TheVirginia Cavaliers, also known asWahoos orHoos, are the athletic teams representing theUniversity of Virginia, located inCharlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at theNCAADivision I level (FBS for football), in theAtlantic Coast Conference since 1953. Known simply asVirginia orUVA in sports media, the athletics program has twice won theCapital One Cup for men's sports (in2015 and 2019) after leading the nation in overall athletic excellence in those years.^[3][4] The Cavaliers have regularly placed among the nation's Top 5 athletics programs.^[5][6][7]

Virginia Cavaliers
University	University of Virginia
Conference	ACC[a]
NCAA	Division I (FBS)
Athletic director	Carla Williams
Location	Charlottesville, Virginia
Varsity teams	27 (13 men's, 14 women's)
Football stadium	Scott Stadium
Basketball arena	John Paul Jones Arena
Baseball stadium	Davenport Field at Disharoon Park
Softball stadium	Palmer Park
Soccer stadium	Klöckner Stadium
Aquatics center	Aquatic & Fitness Center
Lacrosse stadium	Klöckner Stadium
Other venues	Lannigan Field Memorial Gymnasium Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center University Hall University Hall Turf Field McArthur Squash Center
Mascot	Cavalier (CavMan)
Nickname	Cavaliers, Wahoos, Hoos
Fight song	The Cavalier Song
Colors	Orange and blue[2]
Website	virginiasports.com

Virginia leads the ACC with 23 NCAA Championships in men's sports. The program has added 12 NCAA titles in women's sports for a grand total of 35 NCAA titles,second overall in this major conference of fifteen programs.^[8][9][10] In "revenue sports",Virginia men's basketball won theNCAA tournament championship in 2019, won ACC tournaments in 1976,in 2014 andin 2018, and have finishedfirst in the ACC standings 11 times.College Football Hall of Fame coachGeorge Welsh retired with the most wins in ACC history (as of 2025, he places second^[b]) after leadingVirginia football for nineteen years.^[11]

Other prominent NCAA Championship winning programs includeVirginia men's lacrosse (9 national titles including7 NCAA Championships),Virginia men's soccer (7 NCAA Championships),Virginia men's tennis (159–0 ACC win streak from 2006 to 2016;^[12] 2013, 2022, 2023, and"three-peat" 2015–2017 NCAA Championships), andVirginia baseball (winners of the2015 College World Series). Virginia women'srowing has addedtwo recent NCAA Championships (2010 and 2012) whileVirginia women's lacrosse won NCAA Championships in 1991, 1993, and 2004. Women'scross country won repeat NCAA Championships in 1981 and 1982. Virginia men's lacrosse repeated in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 session being cancelled due to COVID) andVirginia women's swimming and diving won the Cavaliers' most recent NCAA championships with a 2021–2025 "five-peat". Non-NCAA national championships include six national titles in indoor men's tennis, twoUSILA titles in men's lacrosse, and oneAIAW title in women'sindoor track and field. UVA men's boxing was a leading collegiate program whenboxing was a major national sport in the first half of the 20th century, completing four consecutive undefeated seasons between 1932 and 1936, and winning an NCAA Championship in 1938.^[13]

The Cavalier mascot represents a mounted swordsman, and there are crossed swords orsabres in the official logo. Another moniker, the "Wahoos", or "Hoos" for short, based on the university's rallying cry "Wah-hoo-wah!" is also commonly used.^[14] Though originally only used by the student body, both terms—“Wahoos” and “Hoos”—have come into widespread usage with the local media as well.

The school colors, adopted in 1888, are orange and navy blue.^[15] The athletic teams had previously worn grey and cardinal red but those colors did not show up very well on dirty football fields as the school was sporting its first team. A mass meeting of the student body was called, and a star player showed up wearing a navy blue and orange scarf he had brought back from aUniversity of Oxford summer rowing expedition. The colors were chosen when another student pulled the scarf from the player's neck, waved it to the crowd and yelled: "How will this do?" (Exactly 100 years later in 1988, Oxford named their own American football club the "Cavaliers," and soon after the Virginia team adopted its "curved sabres" logo in 1994, the Oxford team followed suit.)

The team's name was selected in reference to the historicalVirginia Cavaliers,Royalists of theEnglish Civil War said to have fled to theColony of Virginia for protection.^[16]

Pop Lannigan was one of the "most noted athletic trainers in the East"^[17][18] during his tenure at Virginia from 1900 until his death in 1930. He came to the University of Virginia after previously serving as a trainer atCornell University for 14 years.^[17] During his early years at Virginia he founded thecollege basketball and collegeboxing programs, and intrack and field trained the "Arkansas Flash"James Rector to within six inches of winning the100 meter dash at the1908 Olympics (with a time of 10.9 seconds) while still a UVA student.^[17] Whenboxing was a major collegiate sport, Virginia's teams boxed in Memorial Gymnasium and after Lannigan's sudden death managed to go undefeated for a six-year run between 1932 and 1937, winning the NCAA Championship in 1938.^[19]

On December 4, 1953, the University of Virginia joined theAtlantic Coast Conference as the league's eighth member.^[20] Its men's basketball team won its firstNCAA Championship in 2019. The baseball team won theCollege World Series in 2015 and has appeared in the CWS five times (2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2021). Themen's lacrosse team has won nine national titles (1952, 1970, 1972, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2019, 2021), while thewomen have claimed three (1991, 1993, 2004). Thefootball team has twice been honored as ACC co-champions (1989 and 1995). Themen's soccer team has won seven NCAA Championships, four consecutively (1989, 1991–1994, 2009, 2014). Women'sswimming and diving won its first NCAA Championship in 2021 and repeated in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Women'scross country won national titles in 1981 and 1982. The men'stennis team won NCAA Championships in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, and 2023.

In both 2015 and 2019, theUniversity of Virginia andStanford University were honored for fielding the nation's top athletics programs for NCAA men's and women's sports, respectively, by virtue of winning theCapital One Cup.

The team's eponymousmascot, known informally as the Cav Man, is a fanciful depiction of a swashbuckling Virginia Cavalier as popularized in the Cavalier fiction of theAntebellum South, armed with a sword and dressed in an orange and navy cloak andplumed hat.^[16]

The Cavalier Song is the University of Virginia's fight song. The song was a result of a contest held in 1923 by the university. The Cavalier Song, with lyrics by Lawrence Haywood Lee, Jr., and music byFulton Lewis, Jr., was selected as the winner.^[21] Generally the second half of the song is played during sporting events. TheGood Ole Song dates to 1893 and, though not a fight song, is the de factoalma mater. It is set to the music ofAuld Lang Syne and is sung after each victory in every sport, and after each touchdown in football.

After partial funding from benefactorPaul Tudor Jones with naming rights,John Paul Jones Arena opened in the Fall of 2006 and is the current venue for the men's and women's basketball teams. JPJ is the largest ACC arena outside of majormetropolitan areas and the fifth-largest (of 15) in the conference overall. The men's teamwon the NCAA Championship in 2019 and the women's team finished as Runners-Up in 1990. The men's program is one of only two (with Kentucky) to have earned aNo. 1 seed in all four regions of the NCAA tournament.^[c] The Cavaliers have been ranked in the Top 5 of theAP Poll a total of 96 times in the past four decades, ranking the program 9th since 1980.^[22] In the 18-game era (2012–2019) of ACC play Virginia had four of the five teams to go 16–2 or better.^[23] UVA was also the only ACC program to finish a season 17–1 (none went undefeated).^[23] Men's coachTony Bennett has won the prestigiousHenry Iba Award three times, second only to legendJohn Wooden.

Scott Stadium sits across from the first-year dorms along Alderman Road and is home to the University of Virginia's football program.

The press box at Scott Stadium was a gift from an alumnus in honor of Norton G. Pritchett, the admired athletic director at UVA from 1934 until his death in 1950. Funding from benefactor Hunter Smith created the foundation for the 320-pieceCavalier Marching Band in 2004, replacing theVirginia Pep Band at athletic events.

The late Cavalier head coachGeorge Welsh is a member of theCollege Football Hall of Fame and retired as the winningest head coach in ACC history.

The current head coach isTony Elliott, who replacedBronco Mendenhall in December 2021.^[24]

With the departure of head coach Dennis Womack to the front office, the arrival of head coachBrian O'Connor fromNotre Dame in 2004, and the opening ofDavenport Field in 2002, the UVa baseball team experienced a rebirth. Since the inception of baseball at the university in 1889, the team has reached theNCAA baseball tournament nineteen times, once each of the past three decades (1972, 1985, 1996), but most recently fourteen years running (2004–2017) and again in 2021 and 2022. The 2009 season of the Cavaliers saw them through to the CWS (College World Series) with a 49-15-1 record. The team made a return trip to Omaha two years later in 2011, where they lost to eventual national champion South Carolina in the semi-final round. In 2014, the team made a third trip to the CWS, beat Ole Miss and TCU to advance to their first ever CWS finals, but lost the three-game series to Vanderbilt 2–1.The following year, both they and Vanderbilt returned to the CWS finals in a rematch. On June 24, 2015, Virginia won in three games for their first NCAA championship in baseball and the first ACC team to win since 1955.

Klöckner Stadium is home to several successful programs, including Virginia men's and women'ssoccer. More years than not, the University of Virginia fields one of the best squads in the country, and the program has, by far, the most successful history in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. Since ACC Tournament play began in 1987, Virginia has played in 21 out of 33 ACC Tournament championship matches, winning eleven ACC titles, to go with their seven NCAA tournament championships (1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2009, 2014). Head CoachBruce Arena compiled a 295–58–32 record before leaving in 1995 to coachD.C. United to their first twoMajor League Soccer championship seasons, and later theUnited States to their bestFIFA World Cup showing since 1930.

The women's soccer team has produced threeFIFA Women's World Cup winners for theU.S. women's national team,Morgan Brian (2015 and 2019)Emily Sonnett (2019) andBecky Sauerbrunn (both2015 and2019),^[25] and three Olympic gold medal winners, Sauerbrunn (2012),Angela Hucles (2004 and2008), and Sonnett (2024).^[26]

The men's and women's lacrosse teams play their home games atKlöckner Stadium, or occasionally Turf Field orScott Stadium. The men's program has won nine national championships (twopre-NCAA titles in 1952 and 1970 and sevenNCAA titles in1972,1999,2003,2006,2011,2019 and2021) and the women's program has won threenational championships (in1991,1993, and2004).

The 2006 lacrosse season was noteworthy for the men's team as it established the best record in NCAA history with a perfect 17–0 season en route to winning the2006 national championship. On the season, the team won its games by an average of more than eight goals per game and drew comparisons to some of the best lacrosse teams of all time.^[27] Senior attackmanMatt Ward won theTewaaraton Trophy as the nation's best player, was selected as a First TeamAll-American and theUSILAPlayer of the Year, and was named the Final FourMVP. He also broke the record for the most goals in the NCAA tournament with 16 goals (previously held byGary Gait with 15). Eight Cavaliers were named All-Americans—three on the First Team, three on the Second Team, and two on the Third Team. Five Cavaliers were selected in the 2006Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. Matt Ward, Kyle Dixon, and Michael Culver were selected in the first round,Matt Poskay in the second, and J.J. Morrissey in the third.

On March 28, 2009, the men's team played in the longest game in the history of NCAA Division I lacrosse—a 10–9 victory overMaryland in sevenovertime periods.

The Cavaliers softball team began play in 1980. The team has made two NCAA tournament appearances in 2010 and 2024. The current head coach isJoanna Hardin.

On June 30, 2017, Virginia promoted their men's and women'sclub squash teams to varsity status. In doing so, the Cavaliers became the firstPower Five program to sponsor men's squash, and only the second Power Five women's team (afterStanford). In only their 3rd varsity season the men's team finished 5th in the country and won the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference championship.^[28]

The women's swimming and diving team won the NCAA Championship in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and again in 2025. The men's swimming and diving team has won 16 ACC championships and the women's team has won 21.

The men's tennis team rose to prominence in the 21st century under coachBrian Boland. The team won its first ACC regular season and tournament championships in 2004 and lost to Southern California in the NCAA final in 2011 and 2012. Behind standoutsJarmere Jenkins and Alex Domijan, the team won its first NCAA championship in 2013, defeating UCLA in the finals. The Cavaliers won three consecutive NCAA championships from 2015 to 2017, defeating Oklahoma for the first two and North Carolina for the third. Virginia added back to back NCAA titles in 2022 and 2023, defeating Kentucky and Ohio State in the final matches, respectively. Virginia also won the ITA national indoor tennis championship in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Several Virginia players have won individual national championships.Somdev Devvarman won in 2007 and 2008, whileRyan Shane won in 2015 andThai-Son Kwiatkowski won in 2017.Michael Shabaz won the NCAA doubles championship in 2009 (withDominic Inglot) and 2010 (withDrew Courtney), and Jenkins andMac Styslinger won the doubles title in 2013.

On the women's side,Danielle Collins won theNCAA singles championship in 2014 and 2016, andEmma Navarro won in 2021. The teams won the ACC Tournament in 2014 and 2015.

The men's and women's cross country teams race at Panorama Farms, located six miles from Grounds at the University of Virginia. It was the site of the 2006 and 2007 ACC Cross Country Championships. The men's team dates back to 1954 when they placed 4th at the ACC championships. The women's team won the NCAA national championships in 1981 and 1982 and won the ACC championships in 1982 and in 2015.

Dixon Brooke won theNCAA Golf Championship in 1940. Several golfers have played professionally on thePGA Tour includingJames Driscoll,Ben Kohles,Steve Marino, andDenny McCarthy. From the women's team, recent players on theLPGA Tour have includedBrittany Altomare andElizabeth Szokol.

The first University of Virginia head coach was Bobby Mainfort, back in 1921.^[29] Former Cavalier All-AmericanSteve Garland has been the head wrestling coach at Virginia since the 2006–2007 season. Garland is the winner of the 2010 ACC Coach of the Year Award.^[30] In the 2009–2010 wrestling season Garland led the Cavaliers to 1st place in the ACC and a 15th-place finish at the NCAA championships.^[31] Virginia won its fifth ACC title in 2015. The wrestling team has produced four ACC runners-up during its program history.

Thanks to an anonymous donation of $1.5 million, Memorial Gymnasium received a full renovation in 2005.^[32]

Virginia rugby competes in Division 1 in theAtlantic Coast Rugby League, which is composed of schools mostly from the Atlantic Coast Conference.^[33] Virginia also competes in the annual Atlantic Coast Invitational tournament, which Virginia won in 2008. Virginia also participates in an annual rivalry match againstVirginia Tech for the Commonwealth Shield.^[34]

Virginia finished second in the ACI tournament in 2011,^[35] and again finished second in the 2012 ACI sevens tournament, losing to rival Virginia Tech by 33–31, and secured a place at the 2012USA Rugby Sevens Collegiate National Championships.

Men's rowing has won theAmerican Collegiate Rowing Association national championship in 2011 and 2012. The national championship was canceled in 2021, but the biggest teams still raced at an unofficial championship in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Men’s rowing won this competition.

From 2001 until 2017, the athletic director wasCraig Littlepage, a former men's basketball head coach at theUniversity of Pennsylvania andRutgers University, who has held a variety of coaching and administrative titles at the University of Virginia. Following his retirement, formerGeorgia Bulldogs deputy athletic directorCarla Williams was named as his replacement.^[36]

During the 1990s, the football team's uniforms were provided byRussell Athletic andReebok, beforeNike took over those responsibilities. During the early 2000s, the men's basketball team was outfitted byAnd1, making them just one of four teams in the nation to wear that brand and making the Cavaliers their de facto flagship program (much like Oregon's relationship with Nike and Maryland's relationship withUnder Armour. In 2004, the basketball team joined the rest of their Cavalier brethren in wearing Nike. In 2015, UVA renewed their Nike commitment, signing a 10-year, $35 million deal that includes bonuses for nationally successful finishes in football, basketball, soccer, and lacrosse. The $3.5 million a year deal is the second-most lucrative Nike deal in the ACC after Florida State, and fourth overall behind North Carolina's deal withJordan and Notre Dame's with Under Armour.^[37]

As of 2018, 24 of the 27 UVA sports teams are outfitted by Nike. One exception is the national powerhouse baseball program that currently serves as the flagship school forRawlings. The others are the nationally relevant men's and women's swimming and diving programs that are currently outfitted byArena USA.

Virginia Sports Radio Network Affiliates

WINA and WWWV are the network flagship stations. Affiliates broadcast football and men's basketball games, as well as a live coach's show for the in-season sport on Monday evenings. WKLV, WRAR and WWWV do not carry the coach's show. Richmond's WRVA is a 50,000-wattclear-channel station, bringing the Cavaliers' nighttime games to most of the eastern half of North America.

The network additionally produces selected baseball, women's basketball, and lacrosse games for broadcast on WINA and Internet streaming.^[38]

Virginia teams have won 35 NCAA Championships.^[39]

• Men's (23)
  • Baseball (1): 2015
  • Basketball (1): 2019
  • Boxing (1): 1938
  • Lacrosse (7): 1972, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2019, 2021
  • Soccer (7): 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2009, 2014
  • Tennis (6): 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023
• Women's (12)
  • Cross Country (2): 1981, 1982
  • Lacrosse (3): 1991, 1993, 2004
  • Rowing (2): 2010, 2012
  • Swimming and Diving (5): 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
• see also:
  • ACC NCAA team championships
  • List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships

Below are 9 national team titles that were not awarded by the NCAA:

• Men's
  • Lacrosse (2):^[40] 1952, 1970
  • Indoor Tennis (6):^[41] 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2017
• Women's:
  • AIAWIndoor Track (1): 1981
• see also:
  • List of NCAA schools with the most Division I national championships

• Men's Tennis
  • Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, singles, 2017
  • Ryan Shane, singles, 2015
  • Somdev Devvarman, singles, 2008
  • Somdev Devvarman, singles, 2007
  • Jarmere Jenkins andMac Styslinger, doubles, 2013
  • Drew Courtney andMichael Shabaz, doubles, 2010
  • Dominic Inglot and Michael Shabaz, doubles, 2009
• Men's Golf
  • Dixon Brooke, 1940
• Men's Track
  • Shane Cohen, outdoor 800 meters, 2024
  • Jordan Scott, indoor triple jump, 2019
  • Henry Wynne, indoor mile, 2016
  • Filip Mihaljevic, outdoor discus, 2017
  • Filip Mihaljevic, outdoor shot put, 2017
  • Filip Mihaljevic, outdoor shot put, 2016
  • Robby Andrews, indoor 800 meters, 2010
  • Paul Ereng, indoor 800 meters, 1989
  • Paul Ereng, outdoor 800 meters, 1988 and 1989
• Men's Swimming & Diving
  • Matt McLean, 500-yard Freestyle, 2011
  • Ed Moses, 100-yard Breaststroke, 2000
  • Ed Moses, 200-yard Breaststroke, 2000
  • Shamek Pietucha, 200-yard Butterfly, 1999
• Women's Tennis
  • Elaine Chervinsky andMélodie Collard, doubles, 2024-2025
  • Emma Navarro, singles, 2021
  • Danielle Collins, singles, 2016

• • Danielle Collins, singles, 2014
• Women's Cross Country
  • Lesley Welch, 1982
• Women's Track
  • Michaela Meyer, outdoor 800 meters, 2021
• Women's Swimming & Diving
  • Alex Walsh, 200-yard Individual Medley, 2024
  • Alex Walsh, 400-yard Individual Medley, 2024
  • Alex Walsh, 200-yard Breaststroke, 2024
  • Jasmine Nocentini, 100-yard Breaststroke, 2024
  • Gretchen Walsh, 50-Yard Freestyle, 2024
  • Gretchen Walsh, 100-Yard Freestyle, 2024
  • Gretchen Walsh, 100-Yard Freestyle, 2024
  • Kate Douglass, 200-Yard Individual Medley, 2023
  • Kate Douglass, 100-yard Butterfly, 2023
  • Kate Douglass, 200-yard Breaststroke, 2023
  • Alex Walsh, 400-yard Individual Medley, 2023
  • Gretchen Walsh, 100-Yard Backstroke, 2023
  • Gretchen Walsh, 100-Yard Freestyle, 2023
  • Kate Douglass, 50-yard Freestyle, 2022
  • Kate Douglass, 100-yard Butterfly, 2022
  • Kate Douglass, 200-yard Breaststroke, 2022
  • Alex Walsh, 200-yard Individual Medley, 2022
  • Alex Walsh, 400-yard Individual Medley, 2022
  • Alex Walsh, 200-yard Butterfly, 2022
  • Gretchen Walsh, 100-Yard Freestyle, 2022
  • Paige Madden, 200-yard Freestyle, 2021
  • Paige Madden, 500-yard Freestyle, 2021
  • Paige Madden, 1,650-yard Freestyle, 2021
  • Kate Douglass, 50-yard Freestyle, 2021
  • Alex Walsh, 200-yard Individual Medley, 2021
  • Leah Smith, 500-yard Freestyle, 2016
  • Leah Smith, 1,650-yard Freestyle, 2016
  • Leah Smith, 500-yard Freestyle, 2015
  • Leah Smith, 1,650-yard Freestyle, 2015
  • Cara Lane, 1,650-yard Freestyle, 2001
  • Cara Lane, 1,500-meter Freestyle, 2000

• Men's: (85)
  • Baseball (4): 1972,1996,2009,2011
  • Basketball (3):1976,2014,2018
  • Cross Country (4): 1984, 2005, 2007, 2008
  • Football (2): 1989 (co-champions), 1995 (co-champions)
  • Golf (1): 2025
  • Lacrosse (19): 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2019, 2022
  • Outdoor Track & Field (1): 2009
  • Soccer (16): 1969, 1970, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2019
  • Swimming & Diving (16): 1987, 1990, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
  • Tennis (15): 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Wrestling (5): 1974, 1975, 1977, 2010, 2015
• Women's: (68)
  • Basketball (3): 1990, 1992, 1993
  • Cross Country (3): 1981, 1982, 2015
  • Field Hockey (1): 2016
  • Golf (2): 2015, 2016
  • Indoor Track & Field (1): 1987
  • Lacrosse (5): 1998, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
  • Outdoor Track & Field (5): 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987
  • Rowing (22): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Soccer (2): 2004, 2012
  • Softball (1): 1994
  • Swimming & Diving (21): 1990, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
  • Tennis (2): 2014, 2015

• National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association

• Official website