UVA Game Against VA Tech Canceled As Players Prepare For Teammates' Funerals

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — Saturday’s football game between the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech has been canceled in the wake of the campus shooting at UVA that left three football players dead.

The Atlantic Coast Conference made the decision to cancel the game on Monday. It marks the end to the season for both teams and will be the first time since 1969 that the two schools will not compete in football. The decision to cancel the game comes as the campus community learns about the funeral plans for the three slain players.

On Nov. 13, three UVA football players — junior wide receiver Lavel Davis Jr., junior linebacker D’Sean Perry and sophomore wide receiver Devin Chandler — were fatally shot on a chartered bus after taking a day trip to Washington, D.C., to watch a play with their classmates.

Junior running back Mike Hollins and second-year student Marlee Morgan were both injured in the shooting and have since been released from the hospital.

“The decision was made following communication between the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia and Virginia Tech athletic department administration,” the ACC said in a statement released Monday night that called off the game. “The ACC and Virginia Tech continue to support U.Va following the devastating tragedy.”

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The cancellation of the game against Virginia Tech follows the cancellation of the UVA game against Coastal Carolina last Saturday. The Cavaliers will finish the 2022 season with a 3-7 (1-6 ACC) record, while Virginia Tech will finish at 3-8 (1-6 ACC).

The UVA student athletes were returning from the class trip when fellow student and former UVA football player, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., pulled out a gun and shot the people on the bus, police said.

Jones, 23, was a football walk-on for one semester in 2018. His time on the team did not coincide with those of the players killed or that of Hollins, the running back recently discharged from a hospital after being injured by gunfire on the bus, The Washington Post reported.

A memorial service to honor Chandler, Davis and Perry was held Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena on UVA's campus. Several members of the UVA football team shared their memories of Davis, Perry and Chandler. In his remarks at the memorial service, UVA Head Coach Tony Elliot addressed the victim’s families and spoke to the talents of the three young men.

“I am grateful for your willingness to share your families’ gifts with us,” Elliot said. “I want each of you to know that I’m a better person because of your kings. The world is a better place because of them.”

Perry’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 in Miami, which means the cancellation of the game with Virginia Tech will allow his teammates to attend the funeral. Chandler’s funeral is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 27 in Virginia Beach, and Davis’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 30 in South Carolina.