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April 11, 2007
Charlottesville, VA – Saturday marks the return of the Virginia Spring Football Festival to Scott Stadium. A variety of pregame activities will start at noon followed by the annual Virginia Spring Football Game at 2 p.m. All events are free to the public and there is no charge for parking at Scott Stadium and adjacent lots.
“We hope a lot of people will come and embrace and enjoy Virginia football,” said Cavaliers coach Al Groh. “We have quite a few activities of a fan interactive nature going on. With this event, we have tried to bring the Spring Game to the fans and let them put their hands around it and enjoy it.”
Gates will open at noon on the north and west ends of the stadium. The Festival activities will be held on the field and at the north end of the stadium on the Pergola Plaza.
On field level, fans of all ages can participate in a series of football combine events to test their gridiron skills. Activities include a 40-yard dash, gauntlet run, field goal kick and target throw.
From noon until 1:45 the Pergola Plaza will include inflatable games, appearances by Cavman and his horse, Sabre, performances by the Virginia Marching Band, face painting and tattoos, balloon artists, inflatable games and the distribution of promotional materials including posters, schedule cards and magnets. Youngsters can also try their hand at broadcasting by dropping by the WCAV-TV Junior Sportscaster booth at Cavalier One. WINA radio will broadcast from the Pergola Plaza starting at 11:30 a.m.
Virginia students will have their own private Student Tailgate from noon to 1:45 where free hot dogs and Pepsi products will be distributed.
One new activity will be the NFL Experience that begins at 1 p.m. on the Pergola Plaza. Hosted by Beth Duffy, former Cavaliers players will talk about their NFL and UVa experiences. Expected guests include Wali Rainer, Terrence Wilkins, Matt Schaub, Jim Dombrowski and Aaron Brooks.
During the Festival, fans can also register to win the Ultimate Tailgate Contest for the Sept. 8 home opener against Duke by guessing the number of Pepsi cans in the back of a pickup truck. Prizes include a one-year supply of Pepsi, $250 gift card from Kroger, 25 tickets for the Duke game along with gameday parking and a pregame tailgate party from Wild Wing Café, two season football tickets and season parking pass.
The Pergola Plaza will also be the destination for children who participate in the Cavalier Essay Contest to submit their entries. All students, eighth grade and under, are encouraged to write an essay on “What hard work has inspired me to do…” The entries will be reviewed and judged by the UVA Sports Promotions and Marketing staff. Essays written by Kindergarten – fourth grade students should be 200 words or less and fifth – eighth grade students’ essays should be no more than 800 words. The top three winners will receive a number of prizes.
Prior to the 2 p.m. kickoff of the Spring Game, the annual Rock Weir Award winners will be announced that honor the most improved players during spring drills. The team captains for the 2007 season will also be announced. At the conclusion of the Spring Game, fans will be able to obtain autographs from the players on the field.
Groh said the coaching staff will keep the first-team offense and defense together during the Spring Game.
“We are going to try and maintain continuity with those units,” he said. “I can’t say we are going to necessarily keep them fully intact. We might try and create certain match-ups that we would like to see that might be a little different than the match-ups that occur on a daily basis during practice. We might shuttle a few players around in that respect. The first offense will be basically intact as will the first defense.”
Groh said pending the outcome of Wednesday’s final practice, only a handful of players are expected to sit out the Spring Game. Quarterback Jameel Sewell, who had off-season wrist surgery, will not participate due to the full-contact nature of the game. The same will be true for linebacker Clint Sintim, who had off-season shoulder surgery. Kevin Ogletree, who suffered a knee injury this spring, will miss the game along with defensive end John Roberts and linebacker Darren Childs. Roberts suffered a knee injury late last season that he is still rehabilitating and Childs had a sinus procedure in March that has limited his participation in spring drills.