In Aftermath of Shooting Tragedy, UVA Receives Outpouring of Support
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Ross Dellenger/Sports Illustrated
In the wake of a tragic shooting that left three Virginia football players dead on Sunday night, the University of Virginia received a moving and overwhelming outpouring of support from other schools, sports teams, coaches, and athletes from around the country.
The most compelling example came from UVA's archrival Virginia Tech. Although these two schools are bitter rivals on the field, there is a history of respect and unity between the two communities, especially when tragedy occurs, as shown most notably when UVA stood behind Virginia Tech in many ways following a deadly mass shooting on campus at Virginia Tech in 2007. The Hokies returned the favor on Monday, not hesitating to show that they had UVA's back.
In addition to supportive statements made by Virginia Tech officials, the Virginia Tech football official twitter account changed its profile pic to an orange and blue VT logo with the words "Hokies For Hoos" underneath.
The Virginia Tech women's basketball team wore warm-up shirts that read "#HokiesForHoos" and included the jersey numbers of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler, and D'Sean Perry, the three players who died in the shooting at UVA on Sunday night. Virginia Tech head coach Kenny Brooks reportedly came up with the idea and his staff made the shirts by hand over a four-hour period to have them ready in time for the Hokies to wear them for their game against South Carolina Upstate on Monday night.
Other schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia showed solidarity by lighting up their campus buildings in UVA's blue and orange colors.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh spoke on the shooting and the impact it had on center Olu Oluwatimi, who was teammates with Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry for a couple of seasons before transferring to Michigan from Virginia at the end of last season.
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers also shared his sympathies, as two members of his coaching staff - offensive coordinator Robert Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck - served as coaches at UVA under Bronco Mendenhall and personally knew and coached the victims of the shooting. Beck shared a statement on Twitter on Monday evening.
Devin Chandler transferred to Virginia from Wisconsin last December. Following the news of Chandler's passing, Wisconsin football released a statement.
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips also released a statement expressing his sorrow and support for UVA on behalf of the entire Atlantic Coast Conference.
The news of the tragedy reached beyond the college level, with some of the world's most famous athletes voicing their support for the University of Virginia and its football program.
Naturally, the news hit hardest for members of the UVA community, including former Virginia athletes, whose reactions ranged from immense sorrow to stunned disbelief.
On Monday night, thousands of UVA students attended a candlelit silent vigil on the south end of the Lawn, a beautiful reminder of the healing power of community displayed at the University of Virginia even in its darkest hours.
