Craig Littlepage, Monica Wright-Rogers and Chris Long are eternal college legends. Littlepage has worked in the athletic department for 35 years, and in various roles with the men’s basketball program for nine years. Meanwhile, the latter two enjoyed long professional careers in her WNBA and her NFL, respectively. All three will be officially inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame this weekend.
Littlepage, who served as Virginia’s first Black athletic director from 2001 to 2017, oversaw the Cavaliers to 13 national championships and 76 ACC titles. He also hired Tony Bennett to coach men’s basketball and Brian O’Connor to coach baseball. Both are still at Virginia and continue to be respected leaders and respected coaches.
A WBCA All-American, Wright Rodgers was named Virginia Gatorade’s Player of the Year in 2006. With the Cavaliers, he was named ACC Rookie of the Year in 2006-2007, twice named to the ACC All-Defensive Team, and won ACC Player of the Year and National Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2009-2010. After completing his senior season, he was drafted second overall by the Minnesota Lynx in 2010.
Long is the son of Howie Long, a 2007 NCAA All-American, Hendrix Award winner, and NFL Hall of Famer. Chris Long became the first player in Virginia history to have his number retired during his playing days with the Cavaliers. Like Wright-Rogers, Long was taken No. 2 overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 2008 NFL Draft. Long led the New England Patriots to a Super Bowl championship in 2017 and the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl championship in 2018. Long was also named the 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year.
According to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, its mission is “to be a nonprofit resource that celebrates sporting excellence in Virginia, focuses on philanthropy through sports, and inspires sports fans through programming and engaging entertainment. “to function as aLittlepage, Wright-Rodgers and Long will join an extensive list of Cavaliers to earn Hall of Fame honors – see the full list of members here here.
