It’s been a difficult week for UVa fans, in the wake of baseball coach Brian O’Connor’s departure for Mississippi State. Cavalier fans aren’t used to seeing household name coaches leave for other jobs, and in the last year UVa has lost perhaps their two most high-profile coaches in O’Connor and Bennett.

There’s been a lot of focus in recent days on what went wrong, and what the next steps are for UVa’s athletic department, including here on this site. And while there is plenty of turmoil around college sports and UVa has a lot to figure out on revenue sharing, budgeting, priorities and so on, there are reasons to believe the upcoming athletic year could be Virginia’s best in some time, and if things go really well, the best since 2019 when men’s basketball won the national title and football had their best season of the century.

It’s a Friday, so let’s end the week with some positives and look at what could be for the Hoos in the coming months.

Football is in what can only be describe as a make-or-break season. But for the first time since Tony Elliott arrived in Charlottesville, there’s legitimate hope that this season could be better than the last several. UVa went 5-7 last year and ended the season with a disappointing loss to Virginia Tech, missing the postseason once again; Virginia hasn’t played in a bowl game since 2019.

But offseason investments have helped Elliott and his staff transform their roster and should give them a chance to turn things around in 2025. UVa brought in more than 30 transfers, many of whom are clear upgrades over what the Hoos had on the roster last year. Virginia was able to secure a quality transfer quarterback in Chandler Morris, and hopefully a long-term option in Danny Kaelin. They’ve upgraded the offensive and defensive lines, areas of deficiency in years past, and added seven defensive backs this spring to help bolster the back end of the defense. The gifts received from donors this offseason could prove to be a game-changer, at least in the short term. The Hoos certainly have some off-field momentum in the program, coming off the opening of the Hardie Center last summer, a state-of-the-art football facility that gives UVa a better shot in recruiting and has all the amenities the program needs. Virginia’s schedule also appears relatively manageable, and fans will be treated to seven home games for the first time since 2021.

Speaking of the fans, UVa’s athletic department made an effort this offseason to get more feedback from the fanbase on how the gameday experience could be elevated. The newly-established fan council has convened several times this spring to discuss a variety of topics in an attempt to make Scott Stadium more of a destination for fans that don’t come out as often, and more engaging for those regularly in the building. This new endeavor shows a need to improve the attendance and outreach for football, which drives a ton of revenue for the athletic department as a whole.

Virginia basketball turns to a new leader, Ryan Odom, who looks to build on an impressive legacy left behind by his predecessor. Odom’s hire was popular among UVa fans and in the media, and the Hoos’ new coach quickly went to work assembling his staff and then his first roster. UVa’s donors gave Odom an NIL warchest to be aggressive in the transfer portal, which was necessary considering every scholarship player that saw the floor in the 2024-25 season is gone. UVa has added 7 new players via the transfer portal and signed two high schoolers in the days since Odom accepted the job. They’ve also gone international, adding German center Johann Grunloh, with another verbal commit, talented Belgian forward Thijs De Ridder, awaiting an eligibility ruling from the NCAA.

Not only did the roster get turned over, there’s reason to expect the Hoos to be pretty good in Odom’s debut season. Most national analysts that have reviewed projected 2025-26 rosters have the Hoos somewhere around the top-25, which would be a big improvement from where UVa has been in the past two seasons. Odom has no pressure to be incredibly successful in year one, but if he can, it would be a big momentum boost to start a new era under a new coach. UVa fans will get to see hoops in action on November 3rd in their opener against Rider.

Women’s basketball has been going through a rebuild, trying to pull out of quite a long downturn for a once very successful program. Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton has made some recruiting gains, and now, after three years at UVa with a 48-46 record, the program is in need of a breakout season. The good news is that a major gift from UVa alum and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian gives the program a fighting chance to build a NCAA Tournament roster. The gift is good for quite some time too, so if the program can break out, resources will be there for several years to come.

And while baseball is going through a coaching search, the UVa job is still one of the better jobs in the country. No, the Hoos can’t tout the level of resources and commitment that a Mississippi State can, but UVa is one of the best-supported baseball programs outside of the SEC, and still has solid facilities and access to good local and regional talent. We have no idea who Carla Williams will hire for this role, but talented and qualified coaches are going to be interested. Granted, the 2026 season might be rough given how many players have entered the portal of late, but the new guy will have a chance to bring in his own talent, including potentially players from his current job, and perhaps try to win back a few players that went in the portal. Still, if Williams can land a quality replacement for O’Connor, that person won’t replace him, but it could take some of the sting out of his departure.

And of course, UVa will compete nationally in a bunch of non-revenue sports as they always do. Several programs at the University that had previously struggled seem to be on the rise, and while some of the more successful programs UVa has maybe didn’t reach their typical heights (lacrosse, for example), they can get back there quickly. The new olympic sports facility that is currently under construction across the street from JPJ should be open soon, which is a huge win for the athletic department and its many olympic sport athletes that have been housed in trailers on Grounds for quite some time, who now get to enjoy new state-of-the-art digs just as the football program did last year.

So while there are plenty of questions to be answered and a lot of hard decisions for the administration to make, there’s hope on the horizon. Obviously, these potential bright spots have to actually be realized, or what looks like a potential breakout year for the athletic department could be a disappointing one given the expectations.

But for today, UVa fans can envision what could end up being a really fun 2025-26 academic sports year if potential growth is realized.