The 2026 Eagle Awards will be held Thursday, April 16 in Cedric Rucker University Center Chandler Ballroom.
Nominate a student, club or event today!
Print-a-Palooza: A Celebration of Printmaking by UMW Art, April 17
UMW Studio Art celebrates all things printmaking on Friday, April 17 from 1 – 4 p.m. in the Ridderhof Martin Gallery Parking Lot, with demonstrations of steamroller printing and screen printing.
Professor Devin’s Woodcut class has prepared large-scale woodcuts on plywood to print with a steamroller… yes, you read that right, a steamroller!
Students will also be demonstrating screen printing, so bring a t-shirt, tote bag, or similar item that needs some pizazz and get cool designs added to it!
Celebrate printmaking at UMW! See the steamroller turned printing press and bring a t-shirt to get printed.
Save the Date to Celebrate a Historic Season, April 18
Save the date and get ready to celebrate the historic season for UMW Men’s Basketball!
Plans are underway for a city-wide Fan Fest Event on the afternoon of Saturday, April 18, bringing together the campus community, fans and families to honor an unforgettable season that culminated in a National Championship victory for the Eagles!
In response to strong interest, national championship merchandise will be available soon through the UMW Bookstore. Those who missed picking up a shirt at the watch party or game can purchase items through the NCAA online shop or look for additional limited-edition merchandise and giveaways at the upcoming Fan Fest event on April 18.
Additional details will be shared soon — stay tuned as the celebration plans come together!
Celebrate Earth Day at UMW, April 22
The UMW community is invited to celebrate Earth Day 2026 on Wednesday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Ball Circle. This free, public event will feature a day of activities focused on sustainability both on and off campus.
Attendees can explore interactive exhibits, connect with campus and community organizations through sustainability tabling, and learn from student-led initiatives highlighting environmental awareness and action. Stop by throughout the day to take part in the celebration!
Lynda Worthy Retirement Celebration, April 22
UMW Payroll Manager Lynda Worthy
Please join us as we celebrate Lynda Worthy, who is retiring after 25 years of service at UMW. Lynda began her career at UMW in 2001 as Student Accounts Assistant Manager and became Payroll Manager in 2003.
It’s been quite a journey! She has skillfully navigated numerous changes and guided her department through them with great success. She was part of the Banner implementation in 2004 and played a key role in the MyTime project, replacing manual processes with a digital solution. As Payroll Manager, she has worked with every department on campus. We are tremendously grateful for Lynda’s years of dedication to UMW.
Please stop by to wish Lynda a fond farewell, as she begins her next journey!
Retirement Celebration:
Date: Wednesday, April 22
Time: Any time between 2 and 4 p.m.
Where: Eagle Village 480, Conference Room
Smith Featured on With Good Reason Public Radio Show
Professor of Historic Preservation Andi Smith
Professor of Historic Preservation Andréa Livi Smith was featured on the With Good Reason public radio show in an episode titled “Childs’s Play.” In the piece, Smith discusses LEGO toys saying they are a hands-on, screen-free way to create and shut of your brain off. In Smith’s architecture classes, students use LEGOS to build everything from model playgrounds to mausoleums. Not the kits – they freestyle! Learn more on With Good Reason.
Paino Pens OpEd on Division III Basketball, Community Support and Love of the Game
UMW President Troy Paino penned an oped column in celebration of the UMW Men’s Basketball team’s vie for the national championship in Indianapolis.
University of Mary Washington President Troy Paino wrote an opinion column titled This is the Basketball You’ve Been Missing, which ran in The Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Free Lance-Star. The column celebrates the UMW Men’s Basketball team and its incredible journey to the national championships in Indianapolis.
Read President Paino’s column:
In March, college basketball stories tend to orbit the same centers of gravity: power conferences, multimillion-dollar arenas and well-paid stars who also appear in commercials between the big plays. But every so often, the sport reminds us that its most meaningful stories are not always the loudest ones, and maybe the best games are not the ones aired in prime time.
Amid all the hype, there still exists collegiate basketball where a pure love for the game and a focus on the collective team are the driving forces for a championship season.
At the University of Mary Washington, a small public university in Fredericksburg, Virginia, men’s basketball has never been about fame and fortune. There are no athletic scholarships and no promise that basketball will overshadow everything else about the college experience. What there is – and what this season has revealed with unusual clarity – is that a basketball team can still be built around trust, discipline and an unshakable belief in the next play.
That phrase comes up often around Coach Marcus Kahn’s program. When something goes wrong – a missed shot, a defensive breakdown, a tough stretch – it’s not something to dwell on. The response is simple: get back, reset and focus on what comes next. In Division III, that mindset isn’t just coaching philosophy; it’s survival.
Mary Washington’s climb to the NCAA DIII Championship game this season has unfolded the same way. There have been dramatic moments, including late stops, momentum‑shifting threes, stretches where the ball moved until the right shot finally appeared, but none of them stand alone. Every highlight is immediately followed by another possession, another defensive assignment, another teammate stepping into the moment. Even when an individual play draws attention, the team moves on before the crowd has finished reacting.
And that crowd has been growing a little more each game, as the Fredericksburg community has rallied around the Eagles, cheering them through regular-season home games, which are all still free to the public. The stands are full of friends and family. High school teams see their former classmates on the college court. Classmates join the pep band and dance team or join faculty in the stands. Faculty and staff know the students by name from classes and conversations. The atmosphere isn’t manufactured; it’s personal.
The student-athletes, who are still students first, balance practices with labs, study sessions and internships, campus commitments and time with family and friends. Their career on the court is part of what’s preparing them for their career after it.
Coach Kahn has spent years reinforcing that culture. His teams don’t play as if they’re chasing a moment; they play as if they expect the game to demand something difficult, and are ready to meet it together. Wins, when they come, feel like the natural result of preparation rather than a departure from it. With a perfect home record this season, those wins also feel completely at home.
That mindset mirrors the institution itself. Mary Washington is a public liberal arts and sciences university that has never tried to be something it isn’t. It emphasizes access, close faculty‑student relationships and the idea that education happens best in community. Our students often focus on quiet accomplishments, getting back to the next project or class, connecting what they love to do with community impact. Athletics, at their best, extend that mission rather than compete with it. We can champion student success in any season and in any moment.
There have been players who stepped up at critical times. There have been sequences fans will replay in their heads long after the nets are taken down. There have been moments of joy and inspiration watching a group of young men embrace the challenge of competing and winning against better-resourced teams and schools for the love of the game, for each other and for the community they represent. Unfortunately, these are moments most have missed, in part because DIII is played in the shadows of nationally televised DI games.
In a sports landscape increasingly defined by scale and separation, DIII still insists that place matters. That community matters. That the next play matters more than the last one. In Fredericksburg this year, a basketball team has shown how powerful that idea can be when everyone – players, coaches, campus and city – comes together.
Troy D. Paino, Ph.D., J.D., is president of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and is a past member of the NCAA Division III President’s Council. The University of Mary Washington men’s basketball team is set to play in the program’s first NCAA Division III National Championship on Sunday, April 5, at 4:30 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Field House in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Read the column in The Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Free Lance-Star.
Other media mentions for Paino include:
WATCH: UMW President Dr. Troy Paino raves about the men’s basketball team (The Free Lance-Star)
A strong contingency of UMW fans and students came out to campus on Tuesday to send off the basketball team. View in The Free Lance-Star.
Martin Recognized by Urban Affairs Association
Professor of Sociology Leslie Martin
Professor of Sociology Leslie Martin has been recognized by the Urban Affairs Association as a runner-up for the 2026 Best Reviewer Award for the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City.
Martin’s scholarship focuses on housing, neighborhoods, homelessness and gentrification. She is the founding director of UMW’s Center for Community Engagement and the founder of the campus food pantry. Her current work emphasizes public sociology, connecting undergraduate students with community partners to address local issues and opportunities.
The 2026 Best Reviewer Award was presented to Associate Professor of Sociology Prentiss Dantzler, Founding Director of the Housing Justice Lab within the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. Other runners-up included Henry-Louis Taylor from the University at Buffalo, Simone Tulumello from the Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa, and Thomas Vicino from the Georgia State University. Read more from the Urban Affairs Association.
Kahn Featured by ESPN, The New York Times, The Free Lance-Star & More
Men’s Basketball Head Coach Marcus Kahn
Men’s Basketball Head Coach Marcus Kahn received the 2026 Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year award, which is presented annually to the top head coach in NCAA Division III college basketball. He was featured in several media outlets for this accolade, including The Free Lance-Star in an article titled “UMW Men’s Basketball Marcus Kahn named 2026 Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year.” Read more in The Free Lance-Star.
Kahn has also been featured, along with many of his players, in the media recently for the team’s appearance and win in the NCAA Division III National Championship game. He was heavily featured by WJLA in a piece titled “Mary Washington men’s basketball heads to NCAA DIII National Championship for the first time.” In the piece, Kahn told 7News Sports Anchor Natalie Spala, “We’re on this stage for a reason. We belong in this game. I think we’ve proven we can play with anybody.” Read more from WJLA.
Other media mentions for Kahn include:
The air ball that won a D-III national championship: ‘The failure of a lifetime’ (The New York Times)
Mary Washington’s Kye Robinson could not fathom that his chance to win a national title would unravel like this, with a slip. Read more in The New York Times.
Colin Mitchell’s buzzer beater gives Mary Washington first NCAA Division III title in win vs Emory (Indy Star; Yahoo Sports)
Mary Washington’s first Division III championship came in dramatic fashion. Mary Washington took down Emory, which was also in search of its first national championship 75-73 in the waning seconds at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday. Read more from Yahoo Sports.
Mary Washington player and coach react to national title win (WTVR)
Before last night’s Division III National Title game against Emory, Colin Mitchell had nine more two-point baskets this season than you did. Read more from WTVR.
UMW Men’s Basketball Clinches National Title in Dramatic Fashion (Northern Virginia Magazine)
The University of Mary Washington men’s basketball team has claimed victory with its first national championship win. The UMW Eagles defeated Emory University 75–73 on Sunday to claim the NCAA Division III title. Read more in Northern Virginia Magazine.
The Wrath of Kahn: UMW men’s basketball wins first-ever national championship (The Free Lance-Star)
The University of Mary Washington athletics department Twitter/X account put it perfectly on Sunday evening. Read more in The Free Lance-Star.
UMW Men’s Basketball Head Coach Named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year (Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce)
University of Mary Washington Head Coach Marcus Kahn has received the 2026 Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year award, which is presented annually to the top head coach in NCAA Division III college basketball. Read more from Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Kye Robinson, Colin Mitchell help Mary Washington edge Emory 75-73 for 1st D-III championship (WHAS11; WJLA; AP News; SFGATE; WDRB; Watertown Daily Times; ESPN)
Kye Robinson scored 27 points and Colin Mitchell scored on a putback at the buzzer as Mary Washington withstood a furious Emory rally for a 75-73 victory on Sunday to win its first Division III championship. Read more from ESPN.
‘The most remarkable thing that’s ever happened here:’ Former UMW coach, alumni ‘over the moon’ with title run (Fredericksburg Free Press)
After the University of Mary Washington men’s basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division III Elite 8 in 2014, then-head coach Rod Wood thought to himself, “this shouldn’t have happened.” Read more in Fredericksburg Free Press.
A Virginia team heads to the NCAA’s division III championship (WVTF)
The Eagles have had a spectacular season in spite of the disadvantages they faced at the outset. As a division III school, Mary Washington is not allowed to offer athletic scholarships, and coach Marcus Kahn says that hurts when it comes to recruiting. Read more from WVTF.
Men’s College Hoops (WTOP)
University of Mary Washington coach Marcus Kahn takes Division III National Coach of the Year honors. His Eagles play for the Division III championship on Sunday.
March was truly madness for UMW’s Robinson, family (Fredericksburg Free Press)
The mother of University of Mary Washington star guard Kye Robinson spent the early part of the month with her rooting interests split between two sons playing for two different schools in the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament. Read more in the Fredericksburg Free Press.
Eagles sit one win away from first-ever national championship (The Free Lace-Star)
University of Mary Washington men’s basketball sophomores Ulysses Young and Kye Robinson have been through the gauntlet of questions in recent days. Read more in The Free Lance-Star.
Live from Indy with DIII National Champion Contender Mary Washington Eagles! (ESPN 106.1)
Coach Marcus Kahn is interviewed by Jack Fitzpatrick. Listen on ESPN 106.1.
‘Surreal’ NCAA tournament run is a reality for UMW men’s basketball coaches (The Free Lance-Star)
When University of Mary Washington men’s basketball head coach Marcus Kahn and assistant coach Mark Sansone first stepped on campus in Fredericksburg 12 years ago, conversations revolved around one thing: a national championship. Read more in The Free Lance-Star.
On the Eve of a National Title: Coach Marcus Kahn on Mary Washington’s Run (Julian Brown on the Nova Hoops Legend podcast )
Coach Kahn shares a thoughtful and detailed look at the current state of the college game before taking us inside this year’s Mary Washington team—how it has evolved from last season, the defining moments of their tournament run, and the players who have driven their success. Read more on the Nova Hoops Legend podcast.
PODCAST: Coffee Shop Talk with UMW men’s basketball coach Marcus Kahn (Fredericksburg Free Press)
Over black coffee at For Five on the campus of the University of Mary Washington, host Joey LoMonaco and coach Kahn talk about the Eagles’ run to the Division III national championship game on Sunday, in Indianapolis. Listen on Fredericksburg Free Press.
Division III Men’s Hoops (WTOP)
University of Mary Washington and Fredericksburg, Virginia playing Emory for the national title in five days. Eagles coach Marcus Kahn shares with me what it’s like to have March Madness reach his campus.
For Eagles’ Bates, Randall, on-court chemistry is elementary (Fredericksburg Free Press)
Kaden Bates can’t recall the exact school event — it might have been an orientation — but he was in fifth grade at T. Clay Wood Elementary in Prince William County when he first spotted Jay Randall. Read more in the Fredericksburg Free Press.
How a Prince William pipeline fueled Mary Washington’s national title hopes (Inside NoVa)
The University of Mary Washington’s men’s basketball team enters Sunday’s NCAA Division III championship game well represented by Prince William. Of the 15 players on the roster, five are from the western part of the county: Jay Randall, Kaden Bates and Ethan Kacou (Patriot), Hassan Hammad (Battlefield) and Preston White (Gainesville). Read more in Inside NoVa.
Prince William quintet plays key roles for Mary Washington (Inside NoVa)
All five Prince William players bring something different to Mary Washington’s men’s basketball team. Read more in Inside NoVa.
Rose Named Executive Director of Washington Heritage Museums
Adjunct Instructor of Historic Preservation Michelle Arcari Rose
Adjunct Instructor of Historic Preservation Michelle Arcari Rose was appointed Executive Director of Washington Heritage Museums (WHM). Rose was featured by FXBG Economic Development in an article titled “Washington Heritage Museums Welcomes New Executive Director.” Rose teaches historic preservation law at the University of Mary Washington and has played a key role in preserving Historic Pleasant Grove Church & Museum in McLean, Virginia. Read more from FXBG Economic Development.