The best of the best
Our entirely arguable, semi-objective list of UVA’s top athletes of all time
Photo illustration by Ryan Olbrysh
It’s an inexact science, comparing athletes across different sports and generations. It’s especially challenging at UVA, which has fielded intercollegiate teams since 1877 and currently competes in 27 varsity sports.
With that disclaimer, here’s our compilation of the top athletes, both at UVA and from UVA, narrowed down from the thousands who have competed in orange and blue over the decades.
Our main criterion was each athlete’s achievement, at the highest level. Included are Olympic gold medalists, world champions, members of various halls of fame, professional all-stars, NCAA team and individual champions, national players of the year, and those who earned first-team All-American honors several times.
Success has not been attained evenly across sports, so we had to grade on a curve, if you will. The bar for being considered an all-time great women’s swimmer, for example, is higher than for most other Cavalier teams. A total of 16 women’s swimmers have competed in the Olympics. To stand out in that crowd, one would have to have won at least one gold medal, or multiple medals.
Similarly, through the 2024 season, 57 men’s lacrosse players were named first-team All-American at least once. As incredible an achievement as that is, making the cut as a UVA LAX all-time great requires more.
Inevitably, many amazing athletes were left out. So, with an open invitation for you to add to it, here’s our list.
Jump to a sport…
Baseball
Ryan Zimmerman (Col class of ’06)
On the heels of an All-American season at UVA, Zimmerman was the No. 4 pick in the 2005 Major League Baseball draft. He played 17 years for the Washington Nationals, made two All-Star teams, and won one Gold Glove and two Silver Slugger awards.
Eppa Rixey (Col 1912, Grad 1920)
Eppa Rixey was an anomaly in the rough-and-tumble world of early 20th-century Major League Baseball. Not only was he a college graduate, but he also never played in the minor leagues.
A lanky, 6-foot-5 left-handed pitcher, Rixey was “discovered” by National League umpire Cy Rigler, who also coached at UVA. The Philadelphia Phillies signed Rixey based on Rigler’s recommendation, and he made his professional debut in June 1912, just weeks after finishing a chemistry degree at UVA.
Still not convinced that he wouldn’t rather be a chemist than a big-league pitcher, Rixey refused to sign a contract in 1913 until the Phillies agreed to let him stay at UVA until June to work toward his master’s degree. He also earned a master’s in Latin and taught high school Latin in the offseason.
Rixey’s career was interrupted by his service with the U.S. Army’s Chemical Warfare Division during World War I. He struggled to regain his form after returning home but eventually became one of the top pitchers of the 1920s with the Cincinnati Reds. He retired in 1933 with 266 wins, which stood as a record for a left-handed pitcher in the National League until 1959.
Rixey also had 251 losses and, when elected to the Hall of Fame in 1963, joked that “they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel.” He remains the only former UVA player enshrined in Cooperstown.
Men’s basketball
Buzzy Wilkinson (Col class of ’55, Law class of ’62)
Voted a first-team All-American in 1955, Wilkinson still holds Virginia and ACC records for single-season and career scoring average (32.1 and 28.6 points per game).
Barry Parkhill (Educ class of ’73)
The first Virginia player to be voted ACC Player of the Year, Parkhill was also chosen as the ACC’s male athlete of the year in 1972, when he led the Cavaliers to their first top-10 ranking and was voted a first-team All-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Jeff Lamp (Col class of ’81)
A four-time All-ACC pick, Lamp scored 2,317 career points and was voted a first-team All-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association in 1981. Bryant Stith (Col class of ’92) Virginia’s all-time scoring leader with 2,516 points, Stith played 10 seasons in the NBA.
Malcolm Brogdon (Col class of ’15, Batten class of ’16)
Recently completing his ninth NBA season, Brogdon was a first-team All-American in 2016 and NBA Rookie of the Year in 2017.
Ralph Sampson (Col class of ’83)
There were towering centers in basketball before Ralph Sampson came along. There were also supremely skilled players who could handle the ball in the open court and shoot from the perimeter.
Sampson, the three-time national player of the year while at Virginia, was among the first to be both.
The 7-foot-4 Sampson was “the first center to ever show all-court versatility,” according to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2012. His combination of size, skill and mobility “helped redefine the sport,” his Hall of Fame bio reads.
Sampson began by putting UVA basketball on the national map. Recruited from nearby Harrisonburg, he arrived in 1979 and brought with him the attention that came with being the nation’s top recruit.
Sampson graced magazine covers. University Hall became known as “Ralph’s House.” In 1980-81, the Sampson-led Cavaliers began the season 22-0, rose to No. 1 in the country for the first time, and reached the program’s first Final Four.
Voted the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1984, Sampson was a four-time All-Star before injuries reduced his effectiveness. He retired from the NBA after the 1991-92 season at age 31. He’s founder and CEO of the Sampson Group, a business advisory firm.
Women’s basketball
Donna Holt (Educ class of ’88)
Holt was a two-time All-American and the ACC player of the year in 1988. She remains UVA’s career leader in steals, with 529, and was the second female player to have her jersey retired.
Tammi Reiss (Educ class of ’92)
Still UVA’s career leader in 3-point shooting percentage, Reiss won All-American honors in 1991 and 1992 and played two years in the WNBA. The head coach at the University of Rhode Island since 2019, she was an assistant coach on the U.S. 3x3 team in the 2024 Olympics.
Wendy Palmer (Col class of ’96)
A two-time All-American and two-time ACC player of the year, Palmer was the first UVA player to total more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She played 11 seasons in the WNBA.
Monica Wright Rogers (Col class of ’10)
Rogers is not only UVA’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,540 points, but she was also an elite defender, earning National Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2010. She played seven seasons in the WNBA and was recently named general manager of Canada’s first WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo.
Dawn Staley (Col class of ’92)
Inside UVA women’s basketball’s 2024-25 fact book, Dawn Staley’s name appears 120 times. The honors include most outstanding player in the 1991 Final Four and most outstanding player in three NCAA regional tournaments. Among UVA’s women, Staley remains one of only three to have scored more than 2,000 points, coming in at No. 2 with 2,135. And she still holds UVA’s record for career triple-doubles with two.
Since leaving the ’Hoos, Staley has dominated the sport. She played eight seasons in the WNBA and won Olympic gold medals with the USA Basketball team in 1996, 2000 and 2004, among other international wins. She started coaching in 2000, eventually serving as head coach of the national team from 2017 to 2021, leading the U.S. women to gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games and multiple world championships.
Women’s basketball fans across the country, however, might now know her best for her current role: head coach of the University of South Carolina women’s team. In 16 seasons with the Gamecocks, Staley has notched three national championships and nine SEC tournament titles. She’s been named National Coach of the Year five times.
For Staley, all that success in coaching comes from relationships and discipline, she’s said. “I truly believe that the disciplined person can do anything, so I try to set up a platform on which student-athletes can be disciplined.”
Boxing
Ray Schmidt (Col class of ’39, Educ class of ’64)
When boxing was the biggest sport at UVA, Schmidt was king of the ring, winning NCAA titles at light heavyweight in 1937 and 1938.
Field Hockey
Paige Selenski (Col class of ’13)
A three-time first-team All-American, Selenski is Virginia’s career leader in points and was a member of the 2012 Olympic team.
Tara Vittese (Col class of ’18)
Vittese was the only player to win National Player of the Year three times. She and her sister, Michelle Vittese (Col class of ’13), a two-time Olympian, were on the 2018 World Cup team.
Football
Bill Dudley (Educ class of ’42)
“Bullet Bill” Dudley was the first UVA player to be voted first-team Associated Press All-American, and he won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s top player in 1941. Dudley ran, passed, caught passes, punted, placekicked, returned kicks and played defense. Voted NFL MVP in 1946, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1956 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.
Joe Palumbo (Col class of ’52)
A star of Virginia’s standout teams of the late 1940s and early 1950s, Palumbo was an All-American at middle guard in 1951 and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
Henry Jordan (Com class of ’57)
Jordan was not only an All-ACC defensive lineman, but he also finished second in the heavyweight division at the 1957 NCAA wrestling tournament. One of the stars of the Green Bay Packers’ championship teams of the 1960s, Jordan was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
Jim Dombrowski (Col class of ’85, Educ class of ’91)
UVA’s first-ever consensus first-team All-American, Dombrowski won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the ACC’s top offensive lineman in 1984 and 1985. He played 11 seasons in the NFL and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Chris Slade (Col class of ’93)
Slade was the second UVA player to earn first-team All-American honors for two seasons and still holds the ACC record for career sacks. He played nine seasons as a linebacker in the NFL.
Ronde Barber (Com class of ’97)
A star from the moment he arrived on Grounds with twin brother Tiki Barber (Com class of ’97), Ronde Barber was a three-time All-ACC selection who had one of the greatest careers by a cornerback in NFL history. Barber played 16 seasons, was selected to five Pro Bowls, set a league record for a defensive back with 215 consecutive starts, and had more quarterback sacks than any cornerback ever. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Anthony Poindexter (Col class of ’99)
A dominant safety who was a three-time All-ACC pick, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and a two-time first-team All-American, Poindexter was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. After his pro career was cut short by injuries, he turned to coaching and is currently an assistant coach at Penn State.
Tom Scott (Educ class of ’53)
Football, lacrosse, baseball, basketball
When Tom Scott died in 2015 at age 84, a column in The Daily Progress asserted that he was the “greatest athlete in the University of Virginia’s history.”
At a minimum, Scott seems indisputably to have been the busiest. A man of all seasons, he was an All-American in football and lacrosse. He also played baseball and basketball and possibly entered the odd track meet. He earned seven varsity letters.
Scott played offensive and defensive end for the Cavalier football team, helping lead it to an 8-1 record in 1951 and an 8-2 record in 1952, when he was selected as an All-American. He was a defenseman on UVA’s national championship lacrosse team in 1952 and was named a first-team All-American in 1953.
Scott is generally credited with playing four sports, but his Alumni Association record also lists him as a member of the track and field team.
Scott played 12 seasons in the NFL. He was named All-Pro twice and played in three NFL title games. He had a long career as an insurance executive after retiring from football.
Men’s golf
Dixon Brooke (Com class of ’41)
Brooke won the NCAA golf title in 1940, the second year the tournament was played.
Women’s golf
Lauren Coughlin (Col class of ’15, Educ class of ’16)
A two-time All-ACC pick and an ACC individual champion, Coughlin won two events on the LPGA tour in 2024 and ranked 10th in prize money.
Women’s lacrosse
Robyn Nye (Educ class of ’91)
Nye led Virginia to the NCAA championship in 1991 and was named National Defensive Player of the Year.
Cherie Greer (Col class of ’94)
Greer was a three-time first-team All-American and the Division I Defensive Player of the Year at UVA. She was a member of four World Cup teams, won three world championships and was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2009.
Kara Ariza (Col class of ’99)
A three-time first-team All-American, Ariza won a gold medal with the U.S. World Cup team in 2001 and silver in 2005.
Amy Appelt (Col class of ’05)
Appelt won the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top player in 2004 while leading the Cavaliers to a national championship. A three-time first-team All-American, she was selected as Virginia’s best female athlete in 2004 and 2005.
Men’s lacrosse
Chris Rotelli (Col class of ’03)
Rotelli was voted ACC Male Athlete of the Year in 2003, when he also won the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top lacrosse player.
Matt Ward (Com class of ’06)
Ward set a record for most goals in the NCAA tournament with 16 in 2006, when he also won the Tewaaraton Award.
Ken Clausen (Col class of ’10)
A defenseman, Clausen was the first three-time first-team All-American in school history and a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award.
Steele Stanwick (Col class of ’12)
Stanwick won the Tewaaraton Award in 2011, leading the Cavaliers to a national championship that year and was a two-time first-team All-American. He went on to play seven seasons in Major League Lacrosse.
Connor Shellenberger (Col class of ’23)
Connor Shellenberger grew up watching Virginia lacrosse. He finished his UVA career widely regarded as the greatest player in program history.
The Cavaliers have won nine national championships and produced 57 first-team All-Americans. Shellenberger is the program’s only four-time first-team All-American, as well as its all-time leader in points.
Dubbed “Mr. May” for his clutch performances in the NCAA tournament, Shellenberger quarterbacked the Virginia offense, setting up his teammates with precision passes. He was also a prolific scorer, scoring 131 career goals.
Shellenberger grew up in Charlottesville and began attending games when he was a grade-schooler. He was the nation’s top recruit while at St. Anne’s-Belfield School and committed to UVA as a high school sophomore.
“It means everything,” he said of the UVA program at the end of his career here. “I don’t know anything different.”
Men’s rowing
Tom Amlong (Educ class of ’61)
Amlong was serving in the U.S. Army when he became the first Virginia graduate to win an Olympic gold medal in any sport, in men’s eight at the 1964 Games.
Wyatt Allen (Col class of ’01)
Allen never rowed before coming to UVA but learned quickly and was training with the Under-23 national team by his third year. He won Olympic gold in men’s eight in 2004 and bronze in 2008.
Women’s rowing
Christine Roper (Col class of ’11)
Roper won a gold medal in women’s eight for Canada in the 2020 Olympics and has won six World Rowing Championships medals.
Susanne Grainger (Col class of ’13)
Grainger won a gold medal in women’s eight for Canada in the 2020 Olympics and five medals total in the World Rowing Championships from 2013 to 2018.
Lindsay Shoop (Col class of ’03)
Lindsay Shoop swam, rode horses, and played field hockey, volleyball and basketball while growing up in Charlottesville. When she arrived at UVA, however, she figured her athletic career was over.
“I didn’t think I was good enough to play a sport in college,” she said.
Virginia rowing coach Kevin Sauer disagreed. When Shoop ran into Sauer, a family friend, during her third year at UVA, he asked her to come out for his team. It wasn’t the first time he’d asked, and Shoop, who was struggling with her grades and her weight at the time, finally took him up on his offer.
Shoop was a quick study. By her second year on the team, she was an All-American. After she left UVA, she trained with the U.S. national team, launching a long international career highlighted by an Olympic gold medal in 2008 and three world championships.
“Rowing was an outlet for personal growth and transformation,” said Shoop, who is now a coach, commentator, author and motivational speaker.
Women’s soccer
Becky Sauerbrunn (Col class of ’08)
The ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2007, Sauerbrunn was on U.S. national teams that won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019, an Olympic gold medal in 2012 and bronze in 2021.
Emily Sonnett (Col class of ’15)
The ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and a first-team All-American, Sonnett was on the U.S. teams that won the World Cup in 2019 and an Olympic gold medal in 2024.
Morgan (Brian) Gautrat (Educ class of ’17)
The two-time national player of the year, Gautrat won World Cup championships in 2015 and 2019 as a member of the U.S. women’s national team.
Angela Hucles Mangano (Col class of ’00)
For one 16-day stretch in 1996, Angela Hucles Mangano was on fire. After scoring on Sept. 21, she scored her team’s next six goals over that span, still the most consecutive goals by one player in program history.
But that’s just a glimpse of her impact on the team. Hucles Mangano remains UVA’s all-time career leader in game-winning goals, with 19 to her name. For those efforts and more, Hucles Mangano earned first team All-ACC honors all four years.
Her post-UVA career is just as impressive. On the U.S. Women’s National Team for seven years, Hucles Mangano earned gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and bronze in the 2003 and 2007 World Cup championships.
She played soccer professionally before moving into sports broadcasting and leadership, including serving as president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, founded by tennis great Billie Jean King. In recent years, Hucles Mangano served as general manager for Angel City FC before being named president of women’s soccer for the Houston Dash in December 2024.
She makes time to return to Grounds as well. From 2019 to 2023, she served on UVA’s Board of Visitors.
Men’s soccer
Tony Meola (Col class of ’91)
A goalkeeper, Meola was a two-time All-American and was also voted national player of the year. He captained the U.S. World Cup team in 1994, played 11 seasons in Major League Soccer and was league MVP in 2000. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.
Claudio Reyna (Col class of ’95)
A three-time All-American and two-time national player of the year, Reyna led the Cavaliers to championships in each of his three seasons. He captained the U.S. World Cup teams in 2002 and 2006 and was the first American to win a first-division title in Europe. Reyna was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.
Mike Fisher (Col class of ’97, Med class of ’02)
A two-time national player of the year and Virginia’s career leader in points, Fisher passed on pro soccer to attend medical school and works as a radiologist in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Ben Olsen (Col class of ’99)
Olsen was Soccer America player of the year in 1997. He played 12 seasons in Major League Soccer and won MLS Rookie of the Year in 1998. He was a member of the U.S. national team from 1998 to 2006 and played in the 2006 World Cup.
Women’s swimming and diving
Melanie Valerio (Col class of ’91, Educ class of ’00)
The 1990 ACC Swimmer of the Year, Valerio won gold in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 1996 Olympics. She was the first swimmer ever sponsored by Nike.
Lauren Perdue (Col class of ’13)
The 2011 ACC Swimmer of the Year, Perdue won gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the 2012 Olympics.
Leah Smith (Col class of ’17)
After winning four individual NCAA titles for the Cavaliers, Smith won gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and bronze in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2016 Olympics.
Kate Douglass (Col class of ’23, Grad class of ’28)
Even as a first-year at UVA, Douglass was breaking records, taking home All-American honors in the breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley in 2020. But Douglass wasn’t close to hitting her stride yet—for UVA or on the world stage.
Five years later, Douglass is one of the sport’s brightest stars. She’s won five Olympic medals (two gold, two silver, one bronze) and 14 medals at the World Aquatics Championships. Known for her versatility, Douglass was the first NCAA swimmer to win individual titles in three strokes—freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke. She won seven individual NCAA titles from 2021 to 2023, helping to launch the Cavaliers’ college swimming dynasty.
She’s also leaving her mark outside the sport. Dubbed by leading mathematician Florian Luca as the “fastest mathematician in the pool,” Douglass is working toward a master’s degree in statistics at UVA and has collaborated on multiple academic papers in the field.
But she’s still in the pool, too. At the December 2024 short-course world championships, Douglass set world records in the 200-meter IM and 200-meter breaststroke. And in March, she took home more first-place finishes in freestyle and breaststroke at a pro swim series event.
Paige Madden (Educ class of ’21)
Madden won three individual NCAA titles and has three Olympic medals. She took silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and bronze in the individual 800-meter freestyle at the 2024 Games and silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Games.
Alex Walsh (Col class of ’24)
Walsh swam on all five of UVA’s NCAA championship teams, winning nine individual and 14 relay titles. She took silver in the 200 individual medley at the 2020 Olympics and competed again at the 2024 Games.
Emma Weber (Batten class of ’26)
Weber won gold in the 4x100-meter medley relay at the 2024 Olympics.
Gretchen Walsh (Com class of ’25)
Gretchen Walsh ended her UVA swimming career this past year, leaving plenty of accomplishments in her wake, including four ACC and NCAA team titles and lots of broken records. But that’s just her collegiate career.
At the international level, so far, Walsh has four Olympic medals—two gold and two silver from the 2024 Games in Paris. A few months later, at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, she won gold in all five of her individual events and two relays, setting 11 world records along the way.
Walsh’s time at UVA was meant to be short-lived. She planned to leave after her second year to capitalize on professional earnings. Opportunities, however, to earn through name, image and likeness (NIL) deals allowed her to stay. “NIL has been the biggest blessing in my life from a financial perspective,” she told UVA’s School of Commerce, “because it allowed me to have a lot of opportunities to make a name for myself outside of just swimming at UVA.”
On both the UVA and national teams, Walsh frequently shares the stage with her sister, Alex Walsh (Col class of ’24), another record-breaking swimmer and Olympic medalist. Their latest collaboration is a podcast, launched in March, called “Kicking It With the Walsh Sisters.”
Men’s swimming
Ed Moses (Educ class of ’04)
A breaststroke specialist, Moses won gold and silver medals at the 2000 Olympics. He set several world records, either individually or as a member of a medley relay team, and won two individual NCAA championships for UVA.
Matt McLean (Col class of ’11)
McLean won gold as a member of the U.S. 4x200-meter freestyle relay team at the 2012 Olympics. He won the NCAA championship in the 500-yard freestyle in 2011.
Women’s tennis
Danielle Collins (Col class of ’16)
Collins won two NCAA singles titles and reached a ranking of No. 7 in the world as a professional.
Emma Navarro (Col class of ’24)
Navarro won the NCAA singles title as a first-year in 2021. She turned pro after her second year and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open in 2024, attaining a ranking of No. 8 in the world.
Men’s tennis
Somdev Devvarman (Col class of ’08)
Devvarman won NCAA singles titles in 2007 and 2008 and was runner-up in 2006. As a professional, Devvarman reached the second round of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He was inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019.
Jarmere Jenkins (Col class of ’13)
Jarmere Jenkins was aware of the select company he was joining when he was voted ACC Male Athlete of the Year in 2013.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan and two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson are among the familiar names who have won the award, first given out in 1954. Jenkins was the first tennis-only athlete to win it.
Jenkins had a season for the ages in 2013, leading the Cavaliers to the national championship. He finished second in singles and teamed with Mac Styslinger (Col class of ’16, Darden class of ’21) to win the doubles title. He was named both national tennis player of the year and MVP of the NCAA tournament.
“To join a group that includes so many great names, especially the ones that went on to become stars in the NFL and NBA, is a tremendous honor,” he said at the time.
Jenkins played professional tennis until 2017. He served as the hitting partner for tennis great Serena Williams and is now head of tennis at Crimson Education, a multinational university admissions consultancy.
Women’s track and field
Aileen O’Connor (Col class of ’83)
NCAA champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, O’Connor was a member of UVA’s national championship cross country teams in 1981 and 1982.
Kiamesha Otey (Col class of ’03)
Otey won ACC and USA Track & Field titles in the long jump.
Margaret Groos Sloan (Col class of ’81)
Margaret Groos Sloan made history in 1977 when she became the first woman to receive a full athletic scholarship in track or cross country at UVA. At the time, she was a standout high school runner with a national high school record for the mile. She was just getting started.
While at UVA, Sloan notched several big wins, including being the national cross country champion in 1979; the ACC cross country champion in 1978; a two-time All-American in cross country, in 1978 and 1979; and an All-American in the 1,500 meters in 1979. Sloan’s professional career includes winning the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials for the marathon in a speedy 2:29:50. She ultimately placed 39th at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
More than four decades later, she remains atop UVA’s record books: Her 1981 record of 15:34.71 for the indoor 5,000 meters still stands.
Men’s track and field
James Rector (Law 1909)
Rector was the first UVA athlete to win an Olympic medal, taking silver in the 100 meters in 1908.
Robby Andrews (Educ class of ’14)
Andrews won the NCAA title in the 800 meters in 2011, made the 2016 U.S. Olympic team, and won the 1,500 meters at the USA Track & Field championship in 2017.
Filip Mihaljević (Col class of ’17)
Mihaljević won three NCAA titles, two in the shot put and one in discus. He won the shot put at the European Championships and a bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships. He holds Croatia’s national record in the shot put.
Paul Ereng (Col class of ’93)
Paul Ereng had never competed in the 800 meters before he came to UVA in the fall of 1987, specializing instead in the 200 and 400.
A UVA assistant coach, Fred Hardy, suggested he give the longer distance a try.
Ereng’s improvement was remarkable. A year after he ran the 800 for the first time he won the gold medal in that distance at the 1988 Olympics.
Ereng had won the 800 meters at the NCAA championships but barely qualified for the Olympics, finishing third at the trials in his native Kenya. A relative unknown, he wasn’t considered a medal contender.
In the final, however, Ereng outkicked the field with 100 meters left to win gold.
Ereng won two more NCAA titles and won world indoor titles in 1989 and 1991, when he set a world record. He’s been a college coach for more than 20 years and is currently an assistant at Texas A&M.
“I trusted my coach,” he said in an interview with the International Amateur Athletic Federation. “One year later I was the Olympic champion.”
Wrestling
Chris Henrich (Col class of ’11)
Henrich was the first three-time All-American in program history and is the career leader in wins with 136.
Standouts off the field
UVA grads have made their marks beyond stadiums, arenas, courts and pools. They’ve also influenced sports as executives, coaches, commentators and journalists. Here’s a partial list of those who have made big impacts.
Bowie Kuhn (Law class of ’50)
Kuhn became the fifth MLB commissioner in 1969 and served until 1984, a period in which the sport experienced labor strife, but also dramatic increases in attendance, revenue, player salaries and franchise values.
Donald Dell (Law class of ’64)
A pioneer among sports agents, Dell founded a sports marketing company, ProServ, and represented athletes such as tennis player Jimmy Connors and basketball legend Michael Jordan.
Tim Finchem (Law class of ’73)
Finchem was commissioner of the PGA Tour from 1994 to 2016, overseeing a boom in prize money and the sport’s popularity during the Tiger Woods era.
Jonathan Mariner (Com class of ’76)
Mariner served as chief financial officer and later chief investment officer for Major League Baseball during a 14-year career. He was previously executive vice president and CFO of the Florida Marlins.
Rick Carlisle (Col class of ’84)
An NBA head coach since 2001, Carlisle led the Dallas Mavericks to the league championship in 2011, joining an exclusive club of people who have won titles as both a player and coach.
DeMaurice Smith (Law class of ’89)
Smith served as executive director of the NFL Players Association from 2009 to 2023, a period in which the union nearly quadrupled its net assets.
Cory Alexander (Col class of ’95)
A former NBA player, Alexander is a college basketball analyst for ESPN and a frequent color commentator on games on ESPN and the ACC Network.
Melissa Stark (Col class of ’95)
A broadcast journalist, Stark is best known for her NFL coverage, working as sideline reporter for Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football and as a host and reporter for the NFL Network.
Jenny Boucek (Educ class of ’97)
A former second-team All-ACC player, Boucek was the third woman hired as an NBA assistant coach. After stints in Sacramento and Dallas, she’s currently an assistant with the Indiana Pacers.
Val Ackerman (Col class of ’81)
Sports executive
On the court, Val Ackerman was known for putting up points—or, as she told a reporter in 1979, “My real contribution is sticking the ball in the basket.” The forward was the first UVA women’s basketball player to score 1,000 points, totaling 1,316 across her four years at UVA.
Off the court, she was putting up plenty of points too. The political and social thought major was an academic all-star—earning Academic All-American honors in 1980 and 1981 and UVA’s Jettie Hill Memorial Award for the highest GPA among UVA women athletes. She played professional basketball in France for a year after graduation before heading to UCLA for law school.
After a legal career that included a stint as an attorney and executive for the NBA, Ackerman launched an impressive run in sports leadership. She played a key role in assembling the 1995-96 USA Basketball Women’s National Team, which went on a 60-0 winning streak and won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
In 1996, she became founding president of the WNBA. And from 2005 to 2008, she served as president of USA Basketball, guiding both the men’s and women’s teams to gold in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Since 2013, her focus has been on college sports, serving as commissioner of the Big East Conference.
