As the final days of 2002 wind down, and our heads fill with visions for what 2003 will bring our Wahoo Nation, I can’t help but think back to almost two years ago, to a covert meeting at a quiet Long Island airport. A meeting which, although attended by only a handful of people, has changed the course of football at the University of Virginia.

It was almost something out of a best-selling paperback thriller – a secret rendezvous of powerful men in some back room, held under cover of darkness. They discussed strategy, a plan, and an offer was made. If declined, they would never speak of the encounter again, and the parties would go their separate ways.

Fortunately for Virginia fans, Al Groh accepted the offer extended to him by then-UVa athletic director Terry Holland and University President John Casteen. And a few short days later, Groh found himself at a podium in Charlottesville, publicly announcing his hiring.

In the media blitz that followed, all three men consistently alluded to that off-hours meeting. Both Casteen and Holland repeatedly spoke of a “vision” the Groh laid out for them for the course of the Virginia football program, a vision so stirring that they offered him the job almost instantly.

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