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June 25, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia head baseball coach will remain at UVa after withdrawing his name from consideration for the position of head baseball coach at Auburn University. The announcement comes after Auburn asked permission from Virginia to interview O’Connor for the head coaching job at the Southeastern Conference school earlier this week. O’Connor will not be visiting the campus in Auburn to further explore discussions regarding his status for the head coaching position.
“Brian O’Connor came to the University of Virginia for the right reasons and he has decided to remain as our head coach for the right reasons,” said UVa Athletics Director Craig Littlepage. “His decision demonstrates his commitment to his players, the University and the baseball program. I am extremely pleased with his decision.”
O’Connor expressed his gratitude to Auburn and touched on his desire to remain at Virginia from his office at UVa on Friday afternoon.
“I am honored that Auburn decided to involve me in their search for a new baseball coach. However, I have decided to withdraw my name for consideration of the position,” said O’Connor. “UVa has so many special qualities and I believe it is the best thing for me and my family to remain in Charlottesville. I am extremely happy being the head baseball coach at Virginia.”
O’Connor was named the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year to become only the second Virginia head baseball coach ever to be named the ACC Coach of the Year. He was also tabbed as the 2004 VaSID All-State Coach of the Year and was named a finalist for CollegeBaseballInsider.com’s Coach of the Year award.
O’Connor led the Cavaliers to one of their finest seasons ever in the history of the UVa baseball program. Under O’Connor’s guidance, Virginia finished a close second place in the 2004 ACC regular season standings after going 44-15 overall, 18-6 in the conference. The Cavaliers were picked to finish seventh in the 2004 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll. UVa’s 44 overall victories in 2004 tied the school-record for most wins (the 1996 squad finished 44-21) and Virginia’s 18 ACC victories were seven more conference wins than the previous UVa school-record of 11 reached three times before (2003, 1996 and 1988).
Under O’Connor’s tutelage, UVa set several school-records and accomplished numerous first-time feats. One of Virginia’s biggest highlights occurred on June 4th when UVa hosted an NCAA Regional (the Charlottesville Regional) for the first time in school history. It marked just the fourth ever that the Cavaliers made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
O’Connor directed UVa to its best regular season record in school-history after Virginia finished 42-11 overall. The Cavaliers established school-records for the best winning percentage in a single season (.746), best fielding percentage in a single season (.973) and recorded the most home (25) and road wins (19) in a single season.
Virginia swept five three-game ACC series for the first time ever under O’Connor after defeating Georgia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, Maryland and Duke. The Cavaliers’ three-game sweep over ACC regular season champion Georgia Tech marked the first time UVa had ever swept the Yellow Jackets in a three-game series. Virginia also recorded 17 comeback victories in 2004 when trailing or tied after seven innings of play and set a school-record for most consecutive wins after claiming 14 consecutive victories from March 30 – April 21. UVa also recorded its highest national ranking in school history under O’Connor after topping out at #7 in the country twice in 2004.
The success the Cavaliers enjoyed under O’Connor sparked the community to come out in droves which also led to UVa shattering several school-record attendance figures. Virginia posted an all-time high for its home attendance figure for a season by drawing 45,000 spectators for the 2004 campaign. The Cavaliers also set a record-high stadium attendance mark of 2,530 on four occasions and averaged an all-time high for attendance per game at 1,363 spectators per contest in 2004.
— UVa —