Cavaliers Host Coastal Carolina Saturday for Season Opener, Paint the Town Orange Game

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (0-0) kicks off its 136th football season Saturday (Aug. 30), when the Cavaliers welcome Coastal Carolina (0-0). Kickoff from Scott Stadium is slated for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network. 

Saturday’s season opener is also UVA’s annual Paint the Town Orange – WEAR ORANGE! game.

GAME DETAILS
Date: Saturday, Aug. 30
Time: 6 p.m.
Television: ACC Network (Chris Cotter, Max Browne &Kendra Douglas)
Radio: Virginia Sports Radio Network, Virginia Sports Mobile App, TuneIn App, SiriusXM Channel 161 or 194
Tickets: UVAtix.com
Theme: Paint the Town Orange – WEAR ORANGE!

Paint The Town Orange
The annual Paint the Town Orange pep rally, presented by the UVA Community Credit Union, will take place Friday (Aug. 29) at the Ting Pavilion on the Charlottesville Downtown Mall beginning at 8 p.m. The event is free to the public.

The UVA marching band and spirit squads will depart the Omni Hotel to march the Downtown Mall at approximately 7:40 p.m. Both groups will enter the Pavilion at 8 p.m. and the pep rally will feature appearances by head coach Tony Elliott and the Virginia football team. 

The Fridays After Five concert series begins at 5 p.m. at Charlottesville’s Ting Pavilion. UVA cheerleaders and spirit squad members will be present to distribute the 2025 Virginia Football poster as well as other giveaways. 

INSIDE SATURDAY’S MATCHUP 

• Saturday’s season opener against Coastal Carolina marks the beginning of the 136th season of football at Virginia. 
• Dating back to 2017, UVA has won seven of its last eight season openers and owns an 86-40-9 (.670) record in season-opening games. 
• In UVA’s fourth game of the 2024 season, the Cavaliers and Coastal squared off in the inaugural meeting of the series. Virginia exploded for 384 rushing yards – its most in a game since 1998 – on the way to a 43-24 victory, UVA’s largest margin of victory in a road win under head coach Tony Elliott.
• UVA plays a Sun Belt team for the fourth straight season. The Cavaliers are 6-4 all-time against current Sun Belt members (Coastal Carolina: 1-0; James Madison: 2-2; Old Dominion: 2-0; Southern Miss: 0-2; Troy: 1-0). 
• The 2025 matchup is currently the second and final of the scheduled home-and-home series between the two teams.  
• UVA and Coastal were originally scheduled to open the series at Scott Stadium on Nov. 19, 2022, but the contest was canceled due to the tragedy on Grounds that claimed the lives of UVA football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry on Nov. 13, 2022. 
• The Cavaliers are 80-21-7 (.773) all-time in home season openers and have won their last six season openers at Scott Stadium. 
• UVA is 2-1 in both season openers and home openers under Tony Elliott. 
• The last two home openers at Scott Stadium (Richmond-2024 and JMU-2023) were delayed and later resumed due to severe inclement weather. 

TOP STORYLINES 

• Year No. 4 of the Tony Elliott era begins Saturday, when UVA welcomes Coastal Carolina for the Cavaliers’ annual Paint The Town Orange – WEAR ORANGE! game.  
• In 2024, UVA got off to a hot start, winning four of its first five games, including a 43-24 rout over the Chanticleers on the road. The Cavaliers received votes in the USA Today Coaches poll for the first time since 2021. 
• This offseason, UVA added 32 transfers and 22 freshmen. Virginia leads the nation with 19 players who have been on a college football roster for at least six seasons, including three seventh-year players. 
• The Cavaliers’ transfer portal class was ranked as high as No. 18 by Rivals.com. The class features numerous players who have garnered preseason national recognition, including Chandler Morris (QB), Jahmal Edrine (WR), Cam Ross (WR), Brady Wilson (OL), Cazeem Moore (DE), and Fisher Camac (DE).  
• Including its season opener, Virginia will host seven games at Scott Stadium this year, highlighted by a Friday night matchup against Florida State (Sept. 26) and the regular-season finale against in-state rival Virginia Tech (Nov. 29). 
• UVA is one of six Power-4 schools to return all 10 assistant coaches. Elliott and his staff are also seeking to increase UVA’s ACC win total for the third consecutive year. 
• Virginia played four ranked teams in its last six games of the 2024 season, including three CFP teams, Notre Dame, Clemson and SMU. Notre Dame was the national champion runners-up, while both Clemson and SMU squared off in the 2024 ACC championship game. 
• Notable Virginia returners include Xavier Brown (RB), Trell Harris (WR), Dakota Twitty (TE), McKale Boley (OL), Antonio Clary (S), Kam Robinson (LB), James Jackson (LB), Jahmeer Carter (DT), Jason Hammond (DT) and Anthony Britton (DT).