Historic Hoops: The University of Virginia
Welcome to our Historic Hoops series, where we offer a guide to historic places related (at least tangentially) to a televised men’s or women’s NCAA basketball matchup each week throughout the 2015-2016 season. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or simply stuck watching with your significant other, we’re here to assist your viewing experience with some historic context beyond the hardwood.
photo by: Phil Roeder/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
This week’s matchup: #14 West Virginia University at #10 University of Virginia as part of the Jimmy V Week for Cancer Research.
Time: Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. EST
Channel: ESPN
Venue: Madison Square Garden
Opening Tip: Ignore for a moment that this game is being played at Madison Square Garden, which we covered in the Historic Hoops series a few weeks ago. Let’s talk about the University of Virginia instead.
Fast Break: Did you know that University of Virginia was the brainchild of a former president? Thomas Jefferson not only founded the university in 1819 (he had some time to kill after he left office in 1809), he actually designed its original campus―known as the Academical Village―which still functions as the heart of the university today and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
UVA was also one of the first universities in the U.S. without a religious affiliation, and the first to use an elective course system.
photo by: Phil Roeder/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
The Rotunda at the University of Virginia.
Three Points:
- Edgar Allen Poe was dismissed from the university after he gambled away his tuition money. The university has nonetheless preserved his dorm room for visitors.
- The university owns one of the 25 remaining original copies of the Declaration of Independence. It is held in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.
- Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States, attended UVA for one year of law school before returning home to study on his own.
Buzzer Beater: The focal point of the Academical Village is the Rotunda, which Thomas Jefferson designed as a library roughly 200 years ago. The building, inspired by Rome’s Pantheon, is currently undergoing renovation.
And-1: Fly west to check out an underrated matchup as Northern Iowa settles into “The Pit” in Albuquerque to take on the University of New Mexico Lobos.
