Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 13, 1995 TAG: 9505150084
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
Terry Holland, never more popular at Virginia than during his absence, got everything Friday but a ticker-tape parade and the key to the city.
Holland, 53, was introduced as UVa's new athletic director at a news conference attended by coaches, coaches' wives, ex-players, boosters and other school dignitaries.
``We've received literally hundreds of letters and telephone calls, many from people who have passed me for years and years without saying a word,'' UVa president John Casteen said.
``There has been an extraordinary expression of support for the action we are taking today. Terry was the overwhelming favorite of the staff and many other people.''
Nonetheless, Casteen stressed that Holland withstood ``intense'' competition during a 41/2-month search that brought 165 applicants to the attention of a search committee headed by vice president William Harmon.
Holland succeeds Jim Copeland, who resigned Dec.9 to become athletic director at Southern Methodist. Holland, the men's basketball coach at Virginia from 1974-90, has been AD at Davidson College for the past five years.
``If you asked, `Did I hope that [this] would happen one day?' I would have to say, `Yes,''' Holland said. ``But, I didn't have any clear-cut idea.
``One reason for going to a school like Davidson was to gain the experience I would need to become a director of athletics. I certainly was not prepared five years to be the director of athletics at a school with a program like Virginia's.''
Holland's first inkling that he would be offered the job came late Monday night, when his wife, Ann, told him that UVa vice president Leonard Sandridge had called.
``When I called him the next morning, he said he'd like to see if we could get something done,'' related Holland, who was in Atlanta at a meeting of the NCAA Basketball Committee. ``I told him this was the worst possible week.''
After leaving Atlanta, Holland went to the Florida Keys for a fishing trip with Davidson College donors. Today, he will be in Winston-Salem, N.C., for functions connected with his older daughter's graduation from Wake Forest.
Somewhere, Holland found the time to talk with UVa officials and agree to a five-year contract that will pay him $155,000 per year, once approved by the UVa Board of Visitors.
``Personally, I never thought it would happen,'' said Ann Holland, who said there were times when she had to prod her husband to continue his bid.
``I said, `You started it. Stay with it and see how it finishes.' But I felt, if they wanted him, they knew him [and] they would have asked him immediately.''
The support that Holland received, starting the day after Copeland resigned, has been a revelation to the family.
``I told Terry, the saddest thing was, we weren't around to see all that and to hear all that,'' said Ann Holland, whose younger daughter is a sophomore at UVa.
``There were times when he was coach when I felt he was not appreciated, but I understood that. I think it's something that tends to happen in athletics. We saw it happen with [former UVa AD] Gene Corrigan.''
There had been much speculation in the media that Holland was not atop Casteen's list originally, although nothing was said Friday to support that.
``We've been at this long enough as a university that we're accustomed to newspaper stories,'' Casteen said. ``So, we don't go home and weep if something is said that misrepresents what's going on.''
Jeff Jones, who played and worked for Holland and later succeeded him as head coach, was so concerned about Holland's prospects that he asked for a face-to-face meeting with Casteen.
``There were times when it didn't look good; I was worried,'' said Jones, who later added jokingly, ``He only had to wait 41/2 months. I had to wait 10 months [in 1990], so I don't feel sorry for him.''
Jones was one of at least four UVa head coaches at the news conference, which was held over the playing floor at University Hall. At least five of Holland's ex-players were on hand for the affair.
``I know him pretty well [or] I think I do,'' said UVa football coach George Welsh, whose relations with Copeland had become strained. ``We've stayed in touch. I have great respect for him. He's very intelligent, very articulate.
``There's no question there was a split in the athletic community here in the last several years and I think he's the right guy to bring us together.''
Holland has presided over a non-scholarship football program at Davidson and conceded that some coaches of a major sport might be ``suspicious'' at the naming of an athletic director who had coached another major sport.
``I have no problems at all,'' Welsh said. ``None whatsoever. I know the guy. He'll probably make some decisions I may not agree with, but I think he'll listen to what I have to say.''
Holland, whose official term begins July 1, faces the daunting prospect of raising as much as $75 million or $100 million ``over the next few years'' when a capital campaign is added to annual giving.
``Yogi Berra, who had a way with words, would call this an insurmountable opportunity,'' Holland said. ``I look forward to the challenge.''
by CNB