Throughout the last 30 years, Virginia has fluctuated between defining itself as a "basketball school" and a "football school."
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Virginia was a "basketball school", marked by the iconic status of Ralph Sampson and the program's success before, during and after his tenure.
By the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, Virginia was a "football school," led by a No. 1 national ranking and quarterback Shawn Moore.
During the late 1990s, Virginia slowly moved back toward basketball, with solid teams under Jeff Jones and early success under Pete Gillen. Almost simultaneously, the Cavalier football team stepped to the sideline with the end of the George Welsh era.
Since 2001, however, with the excitement surrounding the return of Al Groh, Virginia has aspired once again to be a "football school." But those hopes are in jeopardy with a lackluster season thus far in year six of the Groh era.
In 2006, I believe that Virginia is about to come back full swing toward basketball. The NCAA Tournament potential of this basketball team, a new arena and the struggles of the football team will redefine Virginia again as a "basketball school."
As of late, in true Jeffersonian form, Virginia has aspired to compete at a top level not only in men's basketball and football but in every other sport at the University. Until this season, a common sentiment was that both sports were on the rise, though football was several years ahead on the journey toward national success.
Unfortunately, it is rare for a school to define itself by excellence in both football and men's basketball. Not every school can be Florida. Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and the University of Connecticut excel at basketball. Virginia Tech, USC, Auburn, Miami and Florida State play football.
In my view, Virginia must settle on which program it will be defined by. Part of the reason that the Cavaliers have never found consistent success on the national level in either football or men's basketball is because the school continues to fluctuate in defining itself as either a football or a basketball school.
At this juncture, it would behoove Virginia to focus on basketball. The five-year potential of the program is tremendous -- a new arena, a second-year coach, more talent, rising season ticket sales and an aggressive approach toward achieving success on the national level will drive Virginia in 2006 and beyond.
Ultimately, fans will define the school's athletic focus. Fans respond to athletic success with their support and their dollars. Season tickets and booster donations drive funding for athletic departments.
Right now, Virginia fans are helping the athletic department to achieve its goal to sell 8,000 season tickets for men's basketball (7,419 as of yesterday). Last year at University Hall, 4,254 season tickets had been sold at this point. Virginia should seize this momentum in 2006 and move toward its rightful destination as a basketball school in a basketball conference.
This isn't to say that football should be left in the dust to immediately revert back to Virginia teams of the 1970s. The program will continue to recruit decently and play decently. Virginia will be a "pretty good" team year-in and year-out.
But it is Virginia basketball that is currently headed toward a position where it can be consistently successful on the national level, if people are willing to commit to it.
At Virginia basketball media day yesterday, men's coach Dave Leitao talked in his opening remarks at the press conference about the importance of this season in the history and for the future of Virginia basketball.
Meanwhile, the Cavalier football team struggles to find itself, standing at 2-4 and heading into three consecutive ACC home games, beginning with Maryland Saturday.
At some point, to achieve consistent success on a national level, Virginia must decide to focus on one major collegiate sport -- football or basketball. In the next few months, I hope that fans, inspired by a new arena and an NCAA Tournament berth, will make the decision to head back to the basketball court for good.
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