History of the Cavaliers

The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level (FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1953. Known simply as Virginia or UVA in sports media, the athletics program has twice won the Capital One Cup for men's sports (in 2015 and 2019) after leading the nation in overall athletic excellence in those years. The Cavaliers have regularly placed among the nation's Top 5 athletics programs.

Virginia leads the ACC with 21 NCAA Championships in men's sports. The program has added nine NCAA titles in women's sports for a grand total of 30 NCAA titles, second overall in this major conference of fifteen programs. In "revenue sports", Virginia men's basketball won the NCAA Tournament Championship in 2019, won ACC Tournaments in 1976, 2014, and in 2018, and has finished first in the ACC standings ten times. College Football Hall of Fame coach George Welsh retired with the most wins in ACC history (as of 2021, he places second) after leading Virginia football for nineteen years.

The Cavalier mascot represents a mounted swordsman, and there are crossed swords or sabres in the official logo. An unofficial moniker, the “Wahoos”, or “Hoos” for short, based on the university's rallying cry "Wah-hoo-wah!" is also commonly used. Though originally only used by the student body, both terms—“Wahoos” and “Hoos”—have come into widespread usage with the local media as well.

College Sports Established
1894

Location
Charlottesville, Virginia

College Name
University of Virginia

Collegiate History
1973 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1921 - 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
1915 - 1921 / Athletic Association of the United States

Conference History
1953 – Present / ACC Conference
1937 - 1953 / Independent
1921 - 1937 / Southern Conference
1894 - 1921 / Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Nickname
Cavaliers - The explanation for the University of Virginia Cavaliers nickname actually involves a story of historical significance to the region.

The origin of the Cavaliers nickname comes from what was going on in this region of the world during the seventeenth century when England was involved in a civil war that pitted supporters of the Parliamentary system of government against King Charles I who asserted absolute power in terms of rule. The use of the word Cavalier predates the formation of the United States of America with a very similarly spelled version of the word being used by William Shakespeare in his famed Henry IV play.

NCAA Championships
Baseball 1
2015

Men's Basketball 1
2019

Women's Basketball 0

Football 0

Soccer 7
2014, 2009, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1989