing with our personnel or what we're doing with our team, there's really no difference between any of those programs and ours.

To make our program grow, this is the biggest thing, in my opinion: Our fan base needs to grow with our program. I know it can be cold at times, but I'm talking the February-March games, the early ACC schedule. I've heard from so many people how excited they are about what we did this year and how they're looking forward to next season. We need to turn that into greater fan support. That's what these perennial powers have. Now, the numbers came out for this year, and I think we were top 25 in attendance, but there's a next level that we have to get to on a consistent basis.

How long will you be able to hold on to your top assistants, Kevin McMullan and Karl Kuhn?

I think this is one of the really big keys to the success we've had here. To keep my two assistant coaches - we're now going into our seventh year - is really rare. I think that speaks a lot to the community of Charlottesville and what this university has done for those two coaches. As much as I like it here, I know they like it here just as much. It affects the consistency of recruiting, it affects the consistency in player development. When you're rotating assistant coaches all the time, it's tough to develop any consistency in those areas. So those guys being here and being committed to being here has been as critical as anything to our success.

Have you watched a tape of the Arkansas game? (The Razorbacks rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game and then won 4-3 in 12 innings.)

I have not gone back and watched one game yet. I haven't watched one game in the ACC tournament, regional, super regional or World Series. But I will at some point this summer.

U.Va. is likely to be a top-5 team in the preseason polls next year. Have you talked to your players about the expectations they'll face?

[After Virginia returned from Omaha], I had a team meeting, and I addressed what we accomplished this year. So much can always be put on the last game that I wanted them to reflect on what we did the entire season and what we accomplished the last four weeks of the season, and feel good about that. But then I also turned the attention to next season. There are going to be enormous expectations on this team, within our own community and nationally. So I started to address with them how we're going to handle those expectations.

Most of your starters will be back next season. Can fans expect the 2010 lineup to look like this year's?

You can quote me on this: It is going to be open competition, and it is going to be the most competitive fall that we've ever had here. We've got some really legitimate position players coming in here. And it has to be that way. You don't forget about what players did for you in previous years, and that factors into the decision, but in all fairness to our incoming group, it has to be open competition. And players have to be willing to move to different positions. Just because you played a certain position on the team that went to Omaha doesn't mean that you're necessarily going to play that position or you're going to play every day next year."
 

Season-ticket sales down for Virginia football
By Jay Jenkins
Published: July 12, 2009

For nine years, it was never really a decision for Jeremy Rinaca.

The 28-year-old, who lives within walking distance of Scott Stadium, saved money throughout the year to secure season tickets for Virginia’s home football slate.

Following a 5-7 campaign that included four straight losses in November last year, Rinaca debated what to do moving forward. A struggling economy only added fuel to the fire.

He was not alone.

Decisions made to turn the offense over to new offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon and his spread style, putting Vic Hall on offense and a promising secondary solidified Rinaca’s eventual decision.

“I thought about not getting season tickets this year, but with the excitement around the program, I thought they might be tough to get,” said Rinaca, who sits in section 119 at Scott. “There is a new offense, quarterback Jameel Sewell is back, Vic Hall is on offense — a place that he should have been the past three years — and there is definite excitement there. The secondary on defense out to be sick — they could be the best in the conference.

“It is definitely one of the more exciting years recently under [coach] Al Groh.”

Not everyone followed in Rinaca’s footsteps.

As of Friday, Virginia officials said current season-ticket sales for the upcoming slate are at 30,140, a drop of 14.6 percent from the same date in 2008.

“What we’re finding with our 2009 season ticket sale is not unique compared to many schools around the country,” said Virginia athletics director Craig Littlepage. “That’s why we’re trying to be creative in these difficult economic times by offering ticket packages that provide fans the opportunity to see Virginia football.”

On Monday, the creative measures will go into action.

A pair of mini-ticket packages, including a deal designed for families, and single-game tickets will go on sale.

One package, coined the “rivalry package,” shows the struggles to sell season tickets. Purchasing the plan guarantees fans the chance to see the Virginia Tech contest without buying a full season-ticket package, a rarity in years past.

“That is rather telling,” Rinaca said. “You always had to get season tickets to see the Hokies and it always seemed like a ton of those were sold to Hokie fans.”

The “rivalry package,” which is being sold for $108, also includes admission to the William & Mary game on Sept. 5 and the TCU game on Sept. 12.

The family package, a creative measure employed last year during basketball season, features four tickets to the season’s first three games, four hot dogs and four small sodas for $280.

Single-game tickets for Virginia’s home games against William & Mary ($23), TCU ($35) and Indiana ($35) will be available Monday at the ticket office or by calling 1-800-542-8821. Tickets for all five road games are also available.
 

ACC football coaches sweating
By Caulton Tudor
(Raleigh) News & Observer

So, who's your pick as the ACC football coach with the least job security entering the 2009 season?

Miami's Randy Shannon?

Sure makes sense.

During his two-year watch, the Hurricanes have become so pedestrian that anything better than a 4-4 league record and third-place Coastal Division showing this season would rate as a pleasant surprise.

Virginia's Al Groh?

Another solid stab.

At the outset of his ninth season with the Cavaliers, Groh went 5-7 in 2008, has had two winning ACC records since 2002 and usually makes a bigger splash on NFL draft day than against Virginia Tech.

Maryland's Ralph Friedgen?

Well, that 8-5 overall record last season was a bit misleading. The 42-35 Roady's Humanitarian bowl win over Nevada in Idaho didn't exactly prompt a street celebration back home. And when last seen in Byrd Stadium, the Terps were taking a 37-3 slamming from Florida State. Don't forget, the Fridge's successor, James Franklin, has already been selected.

Florida State's Bobby Bowden, the league's resident legend, might even be on this potential endangered species list. His Seminoles have slipped into the ACC mainstream.

But if the patterns of recent history hold, we're all missing someone -- maybe two someones.

It was just last July at the ACC summer kickoff rally that Tommy Bowden arrived with a new contract and a fat raise from Clemson. And maybe it was poetic irony that he and emerging second-year star Jeff Jagodzinski of Boston College were standing outside an interview room and sharing a laugh just minutes before it was announced that Clemson was the preseason favorite to unseat Virginia Tech as league champ.

No one could have imagined that by midseason, Bowden would be out, having resigned under pressure to accept a buyout before giving way to aide Dabo Swinney.

Jagodzinski's team, picked in the preseason to finish fourth in the Atlantic Division, reached the ACC title game and finished 9-5 overall, which earned him support in the coach-of-the-year voting. None of that amounted to a bag of Boston beans when Jagodzinski and athletic director Gene DeFilippo clashed over an interview with the New York Jets. Jagodzinski was fired and replaced by longtime BC assistant Frank Spaziani.

It wasn't too long ago that college football coaching -- compared to college basketball and the NFL -- was relatively stable. Football coaches got booted off campus, but it was usually after two or three bad seasons in a row or flagrant NCAA violations.

Before Bowden was hired at Clemson, Tommy West lasted five seasons, although he won more than seven games only once. Ron Vanderlinden, the Maryland coach prior to Friedgen, hung on for four seasons and never did better than 5-6. North Carolina gave John Bunting six seasons, only the first of which produced a winning record.

The specifics behind the big shift to impatience differ from school to school, but it's clear that something changed in the ACC just before and just after the expansion from nine teams to 12.

Example A is Duke, which got really serious about trying to win games for the first time in two decades. Example B is Chan Gailey, who was booted out by Georgia Tech despite winning at least seven games in each of his six seasons.

The coaches don't leave empty-handed, of course. It's one of the few professions where unemployment equates to instant wealth because of the normal contract buyout clauses.

It's as difficult to cry for them as to guess who will be the first to get handed a million-dollar parting check.