Each calendar year, Vox, a globally recognized news site, creates an in-depth year-in-review video, which showcases all of the paramount events that took place in the world over the past year. This year, the Knight Time Review is taking its own local spin on the trendy video. With the new year just around the corner, it is the perfect time to reflect on all of the major Charlottesville affairs that took place in the span of a year, as well as the impact they’ve had on ourselves and the wider community. Despite being a small city, a wide array of events took place here in Charlottesville throughout 2025, ranging from celebrations, to unfathomable athletic wins, to political protests.
March:
The first major event occurred during March of 2025, when Ryan Odom, former coach of the Virginia Commonwealth University basketball team, was hired as the current University of Virginia Cavalier’s basketball coach. Following Tony Bennett’s abrupt retirement after his 15th season at the University, Ron Sanchez was hired as the interim coach. Sanchez was put in charge of a disastrous situation, and ultimately was not re-hired for the official position. The job search continued until Virginia’s athletic director, Carla Willaims, and the University of Virginia (UVA) Athletic team, landed Ryan Odom on March 21st, marking a shift in UVA’s national championship era.
Just a day later, after a weekend of competitive swimming, on March 22nd, UVA women’s swim team won their fifth-consecutive national championship with their appraised coach, Todd DeSorbo. DeSorbo is more well known for his position as head coach of the 2024 Olympic women’s swim team, which brought in 18 medals for team U.S.A. 11 of the medals were won by current and former UVA women swimmers: Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, Paige Madden, and Emma Weber. UVA swimming, which is a non-revenue sport, rarely gets the recognition it deserves for being the University’s most decorated athletic team.
Later that month, on March 27th, the Charlottesville City School Board held a vote which decided on the matter of Senior Resource Officers (SROs) returning to the local school district. The final vote was split 4-2 in favor of SROs coming back, reflecting how divisive the topic is for our city. In August 2026, SROs will officially return to the school system for the first time since the end of the 2020 school year, despite disapproval from many families and students.
April:
In April, while fellow Charlottesville High School (CHS) seniors were deciding on their college commitment, Ali Bird and Olga Salama received the life changing news that they had won rare and competitive scholarships. Ali Bird is one of a select few who were chosen for the University of Virginia’s prestigious Jefferson Scholarship out of thousands. Bird, who is pursuing an engineering major, is the first CHS student since 2019 to receive the Jefferson Scholarship, which provides students with a full ride to UVA.
Olga Salama, originally from Burundi, immigrated to the United States in the summer of 2020. In the past four years, she not only self taught herself English, but became the first member of her family to attend college. She won the Emily Couric scholarship, created in honor of state Senator Emily Couric, which awards 11 young women who have shown immense leadership within the Virginia community with a $50,000 financial fund towards their higher education every year. Salama also won the Allen Scholarship, which grants $10,000 per academic year to four outstanding CHS students yearly, in order for them to be able to attend a four year university.
May:
On Thursday, May 22nd, 2025, CHS graduated their 50th class at John Paul Jones Arena. Charlottesville High School officially opened in September of 1974, after Lane High School outgrew their building space. All throughout the school year, CHS celebrated the milestone with alumni and community events.
June:
Despite the school year concluding, CHS’s athletics continued, specifically the boys Varsity tennis team. On June 13th, 2025, CHS’s boy’s tennis won their second consecutive Class 4 state title. They are led by their head coach, John Neal.
Unlike CHS, June encompassed shocking and unfortunate news for the University of Virginia. President Jim Ryan, who held the position for nearly 7 years, announced his sudden resignation. His resignation was in response to pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Trump Administration
over disagreements on the topic of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion(D.E.I.). The Trump Administration threatened to pull sizable amounts of funding from the University if Jim Ryan were to remain as president. In response to the Trump Administration, he said, “While there are very important principles at play here, I would at a very practical level be fighting to keep my job for one more year while knowingly and willingly sacrificing others in this community,” in his farewell letter. Ryan’s final official day was on July 11, 2025.
August:
Just in time for the first day of school, August 13th, Charlottesville Middle School reopened after completing their first round of renovations. The total renovation cost is estimated to be around $91.8 million dollars, and is the first major renovation project since the 1970s. The next steps in the renovation project remain underway, however, a new modernized gym and fitness area are completed. Prior to the first phase of renovations, the building had little to no windows, which is why natural light and inserting windows into the new space is one of the renovation’s main priorities.
September:
Friday, September 26, 2025, marked a turning point for the University of Virginia’s football team, who have had a losing season for the past 3 years. On September 26th, the UVA football team beat Florida State University, who was ranked 8th in the nation at the time, 46-38 at home, during a nerve-racking double overtime. Thousands of students and fans stormed the field in celebration. The unstoppable fans caused 19 injuries and a $50,000 fine by the Atlantic Coast Conference on the Universities. This unexpected win led UVA football to be ranked 24th in the country–the first time they have been nationally ranked since 2019, when they were still coached by Bronco Mendenhall. Since the distinguished game, they have been on a winning streak and rising up the ranks.
October:
On October 18th, thousands of people within the Charlottesville community, some of whom arrived with original and satirical signs, participated in the ‘No Kings Day 2.0′ rally, which crowded the Stonefield shopping center for the majority of the day. Charlottesville was one of thousands of towns and cities around the divided nation that hosted similar events. The rally’s purpose was to spread awareness of Donald Trump’s anti-democratic policies, which challenged the Constitution of the United States. The rally reinstilled a strong sense of community and hope in a time of polarization and despair.
November:
Virginia elected its first ever female governor, democratic candidate Abigail Spansberger, on November 4th. Abigail Spanberger is a former C.I.A. agent, United States Representative for Virginia, and mother. She ran on the platform of making Virginia more affordable for all Virginias, investing in the education system, supporting military veterans, and lowering drug prices. Spansberger won with 57.2% of the votes, against her opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears. She will replace current Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, this upcoming January. She was one of many democrats that dominated the election, due to a major decline in support for President Donald Trump.
