Contrary to popular belief, Cav Man was not Virginia's first mascot, but its third. Furthermore, orange and blue were not the University's original colors.
These facts and other myth-busters are part of the University Guide Service's new athletics tours, which will officially commence tomorrow afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.
The tours are the brainchild of Kase Luzar, a former Cavalier football player and current athletic department employee. When Cavalier Corner, the original athletics tour service used by the football team during recruitment, was banned by a 2006 NCAA rule change, which stated only the organization that traditionally gives campus tours may provide ones focused on athletics, Luzar contacted the University Guides for help.
The result is an hour-long athletics tour led by a University guide and a student-athlete aide. The aides do not claim to be members of the University Guides, but rather serve as a resource to provide information about student-athlete life and today's Virginia athletics, while the guide focuses on the history and traditions of the department.
"Uncompromised Excellence," the athletic department's motto, is the theme of the tours. As every student-athlete aide emphasizes, however, the idea is more than just the department's maxim.
According to senior volleyball player Melissa Caldwell, a student-athlete aide, "'Uncompromised Excellence' is a phrase that describes an ideal the University strives to realize in everything it supports and in all University-related endeavors."
While the rule change was the impetus for the tours, the University Guide Service's latest offering is a resource for the entire University community, from prospective and current students to faculty and alumni.
"We didn't want something that was limited to football or used as a recruiting tool only," said athletic department student worker Kyle Rudzinksi, a former men's soccer goalkeeper. "We wanted to make it as inclusive as possible and highlight the rich history and traditions of excellence in University athletics."
Rudzinski added that the tours also seek to demonstrate "that there is really no difference between the history of excellence at the University and the history of excellence in athletics at the University."
The tours strive to eliminate the perceived barrier between the athletic world and the rest of the student body and demonstrate that athletics is not a separate entity but an important part of the greater University community.
"With 13,000 undergrads, it is nice to have athletics to bind us together," Rudzinski said. "The names 'Cavaliers' and 'Wahoos' come from athletics as did the 'Good Ol' Song,' and these are the traditions that every Virginia student knows and identifies with."
Like the tours focused on the history of African-Americans and women at the University, the UGSAT will be available on a limited basis. This spring, athletic tours will run Fridays starting at 1 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena, while tours at Scott Stadium will begin this fall. Those interested in going on a tour must sign up online through the University Guide Service's Web site.
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