After the University of Mary Washington men’s basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division III Elite 8 in 2014, then-head coach Rod Wood thought to himself, “this shouldn’t have happened.”
It wasn’t that Wood believed he was an undeserving coach, or his team lacked talent; rather, he was in awe that UMW — with its rigorous academic standards — was competing at such a high level.
“The restrictions that are in place — the academic standards, the financial aid, the admission standards — all those kinds of things make it very difficult in basketball,” Wood said.
Those standards are still in place as UMW reached even greater heights this season. The Eagles (29-3) will face Emory University (27-3) in the national championship game Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Tune in
University of Mary Washington (29-3) vs. Emory University (27-3)
Sunday, 4:30 p.m., at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, IndianapolisESPN+ (subscription required); UMW live stream (audio only)
Stay with the Free Press for a live game blog from award-winning sports reporter Joey LoMonaco
Wood, now the assistant director of athletics for facilities at UMW, won’t be in attendance because of a previous family engagement, but he and many of his former players will be watching closely and cheering on the Eagles as they look to become the second program in school history to win a national championship. The women’s tennis team won national titles in 1982, ‘88 and ‘91.
“Regardless of whether they win the national championship, which I believe they have a great chance to do so, this is the most remarkable thing that’s ever happened here athletically, and you might be able to put it up against anything that’s happened here,” said Wood, who led the program from 1996-2014. “I know what it took to get to where we were, and so to get to that next level and play in the national championship game is absolutely remarkable.”
Wood said the accomplishment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of head coach Marcus Kahn, who took over after his departure, his coaching staff and players. He said the run brings back memories of when his 2014 team won the Capital Athletic Conference title, reached the NCAA quarterfinals and finished 25-6 during what turned out to be his final season.
He said that level of success wasn’t easy to reach; his teams lost more games than they won in four of his first five years as he struggled to navigate recruiting players who fit UMW’s academic profile.
“If you look at the NCAA stats of average GPAs, SAT scores of kids coming in, kids that are staying in, basketball is the hardest by far to recruit,” Wood said. “So, when you’re talking about a good academic institution that has high standards both to get in and stay in, it doesn’t lend itself to being a quote, unquote basketball place.”
Wood had his breakthrough in the 2002-03 season when the Eagles finished 24-5, winning their first CAC crown and earning their first NCAA tournament appearance. Former small forward Dan Dupras, who is now in the school’s athletic hall of fame, recalls standing on a ladder with the nets draped around his neck following the conference title game victory.
Dupras remains an avid UMW supporter and plans to be in attendance Sunday in Indianapolis.
“It’s just been super fun to follow them and to be back involved with Mary Washington. It’s just great to see their success,” Dupras said. “Last year, we were at the Sweet 16 and they had a real shot to win that game against Emory, and they didn’t make the 3 at the end. It’s just cool that both these teams are in the national championship.”
Dupras’ former teammate on the program’s first NCAA tournament team, Evan Fowler, won’t be able to attend Sunday, but he recently purchased ESPN+ to follow the Eagles’ tournament games. Fowler said Sunday will be “appointment television” and that “it’ll be awesome to be an alum of a national championship basketball program” if the Eagles win.
Alumni watch parties will span coast to coast on Sunday, with more than 10 events planned from Baltimore to San Francisco.
“Even though we might’ve been a small part of it, it does feel like we kind of laid the groundwork for what could be possible there,” said Fowler, who is also a member of the school’s athletic hall of fame. “Coach Kahn and these kids have taken that and run with it.”
Before Dupras and Fowler roamed the court for the Eagles, former Rappahannock Area YMCA CEO Barney Reiley was a co-captain for Mary Washington in the late 70s and early 1980s.
Reiley transferred to UMW from Bridgewater College and spent his final two years of eligibility there. The Eagles’ men’s program was in its infancy, having just launched in 1974-75. Reiley recalls they finished 6-20 in 1979-80 and 11-15 in 1980-81. He said signature victories over conference power Hampden-Sydney and Division II Bowie State provided a morale boost as former head coach Tom Davies, who held the position from 1978-96, labored to make the program competitive.
“He got it started,” said Reiley of Davies. “He started recruiting a lot of kids from Northern Virginia. He was a very knowledgeable coach and he’s to be commended. But Rod Wood and Marcus Kahn, these guys really took it to another level and elevated the expectations of the program, which obviously permeated the players. It doesn’t take much when you go to the games to see that they’ve got some players.”
Reiley said he watched the Elite 8 victory over the University of Chicago in the Hampton Roads area with longtime friend Jim Markey, who was his teammate in high school and at UMW. Markey, who was the co-captain with Reiley in the 1980-81 season, went on to win over 300 games as the head coach of a private high school, Norfolk Collegiate.
The former teammates won’t get together on Sunday, but they’ll be watching, exchanging text messages — and hoping that they’ll be celebrating a UMW victory in the end.
“The whole program is to be commended,” Reiley said. “I am just over the moon to see them in the national championship.”
