World War II curbed the number of men participating in sports at the University of Virginia; however, it did not affect the university's achievements. During the war years of 1944 through 1945 the University excelled in many of its sports. This not only helped to keep the men in shape for the war, but it also kept the spirit of the University alive within the student body. Many things have changed in the sports program over the past fifty years; however, one thing will never change; Wahoos will always love sports!
During World War II, the University of Virginia thought that it was important for their men to participate in sports. Athletic director Norton Pritchett said that "intercollegiate athletic competition would be a valuable factor in conditioning men for war." During the years of 1944 through 1945 UVa. had eight varsity sports which only men could participate in: football, basketball, boxing, baseball, tennis, golf, track, and cross-country. It was difficult to have a consistent team roster during this time because many men were called to duty during the season, and some left to join the marines.
Aside from varsity sports, the university's intramural
sports program was also affected. The loss of half of the
student population during this time cut down on the number of
participating teams. Before, the powerhouses of the Intramural
program had been the fraternities; however, because of loss of
men the Medical School Draftees (known as the quacks) became the
top intramural team. The loss of university students due to war
time demands did not weaken the athletic teams' achievements.
During the years of 1944 through 1945 UVa.'s football,
basketball, track, and boxing teams were exceptional. The
football team was one of the University's finest in many years.
Although the opposition always outweighed UVa., we were able to have a record of seven wins and only two losses. The basketball team were state champions, the boxing team won the conference title, and the track squad was the best in Cavalier history.
Besides the differences and similarities in the programs' achievements, it is also interesting to note the changes in the programs themselves. The football program remained the same with a few minor changes. The team of 1944 only consisted of sixty players, quite a few less than there are today. The university's football field is made of astroturf today, whereas, in 1944 it was real grass. Boxing was the University of Virginia's strongest program; however, it is not a sport at the University today. Boxing was found to be unsafe because of the constant blows to the mens' heads. Basketball is the sport that has seen the most changes since the war. During the 1944 season, the basketball scores were extremely low. An average game score would be 25 to 15. This was due to the fact that after each point was scored they would take the ball back to center and jump the ball. Whichever team had the tallest center usually won the game because his team always had the ball!
The basketball team consisted of twenty-five to thirty players during the 1944 season, now you would be lucky to find fifteen players on a team. If you were to walk into Memorial Gymnasium today, above the wall you would see a quote from Thomas Jefferson, "It is important for young men to participate in physical activity for it conditions the mind and the body." Mr. Jefferson's belief has been kept alive at UVa. through the sports program, which has been a major pride of he University beginning more than fifty years ago.
By: Brooke Hanna