Bidding farewell to a true original

We should all be so fortunate to be remembered in the manner that Michael Colley was on Friday at John Paul Jones Arena.

Family, friends and colleagues gathered near courtside, only a few paces from where Colley spent so much of his time, his office inside UVa’s Sports Media Relations department. We were all touched by the shocking news that he had died during a walk at Virginia Beach last Saturday.

Colley, 46, was a unique character in a sports world that could use a few more.

Behind-the-scenes hero

He was one of those behind-the-scenes guys that never sought publicity for himself, but made sure that Virginia’s athletes and coaches gained as much exposure as possible. Colley’s responsibilities included arranging interviews for Cavalier football and men’s lacrosse players and was chief statistician at UVa football, men’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s home basketball games.

Having known him for more than 20 years, I would say no one in his department was as passionate about UVa athletics as Colley. He was one of those great guys who always told you exactly how he felt, wasn’t always politically correct, and loved to debate with no hard feelings afterwards ... well, maybe a couple of times.

Colley had a booming voice, and as UVa Associate Athletics Director Rich Murray, who worked with Colley for 18 years, aptly put it, “Michael spoke to me as if I were in St. Louis, even though I was in the next room over.”

A Cavalier expert

His knowledge of UVa athletics, particularly football and lacrosse, was unmatched. When I sought out to write my book on the history of Cavalier football last year, Colley was the first person I contacted.

He had spent countless hours researching UVa’s football history to update media guides and the program’s archives. We would sit and talk about various moments in Virginia’s gridiron past, then move on to some of his other passions: the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Redskins, along with UVa lacrosse.

His loyalty and dedication to UVa and his job was amazing. He put in such long hours and rarely took time off. Michael once shared with me that sometimes on rainy weekends in the offseason, he would venture over to the school’s library and spend hours examining old articles about Cavalier football — just part of his research routine.

When he owned season tickets to Orioles baseball games back during the end of Ripken’s streak, I had the opportunity to take in a couple of games in Baltimore with Colley and found his knowledge just as amazing about the Birds as it was about the Cavs.

Most Virginia fans didn’t know him, but all they need to know about Michael Colley is that he wore orange socks to all the games and he always referred to rival Virginia Tech as VPI.

Hundreds of people, including media from all over the state and D.C. and officials from the ACC, joined all the rest of us Friday to say goodbye. It was a very difficult farewell for all of us. This coming football season will not be the same without hearing that unique voice every day.

Michael’s dad, Don, knew his son was a loyal soldier for UVa, but he had no idea how much he meant to all of us.

Don Colley said Friday that all along he thought his son was more of a Bruce Wayne type, but from all the admiration shown, he realized that Michael was really Batman.

Michael, of course, would have shunned all the attention cast his way on Friday, but would have taken pleasure in knowing that so many loved him.

There will be an empty spot in our hearts this football season. We’ll miss seeing those orange socks every Saturday and hearing that billowing voice barking out everything we sportswriters need to know.

Rest in peace, Michael. We will miss you.