Staff changes and a new direction ahead for CavsCorner

It’s been almost a decade and a half since I was first given the opportunity to write for this website. At the time, I was a newspaper guy who was offered the chance to write about the team he loved. Several years later, when I was offered the chance to own and run this site, I jumped on it as my way out of newspapers and into doing something that would take me places I could never have dreamed.

But my old newspaper sensibilities persisted and I tried to cover the Wahoos with my fandom walled off a bit. I left that part of it to other voices. My thought was I could best serve the site like this. In some ways, looking back, I think maybe that wasn’t true.

Eight months ago when another full-time opportunity presented itself, I thought I was largely done. I didn’t want to sell the site altogether but I wasn’t expecting to miss it as much as I have.

Not the work, mind you. The Hoos.

And now, I’ve got the opportunity to shape it differently and I can say pretty confidently that’s what we’re about to do.

I want to thank Damon for all he did for the site these last eight months and wish him well in his new career with Virginia Sports, where he’ll be doing a lot of video storytelling for the athletics department. I’m sure we’ll post and share video packages here from time to time that he was responsible for putting together. I greatly appreciate his time, his effort, his expertise, and his friendship.

Starting today, we’re doing a little restructuring and a lot of rebranding.

I will continue on as publisher of CavsCorner but I’m going to be around here more often, doing some more writing, and overall just being back in the thick of it with you. Justin Ferber has now become our Editor in Chief, as he’ll take back a lot of the writing he was doing before last summer and adding some admin responsibilities as well as some additional writing, especially during the seasons. I’m really thankful that he’s stuck with me all these years. David Spence is (and this one kind of deserves a “finally!”) coming on staff officially, as he’ll serve as an admin and the third board moderator in addition to his podcast duties. I’ve always joked that he’s our “Hand Wringer in Chief” but now he’ll be one you’ll hear from a lot more. Seems right to me.

I’ve also hired two other UVa fans to cover recruiting for us, as Houston Wilson, a scout and recruiting analyst for Prep Hoops, joins the site to cover basketball recruiting and Danny Lewis from Virginia Preps comes over to cover football recruiting.

And in a first for the UVa market, we’re going to bring you something special once incoming recruits arrive on Grounds: Class of 2022 signee Will Bettridge will become a contributor for the site this fall.

All told, we’re going to really lean into the “fan” side of this site but to do it in a way that remains true to our journalistic roots. We’re no longer going to straddle the fan line but we’re not going to blur it, either. We’re going to give the fans what they come here for, even if we’re not going to go into press conferences and light coaches up for dumb mistakes.

We’re going to cover the Wahoos and do it genuinely because it’s the team we love and it’s a task you’ve entrusted us to do. We take that seriously. We’re also going to have more fun with it.

I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone who has been around here for a while that we all care deeply for UVa, especially me. Going forward, our work will reflect that more than it ever has. In good times and in bad, we don’t just cover the team you love: We cover the team we all do. You’re going to see that more and more.

Covering these programs is no longer a job to me. It’s a passion. And I’m really excited to be back around here more and to see what this new crew of UVa fans can do in bringing you the types of things you want to read, hear, and see. We’re all thankful that we get this opportunity, at this time, to do something we love.

So, in the words of the great Bryce Perkins:

“Man, Go Hoos.”