Barbers give back to U.Va.
NFL and former Cavs stars pledge $1 million gift to capital campaign
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 2, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- The University of Virginia has had few ambassadors greater than the Barbers.

During high-profile careers in the NFL, identical twins Tiki and Ronde regularly have proclaimed their allegiance to their alma mater. Now they're giving back in a significant fashion to the school they credit for much of what they've accomplished.

U.Va. announced yesterday the Barbers have pledged $1 million to the university's $3 billion capital campaign. They're committed to giving $500,000 and, assuming that other donors meet a challenge the brothers will establish, plan to contribute an additional $500,000.

"This was the perfect opportunity to make a statement about the university," Ronde said outside the Rotunda, where he and his brother met with reporters.

The Barbers, 31, are 1997 graduates of U.Va.'s McIntire School of Commerce. They starred in football at Virginia for then-coach George Welsh and have found more success in the NFL: Tiki as a tailback with the New York Giants, Ronde as a cornerback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We're been fortunate," Tiki said. "We've both done pretty well as NFL players, and as a result have made a great living, and a lot of that is being a result of being here at the university."

He added with a smile: "It makes me extremely glad that we did not turn out to be Hokies like my mother."

The Barbers' gift will benefit the McIntire School of Commerce, the Virginia Athletics Foundation, the U.Va. Children's Hospital and the U.Va. Alumni As- sociation's Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund for African-American students.

That the twins could return to Charlottesville on the same weekend during football season is remarkable in itself. Each is in his 10th NFL season, and only once before, as best the twins could remember, had the Giants and the Bucs been off on the same weekend.

"It's fortuitous, and it worked out perfectly," said Tiki. He and Ronde were emcees at a Saturday night gala for top donors at U.Va.'s new John Paul Jones Arena.

The Barbers grew up in Roanoke, raised primarily by their mother, Geraldine, a Virginia Tech graduate. (Their father starred in football for the Hokies.) At home, Ronde recalled, education "was as much an emphasis as our athletics."

Education remains a cornerstone of their lives. The twins volunteer with literacy campaigns and have co-authored three children's books.

Tiki attributes much of his success in the NFL to his experience in the McIntire School, "where you're forced in real-life settings to make decisions and adjust on the run," he said. "I did that in class here, and I do it now on the football field, and it's allowed me to have a productive career for 10 years where you usually only play three or four, and I'm thankful for that."

Ronde recently signed a five-year contract extension with Tampa Bay. Tiki's plans are hazier. He has two years remaining on his contract with the Giants but admits this could be his final NFL season. He's proven a natural in TV appearances and might want to pursue other careers.

"Football's been great for me, but I've started to do other things," Tiki said. "And this university has prepared me to be a diversified person, and I'm kind of excited to go diversify."

For now, the Barbers hope their gift will inspire other U.Va. alumni to contribute to the capital campaign.

"It's the example that's most important," Tiki said. "While people may assume that only the big gifts count, every gift counts, whether you can give $100, or $500 or $10,000 or $1 million."


 

More aggressive defense pays dividends for U.Va.
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Oct 2, 2006

The 3-4 remains the University of Virginia's base defense, but the scheme looks different since Mike London returned to Charlottesville.

London, in his first season as U.Va.'s defensive coordinator, doesn't hesitate to have his charges blitz, be they safeties or linebackers. His philosophy is paying dividends in a season when Virginia's offense ranks among the ACC's least productive. This U.Va. defense is less experienced than its immediate predecessor, but it's quicker, especially on the line, and that's allowed London to take more chances with his calls.

"We've got a lot more variety working for us now," sixth-year coach Al Groh said, "with that whole pressure deal."

A year ago, the Cavaliers recorded only 18 sacks, the second-fewest of any team in the ACC. Heading into its non-conference date at East Carolina (1-3) on Saturday night, U.Va. (2-3) has 17 sacks. The total may rise to 18 once Duke officials review videotape of a play from the weekend's rout at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Virginia was credited with eight sacks in its 37-0 victory over the Blue Devils. Groh said last night that he believes outside linebacker Jermaine Dias should have been given a sack on a play that was ruled a run Saturday.

That would put Dias, a junior, in first place among U.Va. players. Right now, he's one of four Cavaliers with three sacks apiece. The others are sophomore inside linebacker Jon Copper, sophomore outside linebacker Clint Sintim and redshirt freshman defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald.

In 2005, Al Golden's fifth and final season as its defensive coordinator, U.Va. made 71 tackles for loss. The Cavaliers already have 48 this season, with Fitzgerald (eight), Sintim (seven), Copper (six) and Dias (six) leading the assault.

London, who coached the Cavaliers' defensive linemen from 2001 to '04, spent last season on the Houston Texans' coaching staff. He returned to U.Va. as defensive coordinator after Golden left to become head coach at Temple.

Under London, senior cornerback Marcus Hamilton said, the game plan is a little different, but "the guys are just flying around and having fun. That's our mentality on defense . . . and that's what makes us look so aggressive, on top of the calls being aggressive themselves. We just want to have fun and get to the quarterback."

Hamilton intercepted two passes against Duke, in part because of the pressure his teammates put on freshman quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.

"We just tried to come from as many angles as possible, and that's a credit to coach London's game plan and coach Groh's game plan," said junior defensive end Chris Long.

The 6-3, 279-pound Fitzgerald, a graduate of Hermitage High, didn't have any sacks Saturday, but he disrupted Duke's offense in other ways. He returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter and intercepted a pass in the third. Fitzgerald also broke up a pass.

This U.Va. defense relies "more on athletic ability in some circumstances than pure power, or let's say more than we have in the past," Groh said. "Jeffrey's one of the reasons why that's the case."
 

Barber brothers present UVa with generous grant
Tiki and Ronde Barber spend their bye weeks to pledge $1 million to their former university.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE--The last time Tiki and Ronde Barber were off on the same NFL weekend, they let the occasion pass without incident.

"We were trying to figure out when it was," Ronde said Sunday. "It was either 1998 or 1999. Back then, we took it for granted."

Maybe they just needed Virginia to bring them together.

The Barber twins were back at their alma mater this weekend, where it was announced Saturday night that they have pledged $1 million to a variety of school programs.

Half of the gift was in the form of a $500,000 challenge that will come due when it is matched by fellow young alumni.

The Barbers, who grew up in Roanoke and graduated from Cave Spring High School, served as the co-masters of ceremony Saturday night at the kickoff banquet for a $3 billion capital campaign.

"At some point in the last year, we decided that we could be an example," Ronde said. "We're still not far enough out of the university that people who watch UVa football and follow the Barbers can't relate to us.

"In a year or so from now, Tiki might not be in the NFL. The popularity might not be there. I think we're at the very peak of our marketability. To increase the value of your diploma, you have to continue to invest in the university."

The Barbers are in their 10th seasons in the NFL and both have played their entire careers with the same team.

Both were first-team All-NFL selections last year, Tiki as a running back for the New York Giants and Ronde as a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ronde signed a five-year, $24-million deal with Tampa Bay before the season and Tiki has two years to go on his contract, but he won't commit to playing two more years.

"As a running back, you don't just steadily decline," said Tiki, who in 2005 became the first back 30 years or over to rush for 1,800 yards. "You fall off a cliff, and, at some point, I know that will come.

"At 31, I'm way past the peak for guys at my position. While I'm not saying this is my last year, I'm prepared for it if it is my last year."

So, is he serious?

"Don't open that bag," Ronde said.

Much of the Barbers' gift will go to UVa's undergraduate McIntire School of Commerce, of which both are graduates. Other beneficiaries will be the UVa Children's Hospital; the Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund, which benefits African-American students, and the Virginia Athletics Foundation.

The UVa football team was on the road this weekend, but the Barbers watched part of the telecast of the Cavaliers' 37-0 romp over Duke, which ended a two-game losing streak.

"They've struggled," Tiki said. "I wish I could stand here and cast stones but I live in a glass house."

The Giants, who won the NFC East last season, are 1-2.

"He lives in a glass house and mine might be broken," Ronde said. "We're 0-3."

Both Barbers have made the last two Pro Bowls, and each one has played in a Super Bowl, Ronde as a winner and Tiki as a runner-up.

"That's really the only goal I have left -- to get one of those," Tiki said. "Other than that, I think I'm satisfied. I came into the NFL and just wanted to make it for a few years and see what else I could do, maybe put my commerce degree to good use.

"Somewhere along the line, I figured it out."

Tiki holds virtually every single-season and career rushing record for the Giants. Some would say he's a hall-of-fame candidate.

"I'll introduce Ronde when he gets in," he said.

While Ronde plays a lower-profile position in a smaller market, his accomplishments are no less impressive.

"Tiki sounds all nostalgic about it, but I'm still riding this pony," he said. "You stake a claim in the NFL. You want people to remember you. I think they will."
 

Duke, stop this charade
Caulton Tudor, Staff Writer

Duke has every right to be as bad in football as it desires, just as it is free to retain coach Ted Roof for years to come.
But please, Duke, stop the football masquerade. Just stop it.

Stop pretending that football matters. It's transparent. It's also agonizing. It's like watching a trapped animal gnaw off a foot.

It's important to understand that unlike at most colleges, even those in the private sector, there's no motivation at Duke to become competitive in football. Other than the coaches and the players, no one even cares enough to press the issue.

During much of the past decade, Duke football has been alternately frustrating and depressing.

Now it's simply irrelevant. It might as well be a moon over Pluto.

Where football is concerned, Duke has become a place completely different from Northwestern, Stanford, Rice, Navy, Vanderbilt, Boston College and Wake Forest. Each of those schools has a desire, maybe a need, to stay within shouting distance of the football mainstream.

Duke could not care less, but it doesn't yet have the courage -- nor the intelligence -- to say so.

The program has become nothing more than an excuse to spend lots of money on facilities, scholarships, coaching salaries, support staff, travel, stadium upkeep and many other related areas. In college football, losing is an expensive ordeal, and that's especially the case at private schools.

The good news is Duke doesn't care about the steady financial drain. There's that much money in the endowment fund. Most schools try to raise donations by the millions. Duke rakes it in by the billions. The football program can be compared to owners of some professional sports franchises. It's an expensive hobby, but so what?

But should the time come that Duke wants a more competitive football team, odds are that Roof is not the coach to achieve it. What's more, athletics director Joe Alleva isn't the person to find a better coach.

Counting Saturday's 37-0 loss to Virginia at Wallace Wade Stadium, the two coaches hired by Alleva have a combined 12-71 record. Carl Franks, in nearly five seasons, went 7-45. Roof, almost midway through his third full season, is 5-26. During the same stretch, the Blue Devils have gone 6-53 in ACC games.

Through four games this season, Duke has scored one touchdown. Seven of 10 losses last season were by 25 or more points.

The performance against Virginia was the most stinging indictment yet about Roof's coaching ability. At home and coming off an open date, the Blue Devils struggled to execute the sport's most basic play -- snapping the ball from the center to the quarterback. At no time did it seem likely that the offense could produce so much as a field-goal attempt, much less a conversion.

Roof said the team is going through "growing pains." It would have made a lot more sense had he said "shrinking pains." Watching the game on television, I spent most of the afternoon in mortal fear that Duke's players, who frequently lost control of their tempers, would suffer serious injuries.

It's been proposed by some that the program should be dropped down to the NCAA's Division I-AA. If being more competitive becomes important, going I-AA makes some sense. At least it would be a reasonable refuge if Duke really wants to have a program.

Whether the 11 other ACC schools would allow Duke to play I-AA in football and remain a conference member for all other sports is debatable. But I wouldn't bet against it at this point. As long as Mike Krzyzewski is coaching, the ACC needs Duke basketball and the money it generates. A compromise could be worked out.

Besides, moving down in football probably would be the best move for everyone. It's obvious that Duke is hurting ACC football, and ACC football -- weak as it may be -- is is only putting Duke in a progressively more hopeless situation.

The league would have to find a 12th member for football-only purposes, but that could be done. Lots of schools would jump at the opportunity. Duke couldn't share in the football revenue, but it still could schedule nonconference games against North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest.

Duke football, from 1930 through most of the 1960s, was good enough to beat any opponent in the country. But situations change. Attitudes change. Priorities change.

Since the late 1980s, the Blue Devils have been in full retreat on the field and in the offices of the program's management. It's all happened in the absence of strong objection on campus or off. Football just doesn't matter any longer, and there is nothing whatsoever wrong with that. But Duke, of all schools, should be smart enough to admit the obvious.

 

Cavs want to keep the winning going
By Jay Jenkins / Daily Progress staff writer
October 2, 2006

Duke safety Glen Williams is on a mission. It’s not impossible, the Blue Devil sophomore is getting accustomed to it, but he wants to wipe the events surrounding his team’s 37-0 loss to Virginia out of his memory.

“We need to forget about this game,” Williams said. “There is another game coming up.”

Virginia (2-3, 1-1 ACC) has another game on the horizon as well - the Cavaliers travel to East Carolina on Saturday - but a host of players boldly said they want to remember the Duke game.

The winning feeling that had departed from Virginia’s program for almost three full weeks was back. The frowns were flipped and the laughter echoed from the depths of the locker room.

“To be able to get a win was a big thing,” said quarterback Jameel Sewell, who tossed one of Virginia’s four touchdowns. “We needed this win bad. As we were walking back to the locker room everybody was excited and ready to go another week. We were just ready to jump right into practice. I could feel it.”

Sewell might have expressed even more jubilation had he played on the opposite side of the ball.

While Duke is far from an offensive juggernaut, Virginia’s defense made a statement - the Cavaliers registered eight sacks, picked off three passes and returned a fumble for a touchdown, which by itself would have been enough to register the win.

The fumble return, which was made by redshirt freshman Jeffrey Fitzgerald with 1:25 left in the second quarter, put Virginia up 24 points and left Duke dragging into halftime.

“We were running into the end zone on the fumble return and it was like a defensive lineman’s dream,” said end Chris Long of the rare lineman touchdown. “We are just in there hoping that we can do our job and help the defense out. And just to be able to put some points on the board for the defense is really gratifying and we all feel like we are a part of that.”

It was also Virginia’s defense that put their offensive counterparts in excellent field position throughout the game. The Cavaliers’ scoring drives covered 27, 15, 1, 8 and 46 yards, respectively.

“Of their six scoring drives, there were a total of 97 yards,” Duke coach Ted Roof said. “So that is about 16 yards a scoring drive.”

Sewell said it was still a “team win,” but praised defensive coordinator Mike London and his pupils.

“It gives you a lot of confidence when you get field position like that,” Sewell said.

Sewell hopes the Cavaliers’ offense will continue to improve. They had better.

None of the remaining opponents are mired in a 12-game losing streak like Duke, a program that has scored in only one game this year.

For now, the Cavaliers are enjoying the win and the much needed boost in the national statistical rankings. It will not be until this afternoon that they shift gears and focus on the final nonconference opponent of the season.

“We are happy with the players that they have something to be pleased with themselves about,” Virginia coach Al Groh said. “Obviously, a lot of them stepped up with some fine individual plays, as well as fine unit-play. It looked like all three units [offense, defense and special teams] did something to contribute to the victory.

“It is certainly very positive.”

 

Barbers aim to inspire more giving
Former Cavalier football stars give $1 million to UVa
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress staff writer
October 2, 2006

While former Virginia football twin terrors, Tiki and Ronde Barber, have gone on to star in the NFL, neither have forgotten where they came from.

The Barber twins, natives of Roanoke, returned to Charlottesville over the weekend to serve as a spearhead for the University of Virginia’s $3 billion capital campaign. What better way to launch such an endeavor than to contribute a $1 million gift to their alma mater.

Twin emcees

They shared duties as emcees for the kickoff dinner at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday night and made a brief appearance at the Rotunda early Sunday morning, a rare NFL Sunday when Tiki’s New York Giants and Ronde’s Tampa Bay Bucs shared a simultaneous bye weekend.

“My brother and I have decided to give back to the university in a way that I think will be significant and hopefully provide a great example and a way for young alumni and old alumni to emulate as we embark on our second capital campaign,” said Tiki, an All-Pro running back for the Giants.

The $1 million gift will benefit the McIntire School of Commerce, from where both Barbers earned their undergraduate degree (Tiki in information technology, Ronde in marketing), and also the Virginia Athletics Foundation; the UVa Childrens’ Hospital; and the UVa Alumni Association’s Walter N. Ridley Scholarship Fund, which benefits African American students.

Working for more

Representing the Class of 1997, the most important part of their contribution is that the brothers are presenting a challenge to young alumni and the university community as a whole to increase participation. The Barbers said that if their challenge is met, they will double their contribution.

“I think we’re at the very peak of our marketability,” said Ronde, a star cornerback for the Bucs. “We’re very successful in our careers. I think this is a perfect opportunity to get married back to the university and make a statement to our alumni and to our fellow classmates that your experience at the university is an enriching one.”

The twins noted that their 10th anniversary reunion is approaching, even though it seemed only a couple of years ago they were walking down The Lawn that sprawled before them as they delivered their message on Sunday morning.

“We want to emphasize that now is the time,” said Ronde. “With the $3 billion campaign and the ambition we have for the university to compete with some of the private schools across the nation, we want to be an example. We’re going to lend ourselves and be a vessel to the university and hopefully get our participation rates up.”

Continued support

Both have supported UVa since their graduation when both were All-ACC players for the Cavaliers. Tiki served on the Young Alumni Council and founded the MY-D-CAV

(My Yearly Dollars Count at Virginia) program that encourages young alumni to contribute to their school.

Tiki and his wife, Ginny, have given to the UVa Childrens’ Hospital for the past four years.

The two brothers, two of this columnist’s favorite people in the world, spent the weekend hanging out and revisiting some of their favorite places around campus and town. They watched fireworks over the Rotunda a few nights ago and visited The Corner, taking in Bodo’s and the College Inn.

“I wouldn’t say we lived it up that much,” said Ronde. “We went to the College Inn where we spent our life after trying to study when we were here.”

Tiki said he loved getting back to the area and seeing the beauty and uniqueness of UVa and Charlottesville.

“It’s great to relive it,” said Tiki. “It makes me feel young even though at 31, I’m ancient in half-dog years playing in the NFL. I feel like I’m young again. Getting back here is an awesome experience no matter how you cut it.”

While Ronde said he has no intentions of thinking about retirement, Tiki has two years remaining on his contract to play for the Giants. Rumors have surfaced that this might be his last season as he considers hanging it up. Tiki is the leading rusher in the glorious history of the storied franchise.

“It could be [my last season],” Tiki said. “There’s a lot of opportunities that I’m looking at right now. Football has been great for me, but I’ve started to do other things. This university prepared me to be a diversified person and I’m kind of excited to go diversified.”

Certainly their participation and commitment was noted and appreciated by several UVa officials this weekend, including Carl P. Zeithaml, dean of the McIntire School of Commerce.

“The Commerce School is very proud to count Ronde and Tiki Barber among our many successful alumni, not simply because they are All-Pros in their profession, but because they are All-Pros as people,” Zeithaml said. “Ronde, Tiki and their families provide extraordinary service to their communities, they are very effective in their business endeavors, and they are loyal alumni of the School and University.”

Edward Howell, vice president and CEO of the UVa Medical Center said the Barbers’ gift will impact the lives of the hospital’s youngest patients and will help advance both patient care, research, and build a new facility ideally suited to delivering comprehensive care to children.

Children are something very dear to Tiki’s and Ronde’s hearts. Tiki and Ginny have two sons, A.J. and Chason. Ronde and wife, Claudia, have two daughters, Yammile Rose and Justyce Rosina. They both have been active in supporting the Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Medical Network among other charities that directly affect the welfare of children both here and in their respective communities.

While they have offered past support, they believed the timing was right in coordination with the capital campaign to make a more significant contribution, not only in dollars but in their presence and offering a leadership role in getting others involved.

“We decided that we could be an example because we’re at the peak of our careers,” said Ronde. “We’re still not far removed from the university where people here watched UVa football and followed the Barbers. They can still relate to us. We decided, why not now, why not use this opportunity to lift our fellow young alumni up and let them follow us.”

Tiki said that while there have been significant gifts to UVa,that every dollar counts in such a campaign.

“Whether you can give $100, or $500, or $10,000, or a million, that’s the message we’re trying to get out, that’s what our challenge is all about,” said Tiki. “No matter what your level of giving may be, give, because it makes a difference and it will increase the value of our diplomas as our participation rates go up and our rankings [among the nation’s universities] will go up. It will make a difference.”

Later this week, we will profile the Barbers in another piece that will spotlight what these two former UVa football standouts are all about.