UVA Professor Enthused About New Role With Athletics

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Four years ago, Carrie Heilman asked Anna Katherine Clay to serve on the University of Virginia’s Athletics Advisory Council. Clay readily agreed, and she’s glad she did.

“I loved it,” said Clay, an assistant professor of practice in UVA’s media studies department.

The AAC advises the University’s president and its director of athletics on issues related to the student-athlete academic experience and student-athlete well-being at UVA. Clay, who has extensive experience in journalism, thrives on collaboration, and being part of the committee gave her an opportunity to work with “people from across the University,” she said.

“You’re all in a room together trying to ensure both the academic and athletic experience are working in tandem for student-athletes. I loved being on the committee, and I would have continued that as long as Carrie was leading.”

That, sadly, wasn’t possible, and with mixed emotions Clay took on a more prominent position this fall. She’s succeeded her late friend and mentor as the University’s Faculty Athletics Representative.

Heilman, a professor in UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, passed away on Feb. 25, 2026, after a yearlong battle with cancer. She served as Virginia’s FAR from January 2018 until her death.

“When I first started teaching here as an adjunct, someone said, ’You should meet Carrie Heilman,’ ” recalled Clay, who began teaching at UVA in August 2016.

They met inside Heilman’s office at McIntire, and “Carrie was so humble about herself, her own sporting accomplishments, her teaching accomplishments and her amazing kids,” Clay said. “We just talked for an hour and a half, and she was so kind to me.”

Clay, who has a bachelor’s degree in English from Davidson College and a master’s in journalism from Boston University, has written articles for ESPN, The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek and Sports Illustrated, among other publications.

“I am delighted that Anna Katherine has agreed to serve as the University’s Faculty Athletics Representative,” UVA president Scott Beardsley said. “Her deep, demonstrated commitment to students, including student-athletes, and their academic success will make her an outstanding leader for this role. As the collegiate athletics landscape grows increasingly complex, Anna Katherine will be a wonderful advocate for our student-athletes and a trusted partner as we navigate the changes ahead.”

Every school in the NCAA has a faculty athletics representative. Clay represents UVA’s faculty in matters involving the Atlantic Coast Conference and the NCAA, and she acts as a liaison between coaches, student-athletes and the athletics department and the rest of the University.“Anna Katherine’s experience teaching in sports journalism and narrative storytelling, along with her commitment to advising undergraduates — including many of our student-athletes—gives her a valuable perspective on the student-athlete experience,” said Carla Williams, Virginia’s director of athletics.

“Through her service on the Athletics Advisory Council, she has also demonstrated a strong understanding of the policy considerations, academic priorities and well-being issues that shape intercollegiate athletics. She’ll bring insight, leadership and dedication to this important role.”

As FAR, Clay works with UVA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Each of the 27 varsity teams at Virginia has at least two representatives on SAAC.

Clay attended a recent SAAC meeting and introduced herself to the group. “I said to them, ‘I would love for any of you to meet with me and share about your experience—what challenges you face, what’s working well and what you would like to see.’ ”

Some SAAC members already knew her, including swimmer Maggie Schalow, who’s in Clay’s class on sports journalism this semester.

“She’s so kind and approachable,” said Schalow, SAAC’s vice president of internal relations. “In my first week in her class, she was like, ‘If you guys are ever looking for internships or just want to come to my office hours and talk, I want to put you in contact with people that I know. I really want to help you guys succeed.’ I was just so taken aback by that, because I feel like not all professors are so willing to help with things that are outside the class and the subject you’re taking. And when I found out she was going to be our new faculty representative, I was so happy, because she’s just a great person and I’m real excited for her.

“It’s great to have her for that communication piece, and as student-athletes representing the greater student-athlete community here at UVA, it’s very good for us to be informed so that we can then bring information back to our teams and hopefully bring that information back to the administration or academics.”

Other student-athletes whom Clay has taught at UVA include Umberto Pelà, a McIntire graduate who’s now pursuing a professional soccer career. As a third-year, Pelà was a SAAC vice president, and he’s excited to see Clay in the FAR position.

Clay stands out among the professors he had at UVA, Pelà said. “She genuinely cares for her students,” he said, “regardless of how interested they are in her classes.”

The first class he took with Clay, titled Friday Night Lights, was an examination of sporting culture in the United States as seen through the lens of Texas high school football. The topic fascinated Pelà, who’s from Italy, but “what I took from that class was just how much she cared in terms of providing feedback,” he said. “I could sense that she went through my work and projects and go the extra mile to give great feedback.”

Pelà left Charlottesville early this year to begin his pro career, but he needed credits in the spring to graduate. Clay allowed him to take an independent study course remotely, “and I’m not sure how many professors would be that generous,” he said, “because an independent study is extra work for the professor. It doesn’t really give you anything back as a professor, but it gives you so much as a student, and I think that’s just like the umpteenth example of how caring and considerate she is. I think she’s perfect for the role [of FAR].”

Clay and her husband, Matt Clay, who has two degrees from UVA, have two children: sons Connor, 13, and Sam, 11. Her role as FAR will add to her already busy schedule—both of her sons play travel soccer, among other activities—but she’s characteristically upbeat about that prospect.

“I love that this is a new challenge for me personally,” said Clay, who now chairs the Athletics Advisory Council, “but also a way that I can continue to support collaboration, especially at UVA, where both the academics and athletics are excellent.”

Her new role also entails following and understanding the ever-evolving college sports landscape, including revenue share, the Protect College Sports Act, transfer rules, age-based eligibility and more.

Clay went through multiple rounds of interviews before being named FAR, during which she shared some of her ideas for building even stronger relationships between athletics and academics.

“For example,” she said, “the bring-a-professor-to-practice initiative. Football does this each spring; volleyball did it several years ago, and it's fantastic. After the team finished its practice, they had the student-athletes introduce their professor who they invited. It was also experiential—we got to try playing volleyball.”

Clay laughed. “I was terrible. But for all the professors who were there, several of whom don't teach many student-athletes, they heard from [head coach Shannon] Wells and had a better understanding of the schedule—why they have to travel, what the demands are on their time, how the student-athletes are academically supported, etcetera.

“I would like every sports team here to do that: to have the student-athletes invite their professors, including professors who haven't gone to many sporting events, to hear first-hand about the time expectations and travel demands [for student-athletes], and to see the team, how hard they're working in practice and listening to their coaches.

“Conversely, I would also love for the coaches—either the head coach or a member of the coaching staff, and this might be a bigger ask—to go to at least one class of each student-athlete on the team and sit through the class: listen to the lecture, the discussion, whatever is happening that day. The student-athlete sees them there and understands, ‘My coach cares about my academic performance and my academic discipline.’ It also shows the professor, ‘Not only do I have the student-athlete in the class, here's their coach who's engaged and interested in what I'm teaching,’ and maybe coach and professor have a conversation afterward.”

To foster greater understanding and transparency, Clay said, she hopes to meet regularly with faculty members, deans and other administrators and question them about their experiences with student-athletes.

“How many student-athletes do you teach? What has the experience been like for you? What's worked well? What hasn’t?” Clay said.

The ACC’s faculty athletics representatives meet each month: sometimes in person, sometimes on Zoom. There’s a learning curve in her position, and the changes in college athletics means the job descriptions of FARs continue to evolve. That doesn’t faze Clay.

“I’ve always loved a challenge,” she said. “I've always loved working hard.”

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