THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 13, 1995 TAG: 9505130422
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Bob Molinaro
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Some important things have changed at the University of Virginia since Terry Holland went to work here the first time.
``When I came to the University of Virginia in 1974,'' he said, ``University Hall was only 10 years old.''
Twenty-one years later, Holland strode into his former place of work, still as lanky as ever. But this time, he entered a building that is characterized as an impediment to U.Va.'s burgeoning athletic ambitions.
School president John T. Casteen III, Holland said after being introduced as U.Va.'s new director of athletics, ``has asked us to move from the top 20 athletic programs in the country to the top 10.''
This will take, Holland said, ``total commitment.''
And a new arena, perhaps? Holland passed.
``Do I have an opinion on that? At this stage, no, I do not,'' he said.
Still, some left Friday's press conference with the impression that plans to expand and renovate University Hall may not be ambitious enough now that a new AD is on board.
It will require about $40 million to upgrade the gym, Casteen said, and perhaps as much as $70 million to build a new showplace. The mere fact that the president wasn't ruling out new construction represents a change in the school's position.
That a more bullish approach to building accompanies Holland back to U.Va. should not be surprising. Of all the athletic directors the school could have hired, probably only Holland wields the kind of clout with the alumni that it will take to build a new basilica of basketball.
From Day 1, a director of athletics must shake the trees for donations, as athletics grow in size and importance in late-20th century America. ``Unfortunately, that's the nature of collegiate athletics,'' Holland said, ``particularly as state funding dries up.''
Casteen tried to make it clear that Holland was hired ``not simply because he's a familiar face and a familiar person.''
It didn't hurt, though. The feeling persists, after all, that Holland is more clearly the people's choice than Casteen's.
``There's been,'' acknowledged Casteen, ``an extraordinary expression of support. People who have passed me on the street for years and years and never said a word suddenly had something to tell me.''
More importantly, Holland is comfortable with U.Va.'s big donors, and vice versa. Perhaps no coach who never won a national championship is as well respected as Holland is in the Blue Ridge.
If U.Va. is to steer an ambitious course toward the nation's top 10 athletic programs, alumni are inclined to feel safe with Holland at the helm. Casteen's top-10 pronouncement falls somewhere between an intriguing admission and a comment intended to put deep-pocketed boosters on alert.
``I wouldn't hire a law school dean and tell him to run a second-10 law school,'' he explained. ``We take athletics to be that serious.''
Serious college athletics are often linked with serious attempts at compromise in areas of academics and recruiting. Not to worry, Holland said.
``There are many people,'' he said, ``who hear about the University of Virginia only through athletics. Therefore, it's critical that our athletic department follows the values that define this university.''
Sometimes, an absence of change can be seen as progress, too. by CNB