The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - UVA AD Williams Gets 5-Yr Contract Extension; Williams Gets 29% Raise, $1,405,470 Annual Pay

Episode Date: January 21, 2025

The Jerry & Jerry Show headlines: UVA AD Williams Gets 5-Yr Contract Extension Williams Gets 29% Raise, $1,405,470 Annual Pay Why Did UVA Not Announce Williams Extension? Will Carla Williams Make Football & Hoops Hires? Who Is On Virginia Hoops Coaching Short List? Boston College at UVA (-8.5), 7 PM Tues, ACCN Eagles (9-9 Overall, 1-6 ACC) at Cavs (8-10, 1-6) Virginia Football: News, Notes & Noise Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air Jerry Ratcliffe & Jerry Miller were live on The Jerry & Jerry Show! The Jerry & Jerry Show airs live Tuesday from 10:15 am – 11:15 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The Jerry & Jerry Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Tuesday morning, guys. My name is Jerry Miller, and thank you kindly for joining us on the Jerry and Jerry Show. It's a pleasure to connect with you guys through the I Love Seville Network on a show that spotlights a Virginia Sports Hall of Famer that has a household name, Jerry Hootie Ratcliffe, the namesake of jerryratcliffe.com. Today's program is loaded with content. The athletic director at the University of Virginia, Carla Williams, has signed a discreet, is that how I would say it, under the radar, clandestine,

on the DL, five-year contract extension. I mean, we got arguably one of the top five most prominent employees at the University of Virginia signing an extension that could be worth north of $1,700,000 a year and done with, to say little fanfare would be an understatement, done completely in the proverbial hidden back room with few people knowing. It took a Freedom of Information Act request from Chris Graham and David Thiel for this news to break. We'll talk about that today, including the role of Jim Ryan in the fanfare or lack thereof with this contract, including now Carla Williams' role in hiring the men's basketball coach and potentially a football coach should Tony Elliott struggle this year. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. What'd you make of the Carla Williams extension? We'll talk about that today.

We'll talk the Boston College Eagles at the John Paul Jones Arena. The Wahoos, an eight-and-a-half-point favorite, depending on where you shop. And we'll talk news, notes, and noise with Virginia football. Judah Wickauer, studio camera, two-shot, the star of our show, Hootie Ratcliffe on the program. I start with the scatter-shooting question. Anywhere you want to go, Hootie Ratcliffe, the show is yours.

What's on that brain of yours? Well, I was just as surprised as everyone else, I guess, at the news this week. I think even Chris was surprised, even though he's one of the first to file the FOIA to gain that information. Chris Graham, Augusta Free Press. Yeah, and he's been all over this story from the very start. But it's somewhat mind-boggling, your opening statement, about how this was kept so quiet and under the radar. Most of the Virginia fan base was surprised, stunned, some upset, some happy.

I'm sure there was a division there. Just checking out some of Chris's work, he mentioned that one of the Board of Visitors was even, and it's the only one we know of who's spoken about it, was surprised. And supposedly he said his phone is lighting up because of the backlash. But I know who that BOV member is, but I'm not going to reveal him.

But it's just a bizarre situation where I've always felt like it was difficult to get information from UVA more than most schools. But, I mean, this just leaves you puzzled, I guess, why you would want to keep that so quiet. Why keep it quiet? When were we ever going to find out? Right. Because they weren't going to put out a press release about it, obviously, since it happened back about a month ago or over a month ago. And no press release.

What's the theory with keeping it quiet? I can't figure it out. Whose call is it to keep it quiet? Well, I would think it would have to either be Jim Ryan's decision or Carl Williams' decision or agreement of both. But I'm confounded by why you would want to do that. I don't see a reason to. Again, I'm sure some of the fan base, well, I know some of the fan base is upset because I've seen some of the backlash, but still, you know, you put that out there, whether people are going to react negatively to it or not.

Some say this goes with the Carla Williams personality of trying to be behind the scenes and kind of in the background with how she leads the athletic department and her role even with the CFP, the College Football Playoff Committee. Do you buy that, Hootie Ratcliffe? And a follow-up question to that is, is the role of the athletic director not to be the department's biggest cheerleader,

and as the department's biggest cheerleader, isn't part of your responsibility to be on the front line, interacting with the fan base, and cheering on with the fans? Yeah, certainly. That is her personality. She doesn't seek the limelight. There's no question about that. In fact, I think she shies away from it, which I don't think she should, being in her position.

Some people are that way. They don't want to be in the spotlight. They would rather cast it on their coaches or athletes. That's understandable, but still you're the leader of that department, and I think you have to be more visible. She does cheer on the teams. There's no question about that. She tweets about congratulations and things on all the successes.

She shows up at a lot of events. I'll give her credit for that. I just think they should be more visible and more transparent when things like that are occurring. And I think you owe that to your fan base. You know, I'm inclined to agree here. All right, we'll use this as spring to head to a Carla Williams-related topic. I mean, it would seem now she is now instrumental in hiring the men's basketball coach. I mean, this is not how we expected the season to go.

Eight and ten on the year, one and six in conference play. For this team to make the big dance, it's probably going to require a miracle, which probably means an ACC tournament championship. Well, right now, Jerry, it's in question whether they'll even make the ACC tournament. Right. Since the expansion to 18 basketball teams now, it's a new format. Three teams are going to be left out. Which is a shame. It is a shame.

I don't like that. If you're going to have a conference tournament, everybody in the conference should be in the tournament. I know there's going to be a lot of meaningless games, but even with 15, there's going to be some meaningless games, as there has been the last several years. But, yeah, I mean, three teams are going to be left out, and right now Virginia projects as one of those teams.

I mean, it looks like, I guess, the so-called magic number is seven ACC wins. And, I mean, they're standing at one and six right now going into tonight. And they do have a chance, a great opportunity over the next couple of are Boston College, Notre Dame, Miami, Virginia Tech, Pitt, and Georgia Tech. And five of those six are among the bottom half of the conference. So they certainly have an opportunity to gain some ground and to pick up some wins. I don't know that they're going to be able to right the ship to the point where they can make the postseason in terms of a national tournament, but they might at least be able to get into the ACC tournament.

Virginia, guys, has got the Boston College Eagles. The line has actually just dropped. It opened at the start of our program at 8.5. I'm now seeing it as low as 7.5. So this line is moving, this Boston College Virginia line. 7 o'clock tip-off, John Paul Jones Arena. It's floating between 7.5 and 8.5, depending on where you shop.

We'll get to that ballgame in a matter of moments. Questions are coming in on Carla Williams. It's all over the place. How about this question? A 29% pay raise. Does Hootie Ratcliffe want to offer commentary on a 29% pay raise for an athletic department whose football team has got the least amount of wins of any top-level football program over the last three years?

Well, I think a portion of that probably is just to get her up to par with other ADs in the conference. From what I understand, she was underpaid in terms of the standard norm. So I think that's probably one reason. I can see where fans would be thinking that it's unjustified in terms of what's happened with football and what has recently happened with basketball those are your two breadwinners and virginia is certainly behind the eight ball in football uh you would hope that basketball doesn't fall to that degree but it's um

right now unless they can get things turned around we're looking at like the end of the dave lato era and i don't know some some people out there may not remember that but i do and i mean it was it was so miserable i there were times i didn't even want to go cover the games it was so bad um not only did you have to watch some really bad basketball and some poor defense. You had to watch Lato berate his kids. You had to watch that. And then, yeah, sometimes he wasn't so nice to the media either.

I mean, this is the coach, Dave Lato, that made his basketball team change in the hallway in front of the locker room because he said, you don't deserve, with how you played, access to the locker room to change your clothes after a game yeah he could be a very surly fellow and uh uh those were a night that was a nightmarish year for sure that final season he was here and to ron sanchez's credit and credit, and this is worth a bit, the man's a gentleman. He's a great guy. Great human being. The type of guy that you want your 18, 19, 20-year-old kid to be around. Absolutely. I mean, just a role model, I would say. Yes, absolutely. And yeah, he's a very

positive thinker. He's always looking at the bright side of things and looking for a silver lining even in defeat, looking for any signs of improvement, coaching hard, trying to motivate. He's just a wonderful human being on the court and off the court. And I really hope that he can find a way to turn it around. I wish him the best. It just doesn't look really good right now. And again, hopefully they can gain some ground now that they're playing some of the lesser

teams in the conference and a chance to get back closer to 500. Renee Pettiford, one of the biggest fans of our show watching the program. Renee, we love when you watch the show. She asked about the February 8th tribute for Tony Bennett. What do you make of it? Are you going to be going? Do you know anybody else that is going? Some fans found it curious, a February 8th tribute.

Is it the Georgia Tech game, if memory serves correct? Yes, it is, the Georgia Tech game. The Georgia Tech game. Some fans have said this was a tactic utilized to drive fan engagement at a time when fan engagement seems to be slipping. Well, you know, and certainly I wouldn't blame them for that. I mean, that's one of the reasons. I mean, you do whatever you can to get fannies in the seats.

That's the point of homecoming. That's the point of bobblehead night. Exactly. That's the point of throwing t-shirts in the stands. Yes. And having the dogs chasing the Frisbees at halftime. Any way you can. Right.

Red Panda. Right, Red Panda. I'd go just to watch Red Panda. Well done, Rudy. He loves dogs. I love dogs, and I love Red Panda, too. She's an amazing talent. I don't know if she's still doing it or not.

But, yeah, whatever gets Fanny's in the seats, you can't blame him for that. And, yeah, I'll certainly be there. And I actually don't think they're doing enough. If you're going to give a tribute to a guy that's taken the program to where it's never been before, I think a banner in the ceiling is not enough. I don't think UVA does enough to brag about itself when it has an accomplishment like that. Instead of having stuff up in the rafters where sometimes people don't even see it and certainly opponents may not, I put it down there near the floor or across a press row or somewhere where it's visible to everybody that, hey, we're 2019 national champions, even though it was five or six years ago.

I think they ought to put Tony Bennett's name on the basketball floor. I think it should be Tony Bennett Court at John Paul Jones Arena. I mean, if you're going to pay the man tribute, then pay him tribute. What he did for Virginia basketball, I mean, where would they be right now if they hadn't hired Tony Bennett? If they just hired a flavor of the month back then? Does that little page in Oliver get the credit for that? Absolutely.

And I think Wally Walker probably might have had a hand in that and keeping watch on him since he was out in Seattle and probably saw a lot of Tony Bennett's team's play. But, yeah, John Oliver andig little page deserve tons of credit for not only discovering him but convincing him to come to virginia because when they first when they first approached him approached him about it he he said no and uh he you know he had turned down a lot of good programs he had turned down lsu he had turned down a lot of good programs. He had turned down LSU. He had turned down Marquette, some others. They were able to lure him in somehow.

I'm still not sure how they did it. He wanted to coach in the ACC and test himself against then the best coaching lineup in the country. Certainly, that was a lure And certainly that was a lure. The facility was a lure. And I don't know that the money was a big part of that deal, but it didn't hurt. And, you know, if they hadn't been able to convince him to come, I still don't know where Virginia basketball would be. Put his name on the court. I don't see why his name's not on the court.

Are you seeing the messages, text messages I'm sending you away? Check out LinkedIn and YouTube. Is your phone on, J-Dubs? Rob Neal says, gotcha, Rob Neal says he loves the Frisbee dogs as well. Frisbee dogs, yeah. Rob, I love the Frisbee dogs as well. Frisbee dogs, yeah. Rob, I love the Frisbee dogs. It's great seeing you in the workout room. That man's putting up some steel and some weights over there.

It's impressive. Oh, yeah. Comments are coming in fast and furious over here. Folks, I mean, frankly, the sentiment seems to be borderline shocked and some appalled. Well, I mean, if you look, she was hired chiefly to, that was the distinction we were told when they hired her over some of the other candidates, that the reason they hired her was her connection with Georgia football. And that is something that some of the other candidates apparently didn't have enough of,

although I think one guy did actually have great football background that they turned down. He's AD elsewhere in the conference now. But that was the main argument for bringing her in was to fix football. And as of this point in time, football is not fixed. It remains to be seen whether it will be fixed or not certainly Tony Elliott's given it everything he has but next year is going to be next season is going to be huge for

him and to whether he can get it turned around or not I mean if they don't go to a bowl game in his fourth year, I don't know that he'll be retained. I'd be surprised if he is. There's only been three coaches in recent history with 11 wins after three years, and they all lost their jobs, including most recently Mike London. So if he can't get it done this year, she may have to look at replacing a football coach

and a basketball coach within a one-year frame. That's pretty rare in college athletics. That's extremely rare. Some folks are asking Ron Sanchez, so did he get a second year? I would say the general consensus would be no unless he can get this thing turned around. Certainly he was put in a bad spot. As Jeff Jones said on our show several weeks ago, sitting here with, he was on Skype when we had him as a guest, and he said Tony Bennett's timing of retiring was horrible for the program in terms of where it left things. And certainly Ron Sanchez has been the benefactor of...

He's fallen on the sword. Yeah. I mean, it's tough. If Tony Bennett were still the head coach, I'm not sure that their record would be much better than it is right now. I think probably two or three more wins, but they would not be 500 right now or over, well, maybe a little over 500. Which wins do you think would have gone in a different direction?

I'd have to go back and look, but a few of the closer games, I think they would have won. SMU at home was one that stood out to me. Yeah, no question that's one that would have won. SMU at home was one that stood out to me. Yeah, no question that's one that would have been. There's some shaky decision-making down the stretch against the ponies at the JPJ. Yeah, no question. There were a couple others that they probably could have won.

Probably none of those against the top 25 teams. Maybe the Memphis game because they fell apart down the stretch there when they were pressed. Didn't do a very good job of handling that. I think Tony would have had them a little better prepared or been able to adjust to it. But you hear about it's not the X's and O's, it's the Jimmy's and the Joe's.

And I think this team, if they can keep them together for another year or two, I think this team will eventually be a pretty good basketball team if they add the right parts. They need to get a quality point guard. They need to get another shutdown defender. They need a rim protector. And another scorer wouldn't hurt. But those are some

things that are setting this team and this program back right now is a lack of people in those roles that we were accustomed to seeing under Tony Bennett. I read on jerryratcliffe.com the grapevine is that Virginia has put out feelers to Marquette, Shaka Smart, Gonzaga Smartview, VCU's Ryan Odom, and the head coach of Furman those are three or four of those names are heavy hitters two of the four are some of the best in the business yeah they are

again it's the grapevine so you don't know how reliable that is but those are the whispers we're hearing out there and before I forget Ralph Sampson wants to be on the show next week to talk about where Virginia is right now. We'd love to have Ralph. Can we promo that he's going to be here? Yeah, I think so. He said lock it down.

Big Ralph Sampson on the show next Tuesday. Yeah, Ralph's always a welcome guest. The only guy that I've ever seen come out of our studio in downtown Charlottesville and legitimately stop traffic. Ralph Sampson parked in front of the studio in a very nice Mercedes-Benz, walks out the front door, and on both sides of Market Street in downtown Charlottesville, people got out of their car while the car was still on and blocked traffic to take selfies with the greatest basketball player in Virginia men's history.

Yeah, I think there was a city bus that stopped. A city bus was blaring the horn behind the car that stopped. And, Ralph, it was just like this every day. It's just another day at the office for Ralph Sampson. It's not very often you have a Hall of Famer standing in the middle of your street, outside your studio, that's for sure. But he'll be here next week to weigh in on what's going on, and we welcome that. But, yeah, it's interesting. I'm assuming that some of these people on the unofficial committee that are filling out some candidates will make a recommendation to Carla Williams.

And it'll be her final call, I would imagine, being the AD, as to who they're going to hire. And assuming they can get someone that they want. And who knows? I mean, the ACC is not quite as attractive as it used to be. Why is the ACC down, Hoody? Besides the coaching attrition. Yeah, and that's one reason, because you had a lineup of hall of fame

basketball coaches who are no longer involved with their programs and you take that kind of coaching talent and wisdom and experience out of your league it's going to make a difference it's going to make an impact i mean we're talking about some of the greatest coaches that ever laced up basketball shoes, and that's one reason. But, again, it's the Jimmys and the Joes, and I keep referring back to a podcast I did with Seth Greenberg more than two years ago. He was on his way to Auburn and was not feeling well. I didn't think we were even going to get him on the show,

and he was gracious enough to stick it out on our program. And he was talking then about watch out for the SEC because they are making major investments in basketball and we're now seeing the fruit of that. And it's all from SEC football money. The SEC is so rich and they have invested heavily in basketball. Their football was already somewhat spectacular, even though it didn't show up in the postseason this year like it normally has.

But the SEC, I've said it a few times on the show, the SEC is the new ACC. They are getting the majority of great talent and a lot of really good coaches. They're a force to be reckoned with. I haven't looked at, I think the last time we did that, you checked out the top 25, and there was a chock full of SEC teams and not many ACC teams. So I think that's why. I think it's football money, and the ADs in that conference have done a really good job in making that a major sport.

It used to be something that they just did between football and spring football, but now it's a pretty big deal in the SEC. Rob Craig, thanks for watching the program. Logan Wells, Claylow, hello. Jeremy Williams highlights five more years of Carla, Jeremy Wilson, excuse me, five more years of Carla Williams is horrible for UVA, from Jeremy Wilson. Auburn won. This is the coaches' poll, folks.

And this is as of Tuesday, January 21st. Auburn won, Alabama two, Florida six, Tennessee seven, Kentucky nine. So you've got one, two, three, four, five of the top nine. Unbelievable. Mississippi State in the 14th slot. Texas A&M SEC? Yep. Texas A&M, 13th slot.

That's Williams. That's right. Old Williams 16th slot. Ole Miss, 16th slot. I mean, it's just loaded with SEC ladies and gentlemen. It used to be the ACC in those slots. I mean, it's just absolutely loaded SEC ladies and gentlemen. It used to be the ACC in those slots. I mean, it's just absolutely loaded. How many ACC teams are in the top? Oh, I mean, you know. See, it's a rhetorical question from my friend over there, Hootie Rack.

That's what they call in the business of softball right there. Duke. We have Duke. We have Duke. We have Duke. With arguably the best player in the country. Yeah, Cooper Flagg is phenomenal. On the roster.

A guy that's clearly an NBA basketball player playing in college basketball right now. With arguably the best player in the country. Yeah, Cooper Flagg is phenomenal. Yeah, on the roster. A guy that's clearly an NBA basketball player playing in college basketball right now. Absolutely. Duke is 16-2 overall and is right now the sole flag, you know, waiver for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Let me ask you this. What is the role of the athletic director, and I'm going to say athletic directors plural, for returning the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball landscape back to prominence? Wow. That's a tough question, and I don't know.

In conjunction with the commissioner. Right. I mean, I don't know if it's a matter of NIL money in terms of luring players. I know that some of the guys that Tony Bennett was recruiting the last couple of years ended up in the SEC. And a lot of people thought it was NIL money. That's when Virginia didn't seem to be willing to spend a lot, but I think that's changed. I don't know if that's the bottom line or not. Certainly, I think the ACC facilities are probably a little better. Coaching-wise, there's a lot of really good coaches in the SEC now. The ACC has lost some glitter there.

I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. The SEC has an incredibly strong commissioner. I'm not sure the ACC can say that at this point. I don't know. The ACC has their own network. So that shouldn't be a disadvantage. I really don't know what the solution to the problem is.

I don't know if it's just money or if it goes beyond that. Nine of the Southeastern Conference in the top 25 right now, with a couple others in receiving votes, to Hootie's point. And Kevin Yancey, good morning. Waynesboro's finest. Got a TV station and local radio station watching us right now. It's just not the Atlantic Coast Conference of yesteryear. Everybody's rosters used to be loaded with NBA players. I mean, UNC and Duke would have a few.

Miami was a perennial power with producing NBA talent. You'd get Clemson went a stretch where they had a handful of guys contending for player of the year and routinely drafted in the first round. I mean, I look at the Virginia roster. Is there an NBA player on the Virginia roster? Probably right now? I would say probably not right now. Probably not.

I mean, your best athlete on that roster is probably Elijah Saunders, and he can stroke it, but let's cut to the chase. He's a tweener. What's his position? He does not have the height to play the three or the four. And I'm not sure he's enough of a scorer shooter to play the two in the NBA or have the handles. So, I mean, what is Elijah's position? I would think he'd be a small forward. At what, 6'4", 6'5", with broad shoulders? Yeah.

And McNeely, and I love Isaac, I love Isaac, but he's proven, you know, and it's even painful for me to say this, Hootie, there are times where he's proven to be a little bit of a liability because when Isaac McNeely is not scoring the basketball and knocking down the three ball and stretching defenses, if he's run off that line, defensively there are times where he looks shaky. And that's tough to say.

Yeah, I love Isaac McNeely as well, but it's tough. And when people gang up on him, it's tough. He can't create his own shot like a lot of three-point shooters can't. He's a catch-and-shoot guy and brilliant at doing so. But if he's smothered, there's not much he can do. Is this the point of the season? Are we there yet? We may not be there yet. Where you start playing the Sharmas and the Kofis and the Robinsons

in a way to build inroads with them, to encourage them from hitting the transfer portal. From what I can tell, and this is just a man with a microphone, I'd say Day Day Aims is going to be seduced by the transfer portal here. I'd say Isaac McNeely would be one of the most coveted two guards in college basketball. I mean, if you put a McNeely with a point guard that can score and a guy that can actually command the ball in the post with offensive acumen, McNeely could just stand behind the line, catch and shoot from downtown, and have eight to ten open three-pointers a game. And he would be unbelievable in that role. Well, we saw that when he had Kihei Clark.

Right. He would be unbelievable in that role. I see a lot of guys here that are going to be seduced by the portal, especially if big money is thrown their way. That's possibly so. But, yeah, I think it may be time to give some of these guys a little more court time. I've been very impressed with Sharma off the bench. And he started one game.

But I think he can add some scoring punch to a team that desperately needs it and Robinson has has been he's been a pretty physical guy lately I think he's getting a little bit better and I've been blown away by Kofi all season long I think I think if we're talking about somebody with NBA potential down the road, I think he could be that guy. So, yeah, I think all three of those guys probably it wouldn't hurt to give them a little more playing time, especially with some winnable games coming up.

They could add a little spark, especially with some winnable games coming up. They could add a little spark, maybe some scoring, to a team that's had trouble doing so. The show's on fire right now. Comments are coming in quick. J-Dubs, as a result of the stuff that's coming in, check out Facebook Messenger on your laptop over there so you can help facilitate some of this discussion. Hugh Haynes, hello. Welcome

to the program. James Watson, the UVA graduate, is watching the show. With approximately five female athletic directors across five major conferences, I find it difficult not to believe that there are a lot of men who complain about Miss Williams unfairly. UVA continues to achieve in baseball, swimming, lacrosse, women's volleyball. UVA was only decent in the 90s. UVA basketball would be nowhere without Tony Bennett. Give these coaches and ADs some support. Respect the comment. I would respectfully push back. Carla Williams did not hire Tony Bennett. No. In some ways, Carla Williams ran off Bronco Mendenhall.

And these are facts here. Precisely. She hired Tony Elliott. Tony Elliott, the football coach, has got the least amount of wins over the last three years in college football, folks. I understand she's a great fundraiser, and I understand the non-revenue sports are doing well, but it's football and basketball that drives the revenue and drives fan base interest. Women's basketball is not doing great. No, not really.

It's nothing personal against Carla. It's not personal at all. She's a delightful person. It's just if you look at this from a business standpoint, she's the CEO of a major company, and that major company is having some real struggles right now. It's rare for ADs in today's culture or atmosphere, whatever you want to call it, men or women, it doesn't matter. I wouldn't pick on her because she's a woman. I don't think that has anything to do with it.

But it's rare for ADs to have a very long shelf life in college sports these days. They get run pretty quickly. I mean, they're the point person, and if football, particularly football, is flailing and unsuccessful, they usually are the ones that fall on the sword, rightfully or not. Basketball, too, in some cases, but certainly for football. And so, you know, that's just part of the job. She knew that. I'm sure she's known that for years.

You know, I'm with you. It doesn't matter if she's a man or woman, black, white, Puerto Rican, or Haitian here. The football team is 11-23 over their last three years and 6-17 in conference play. The stadium at Scott Stadium, 25,000, 30,000 people, is a good day for attendance. It's about performance for me. And the performance has been subpar.

And then you sprinkle in what's happened with the basketball program over the last couple years, and you scratch your head. I mean, you look around at pro sports, the general managers and some of those folks don't last very long if the team has a losing season, a couple losing seasons in a row, and hardly anybody survives that on the pro level, and that's starting to spread down into college athletics. I mean, that's just part of the job. It's the same as a head football coach. They know that most likely at some point they're going to get fired.

No matter what kind of season or career they've had, it's hard to sustain that excellence year after year after year. And, I mean, we see it annually. A lot of people are on the chopping block after year. And I mean, we see it annually. A lot of people are on the chopping block every year. And it's the same thing with ADs. Virginia's been fortunate. They've only run off really one AD in the last 40 years. Most of them have left of their own volition. One guy was, another guy was kind of forced out, but I thought unrightfully so. But, and we're talking about Coach Holland. Right. I think they, there was pressure put on him to leave. I mean, Hootie, we can make a legitimate argument that Virginia Athletics offers more

grace and patience and empathy with their coaches and their administrators than just about any program in college athletics. Yeah, I mean, you look back at Craig Littlepage's career in, what was he, AD for 16, was it 16 years? I'll take a look at that. That's unheard of. Yeah, unbelievable in today's college athletics scene. It just doesn't happen. And that shows you what kind of success he had. 16 years. Yeah, 16 years.

That's twice as long as most A.D.s are around anywhere. It's an unbelievable ride. And Vanessa Parkhill responds to James Watson's comment. Vanessa Parkhill says, James Watson, counterpoint to your comment. If Carla Williams were a man, would she be getting more heat, giving the performance of the two biggest programs? AD manages the programs, period. So she's pushing back on what James said.

That's a very good point she makes. Yeah. James then says, three guys lost their lives on the football team, and basketball lost one of the greatest UVA coaches of all time. And when did UVA put together three decent football seasons since Welsh or before? Well, Bronco had three pretty decent seasons. They were bowl eligible almost every year of his career, if I recall. They didn't go because of COVID a couple of times. Bronco had a run of 8-5, 9-5, and 5-5. That's three pretty good years right there.

And then he finished at 6-6. Yeah, and they were bowl eligible all four of those years. So that's just a fact. I understand the frustration from the fan base. I will say this. I will say this. If folks think the heat is hot now on the AD and the athletic department, watch what happens if the football team struggles.

Yeah. I mean, if they don't finish at least 6-6 next year, it could get really ugly. It could get really ugly. And it's a football team that is loaded with talent, so it's not going to be a talent issue. The issue with this football team is can you assimilate that talent with zero experience within the program? Yeah, I mean, they really don't have any more excuses.

They've done well in the transfer portal. They've got some pretty good players coming back. They've lost a lot of good players, but they seem to have replaced a lot of them, maybe upgraded in some spots, and they have the football facility well under that they've had going for them since last spring or whatever now. So I remember a couple of boosters walking around in that building the day that they opened it for us and just was sitting in on a conversation and a couple of them just looked at each other and said no more excuses and so that that's what it is um it is a a lot of people commenting here on the athletic department

and the athletic director here what do you what was ralph ralph sampson here on the athletic department and the athletic director here. What was Ralph Sampson's on the program next week, ladies and gentlemen? The greatest men's basketball player of all time, Ralph Sampson in studio here on the Jerry and Jerry Show. What was some of the feedback he gave you? Well, I think he was personally happy that Carlo was retained. I don't know what kind of relationship they may have, but I think he's concerned about the basketball program.

It's one of his first loves, having been, like you said, the greatest player that ever wore a uniform here. Took the program to places that it had never been and still to some places it hasn't been for the sustained period that he was here. I just think he's concerned about the future of the program. And if Ron Sanchez can't turn it around and they do have to make a replacement, they can't get it wrong. I think this is a program now that competed with the Blue Bloods in the ACC when North Carolina and Duke were at the top of the college basketball world, and Virginia held its own with them for a number of years.

What, did Tony have six ACC regular season titles? That's almost unheard of. They can't afford to miss. They can't strike out with this next hire if it comes to that. They just can't do that. It would set the program back Lord knows how far. Comments are coming in very quickly here. Boston College tonight, James highlights this,

and I have tremendous respect for James. The guy knows the athletic department inside and out. He bleeds orange and blue. He goes to football games, men's basketball games, women's basketball games. He goes to all the games. James is a true fan thick and through. He says this football team has lost to Virginia Tech too many times since Welsh. Bronco did beat them one time.

But I won't forget the pass to the offensive lineman in that one Virginia Tech game. I won't forget that either. That was a horrendous play call. It's the worst play call that I've seen in my 40-plus year career by anybody. That tells you how bad that play call was. That was Robert Anai's call. Yes, it was. That was Robert Anai, and from there did he go to Syracuse and then NC State?

Yeah, and he's unemployed right now he's currently unemployed yeah the NC State uh experience experiment imploded uh for Robert and I that was a terrible play call um so a lot of frustrated fans here and we're not ripping James I mean I'm definitely not I love the man yeah yeah uh I respect his opinion on all that. And I just think we've got to realize that the climate we're in in college athletics is that the AD is the person responsible for. Well, she hired Tony Elliott. Yeah, absolutely. She extended the offensive coordinator and the defensive coordinator when the team was struggling. Yes. She did so despite the stadium being more than half empty all the time, despite having the worst record in college football over the last three

years. And a lot of fans point to the patience that should be afforded to the football program because of the murder of the three guys, three football players. Terrible, terrible tragedy. Absolutely. Right? And grace should be afforded and allocated. Right. But we're now in year four,

and this is the major revenue generator and fan generator for the department. And it's especially concerning when the basketball team has shown signs over the last four or five since since the national championship since 2019 a national championship the basketball team has shown signs of decline each year to the point now we're below they're eight and ten yeah and it's uh i guess everybody knew that was a possibility coming in. I thought this team would be better. Me too, me too. We thought TJ Power would be better.

We thought the backcourt would be significantly deeper with Worley, the 6'7 point guard that could play lights-out defense on the roster. We thought the frontcourt would look completely different. We thought the front court would look completely different. We thought Christian Bliss could be playing. I thought it would be a better version of Day Day Aims. I mean, I don't know if it was a miss on the transfer portal, but there is not a guy on this team that is a scary offensive threat. Not under the current circumstances, it's not.

Because, again, McNeely could be that guy, but when he's the only one who's a lethal weapon and the other teams are taking that away from you, then it takes away his effectiveness. But, yeah, I really thought this team would be better. I thought they would be top six in the league, and it just hasn't panned out that way. Of course, we didn't know that Tony Bennett was going to be gone either when we made those predictions. And you just don't lose a Hall of Fame coach

and expect things to run as smoothly as they would otherwise. Rob Craig, Coach Bennett dominated home and away North Carolina. That's absolutely amazing. Rob Craig sits. Yeah. Rob Craig is running, is it the clock? At the men's basketball games? I think so. Yeah.

Rob, are you running the clock, the shot clock, the game clock? Let us know what you're running over there. And James says, I'm not causing an argument or anything, but how does the basketball team performance reflect on the athletic director for this particular season? Well, other than the fact that she's the head of the department, it doesn't. I mean, she doesn't coach the team, obviously, and she was put in a tough spot with the timing of, I mean,

she couldn't hire another coach at that point. It was too late in the season. So her hands were tied with that. So, yeah, i don't blame her for that but but she's the head of the department and that's that's just the way it is i mean there's a lot of probably a lot of gms in the nfl right now looking for are going to be looking for jobs because they didn't coach the team but they they, I mean, somebody's got to go. I mean, that's like saying if the economy's down,

why should that be put on the president's shoulders? Or if a football program like Seattle had significant injuries, guys on IR, how's that the fault of the coaching team, the coaching staff, or the general manager? It just is. It's that the fault of the coaching team, the coaching staff, or the general manager? It just is. It's just the way it goes. It comes with the nature of a million four in annual compensation up to a million seven in potential earning with bonus structure. You know, it's not a fair – life ain't fair, certainly not when you're making that kind of money.

That's why you make that kind of money. Yeah, there are expectations. Right, right. Bill McChesney watching the program. Show's on fire right now. Let's go to Mark Brown. Why did Carla get a 29% raise? Who did he answer that early in the show?

It's to bring the athletic director up to market compensation standards in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He also says, how much of a say will she have on the new basketball coach? And Phillip has a segue to that. Will Ralph and Barry Parkhill and Wally Walker and some of the other guys help hire a new basketball coach? Well, she will hire the new basketball coach. I mean, she's the AD. She has the final call, I believe, on that.

Certainly they have to get approval by the BOV and president, but I would think they would take her recommendation. I would imagine she's seeking input from some of these former guys who have a good ear on the game and very watchful as to what's going on in college basketball out there. Some people even beyond that, from what I understand, are on the lookout and may be making some contacts with people, feeling out people. They may give her a strong recommendation, and she may have asked them to help out in a potential search because, I mean, if things don't change,

I can't imagine that they're going to keep the current coach. He's interim for a reason. And regardless of how great a guy he is, if they can't turn it around and they fail to make the ACC tournament, I can't see them staying status quo. It's just too much on the line. Rob highlights his position at the games. He is the media timeout coordinator, shot clock, game clock, scoreboard manager. Depending on what is needed, he rotates wherever he is needed.

He's a diehard UVA fan. He follows it closely. Rob, we appreciate when you watch the show. It's an important job. Absolutely. Absolutely. Wahoo 89 on YouTube from Tennessee. Do we have any shot at getting Chance Mallory to recommit?

That's the St. Ann's Belfield Academy, the Charlottesville product who decommitted after the Tony Bennett news. And Chitter Chatter has him considering Maryland. Yeah, I haven't kept up with Chance much after he decommitted. I imagine that should they make a coaching change, or even if they don't, I imagine Ron and Jason and some of those guys are still trying to court him. And if they do make a coaching change,

I would think the new head coach would certainly go after him and try to convince him to stay home. I had a great interview with Chance shortly after he committed, and one of his main reasons was to play for Tony Bennett. So that option obviously is not there. So I don't know what he's thinking. He's certainly going to be, a lot of people are going to be in pursuit of him, there's no question, because he's a really good basketball player. He's a baller.

He's a baller. Man, so many comments right here from the fan base. We should mention that in tonight's game that Donald Hand Jr., the son of Virginia point guard Donald Hand, is arguably Boston College's best player, averaging about 15 points a game. Yeah, and guys, that line, the Boston College line is moving. Before the game, it opened up an 8.5. I'm seeing it at some betting sites at 7. Now back to 8 on ESPN.

So there's a lot of action being placed on this Boston College-Virginia matchup. 99 Eagles, 1-6 in conference play. 8-10 Virginia, 1-6 in conference play. Donald Hand Jr., 14-7 a game, 6.8 rebounds a game. So this guy is a Virginia. He's got some orange and blue in him, but he's lacing them up for the Boston College Eagles tonight. What has to happen for Virginia to get the win?

Well, I think they have to play kind of like they did in some of their best halves of late in the fact they can't turn it over and they have to do a little bit better on the boards and play better defense. Their defense has not been very good of late. It's hard to explain other than the fact that it's the pack line and a lot of these players had never played any pack line before they got here. It takes time to get that down, but they've got to play some pretty solid defense

and try not to turn the ball over, protect the ball. And I think if they do that, they can play with a lot of ACC teams, but they've got to find a way to generate some points. They're just not scoring enough points to win many ACC contests right now. I'll put this in perspective based on the point that Hootie's made. Let's just go by minutes played. Elijah Saunders is third in minutes played at 29 a game. Andrew Rohde is barely in his second season.

He's second in minutes played at 30 a game. Day-Day Ames, fourth in minutes played. He's half a season in. Jacob Kofi, a first-year, half a season in. Blake Buchanan, what, a season and a half? Sharma, half a season in. TJ Power, half a season in. You wonder why this team is struggling with the pack line.

The large portion of the minutes that are being played this year are being played by guys that have less than two years in the program. And I'll ask the fan base this question. What is Virginia basketball's identity this year? Historically, the identity has been hold you under 60 a game, hold you under 55 a game, under 50 a game, milk the clock, control possessions, high percentage shots, shoot with single digits left on the shot clock.

What is the identity for this team? It's hard to pinpoint a brand for Virginia basketball this year. And I'll tell you, this is a critic. They're all critically important from here on out. I mean, when you're one in six in conference play and the last three teams in the ACC do not make the tournament, everything has to be won, right? Yeah, absolutely. And again, the next six games are absolutely winnable against the bottom half of the league. So they have a chance to get well. But you're right, this team really doesn't have an identity, and that's the first time you can say that in 15 years.

Virginia is 1-6. The Hurricanes are 0-7. Both of them had coaching changes, and both of them are dead last in the conference. Think about that, folks. Segway to football. News and notes, anything you want to highlight from the football team? Things have kind of slowed down there for the time being, so I don't think we'll hear much about that until later on.

I just don't see a lot of movement there. Now that the flurry of the transfer portal has slowed down at this point, I don't think we'll see a whole lot of news out of football for a few weeks. This football team has got, I can't believe I'm saying this, what are we, a handful, five weeks away? Six weeks away from the spring game? No, probably about eight or nine weeks away from the spring game. Yeah, it's usually around the third week in April. Third week in April, so maybe longer than that.

So maybe that'll be the next buzz we hear from Virginia football with the spring game. Hootie Ratcliffe, some keys to the game and some closing thoughts for Virginia against the Eagles? Well, again, I think it's got to be about the defense. They haven't played very good defensively, and they have for a while there, they were doing a pretty good job of not turning the ball over until the second half of Louisville last week, last Saturday. And they turned it over a lot.

And it turned into a blowout. And Louisville's a really good team. Yeah, Louisville is. And that just shows shows how you can turn things around pretty quickly in college basketball. You've got the right guy in the head coaching seat

and you go out and you spend some money in the portal. You can get it done. It's happening all the time in basketball. Not as quickly in football, although it's possible.

But, yeah, I think they've just got to take care of the basketball and play defense. I don't know that sometimes they can still lose on the boards, and if they're shooting the ball fairly well, it won't matter. But they've just got to find a way to generate some more points. They're just not scoring enough to win a lot of ACC games, and there's just not a lot of consistency from some of their players in terms of offense.

Well, I'll tell you what, guys. If you want anything Virginia-related, jerryracliff.com, jerryracliff.com for everything Virginia-related. That Boston College matchup is going to have some great commentary and some great perspective on Hootie's namesake website. It's 7 o'clock tip at the John Paul Jones Arena, and that line is moving up and down, so some action is coming on this game. We'll certainly talk about it on the Jerry and Jerry show,

and we'll follow his website tomorrow, as Virginia is in a must-win scenario from here on out. Judah Wittkower behind the camera, Hootie Ratcliffe, the star of our show, the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer. We didn't get to every comment. We apologize, but we appreciate you watching and listening and sharing the program. The I Love Siebel show is up at 1230. So long, everybody. Thank you.