At most Division I-A programs, the head football coach is charged with the responsibility of hiring a director of strength and conditioning.

The football players get access to the best equipment and premium lifting times, with the Olympic sports having to settle for secondary facilities and timetables.

The success of former director Evan Marcus in coordinating all of the strength programs was the impetus in UVa taking a new direction in replacing him.

Marcus' successor, Ed Nordenschild, previously had coordinated strength programs for UVa's Olympic sports. Matt Balis was hired from Florida to work exclusively for football.

Balis was second in charge of the football strength program at Florida, winner of the 2006 national championship. He will have all of the traditional duties of a head strength coach without the title but with comparable compensation.

"We didn't have anybody drop out," said UVa associate athletic director Jon Oliver, who works with football. "Al [Groh] put together the list of candidates. Everybody he targeted was in our final mix. No question, this was his hire. The director of strength and conditioning, which basically was a promotion, was my hire."

Marcus, who had been at Virginia for four years, left in January to take over the Atlanta Falcons' strength program .

"What I became concerned with was an issue of equity," Oliver said. "Although there was a room to service Olympic sports, there was one big room [at the McCue Center] servicing primarily one sport. What I said was, 'OK, understanding the priorities of football, are their ways to open up access to the other sports so that everybody feels that they're important?

"Our philosophy now is to have one unit overseeing all sports, with the director of that sitting at the top. That started with Evan. Evan brought in Ed Nordenschild and Ed was the architect of this entire plan. What I knew with Evan leaving was, we could not go backwards."

Sore arms

The good news for Virginia baseball coach Brian O'Connor is that a pair of 2006 freshman All-Americans, Greg Miclat and Jeremy Farrell, have received full medical clearance to serve as designated hitters. The bad news is, O'Connor can use only one designated hitter at a time.

Miclat, a shortstop, has a shoulder injury that limits his throwing ability and may require surgery after the season. Farrell, projected as a first baseman after playing third base as a freshman, is recovering from a forearm injury and is three weeks away from playing in the field.

Miclat has been the Cavaliers' principal leadoff man while serving mostly as a designated hitter and has a team-leading .383 average, with a school-record 32 stolen bases.

Farrell, son of Boston Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, has 14 RBIs in 55 at-bats and is hitting .436.

Pitching is the key for fourth-ranked Virginia, whose 2.47 ERA first in the ACC and second in Division I. Sophomore Jacob Thompson is seventh in Division I-A in ERA (1.38) and senior Casey Lambert has nine saves, giving him 41 for his career and a share of the ACC record.

Sore back

Virginia will go to the NCAA women's golf regionals without No. 2 player Jennie Arseneault, who has back problems. Arsenault and Lauren Mielbrecht, who left the program before the season, were coach Jan Mann's most touted recruits. However, senior Leah Wigger has been the face of the program and this week was selected UVa women's athlete of the year.

Senior Sally Shonk, a redshirt candidate after her mother was diagnosed with cancer, subbed for Arsenault late in the year and had one of her best tournaments with her mother in attendance. The president of UVa's Student Athlete Advisory Council, Shonk will represent the Cavaliers in Baton Rouge, La., at the regionals.

Scheduling

The addition of Southern Cal was a must for a 2008 UVa football schedule that included non-conference home games with East Carolina and Richmond. The Cavaliers also wrap up a two-game series by traveling to Connecticut that year.

Army and William and Mary are possibilities for 2009, when the Cavaliers are also looking at the possibility of reviving a series with West Virginia. Long term, the most prominent non-conference football opponent in talks with UVa is Penn State.

Recruiting

Virginia has been eliminated by longtime men's basketball target Patrick Patterson, a 6-foot-8 post player from Huntington, W.Va., who announced at his team's banquet Monday night that he has narrowed his choices to Florida, Kentucky and Duke. New Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie spoke at the banquet.