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During the summer of 2024, Longwood University signed the fifth-ever head coach of Longwood Baseball, Ray Noe. Noe came from Virginia Military Institute (VMI), where he rose from assistant to lead assistant and recruiting coordinator before taking the role at Longwood.
The Longwood men’s and women’s tennis teams finished their seasons with seven regular season wins each. The men’s team won a number of close victories, including a 4-3 win over Presbyterian and a sudden death victory of the same score over the University of Richmond. The women’s team did not win a Big South match this season and missed the conference tournament; their statement win was their 4-3 senior day win over George Washington.
On April 1st, Longwood Men’s Basketball forward Elijah Tucker elected to enter the transfer portal. However, two weeks later, on April 17, Longwood announced Tucker would return for his final year of eligibility.
Associate Professor of German Dr. Sarah Varela, or “Dr. V” to her students, will make her directorial debut in late April at Waterworks Players, Farmville’s community theater.
With the new “Snow White” movie coming to theaters, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the film and the cast, including political anger and personal feuds between the main stars, Rachel Zegler (Snow White) and Gal Gadot (the Evil Queen). The whirling controversies have severely diminished the film’s Box Office performance, making $182 million against a budget of (at least) $240 million — a majorly disappointing result for one of Disney’s most expensive productions of all time.
Ronnie Thomas, an assistant coach on Griff Aldrich’s staff, has been named as the next head coach of Longwood men’s basketball. The architect of two NCAA tournament appearances and three consecutive 20-win seasons in seven years with Longwood, Aldrich accepted the associate head coach position at the University of Virginia and reunited with friend and former Hampden-Sydney College teammate Ryan Odom.
Farmville is preparing for change with the opening of SEED, the innovation hub located in Longwood Landings, on May 3, 2025. With the help of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), SEED aims to provide a space where community members and students can bring an idea for a product and turn it into a prototype that can be pitched to banks, investors or angel funders.
The Longwood Lancers women’s basketball team fell short of winning the Big South tournament and securing a bid to the NCAA tournament. However, they still participated in the Women's National Invitational Tournament, their first time in the postseason since their only NCAA tournament appearance in 2022. Picked seventh out of nine teams in the Big South preseason poll, the Lancers won 22 games this season, which is the second time in their Division I history they have reached the 20-win mark.Defense was the identity of this team. Graduate Student guard Kiki McIntyre led the entire country in total steals and did so for most of the season. She was named Big South defensive player of the year and a member of the Big South all-conference second team. Sophomore guard Amor Harris was also named to the second team all-conference. She led the Lancers in scoring this season, averaging 11 points per game following the 2023-24 season, where she did not see much action.Head Coach Erika Lang-Montgomery, in her third season with the program, turned nine wins from last season into 22. She was named Big South Coach of the Year behind her dominant defense. She implemented a full-court pressing style that flattened teams in the Big South and in the non-conference slate. The Lancers forced 24 turnovers per game, a figure that clearly left them full of confidence when they were set to play USC Upstate in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament.Longwood’s defense completely suffocated USC Upstate in the Big South quarterfinals, surrendering only 37 points and forcing 32 turnovers. “We’ve been pretty consistent with [our defense] all year,” said Lang-Montgomery. “This is the time of the year when we need it to be at its best”The Lancers faced in-state rival Radford in the semifinals and weathered the Highlanders’ three point barrage and won 73-65. Longwood was championship bound for a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. The Lancers would be pitted against one-seeded High Point.Though the Lancers had the lead going into the fourth quarter in the championship game, the Panthers roared back and stole the game as Longwood only scored six fourth-quarter points. High Point won the game 59-53. “I am still incredibly proud of the young women I get to coach every day,” Lang-Montgomery said. “I am hopeful that maybe there is a chance we can continue to play in the postseason.”Her wish became reality, as Longwood accepted an invitation from the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Lancers drew Duquesne University in round one. The Lancers played well in Pittsburgh, maintaining the lead throughout most of the game. However, Longwood saw their lead dwindle as the clock kept ticking. Duquesne hit a buzzer-beater to win 70-68, breaking Longwood hearts and ending their record-setting season.With most of the team returning for next season, the future looks bright for the resurging Lancers. “I have a bunch of young women that like to compete… I love their competitive spirit,” Lang-Montgomery said. “I love who they are as people. These are high-quality women I get to spend time with every day.”
On Feb. 13, Longwood Chief of Police and Assistant Vice President for Public Safety Angela Comer held a “Let’s Talk About It: Know Your Rights” session in response to student concerns about possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity on college campuses.
(Editor’s Note: Contains spoilers for “Appropriate,” which includes potentially disturbing content. The opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author.)
At their meeting on March 21, the Longwood University Board of Visitors approved a resolution regarding actions and guidance from the federal and state government against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, which addressed matters of compliance but stopped far short of measures taken by other Virginia colleges and universities to dissolve offices related to DEI.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in this review are solely those of the author.)
Within the last two weeks, universities across Virginia have moved in the direction of abolishing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs — a chain reaction which began with the Dear Colleague letter released by officials at the U.S. Department of Education on Feb. 14, 2025. On March 18, this was briefly a topic of discussion at the Student Government Association (SGA), but has been excluded from the meeting materials for this Friday’s Longwood University Board of Visitors Meeting.
Longwood women’s basketball lost in devastating fashion to High Point on March 9, 2025 in the Big South Championship game in Johnson City, Tennessee. A true underdog story, after finishing seventh in the Big South the season prior, the Lancers were agonizingly close to the NCAA tournament.
Longwood women’s basketball recorded a historic win in Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee on Saturday, March 8, defeating Radford 73-65. Four players scored double figures in an close win to secure their spot in the Big South championship game against High Point.
Longwood men’s basketball battled back from deep adversity in their Big South Tournament quarterfinal game against Winthrop on March 8, but the initial deficit proved too big for the Lancers. Sophomore guard Colby Garland’s season-high 24 points were not enough to mount the improbable comeback.
According to university documents obtained through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Longwood University officials have restored $601,865.73 to academic departmental local accounts as of Feb. 28, 2025 after two large restorations on Nov. 13, 2024 and Feb. 21, 2025.The FOIA request was filed by The Rotunda on Feb. 13 and returned on Feb. 28, after a delay due to the university's closure for inclement weather and officials’ request for more time to respond. The request asked for a record of all deployments of local funds since September 2024, a record of local funds not yet restored as part of University President W. Taylor Reveley IV’s promise to restore swept local funds, and relevant communications from Vice President for Administration and Finance Matt McGregor, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Larissa Smith and Vice President for Institutional Advancement Courtney Hodges.University officials responded with a 171-page document primarily comprised of emails from Smith informing department chairs of the restoration and attached records, but also a record of restorations to local accounts within Academic Affairs and an email from University Spokesperson and Deputy to the President Matt McWilliams to Smith and McGregor sent on Feb. 28 to put local funds information in one place for future reference.The documents also include a list of 92 accounts which had local funds restored, including $40,000 to “Eng & Mod Lan”, $35,000 to “Nurse Sim. Lab,” $30,000 to “Library Operating,” $12,000 to “Coll Business” and a variety of other accounts and amounts.Furthermore, not all accounts had their full amounts restored. For example, of the $40,000 swept from the Cormier Honors College, listed “VPAA 070-030-0102 Cormier Honor” in the August FOIA documents, only half was restored.In the Feb. 28 email to McGregor and Smith, McWilliams wrote, “A significant portion of the June sweep was of Athletics and Advancement funds, which at any given summer are drawn down normally at the end of the fiscal year.”He added, “The remaining $1.6 million had two parts – a) roughly $1 million of normal endowment yield, which we have to spend on an annual basis, and which is replenished each May from investment earnings, and b) roughly $600,000 of departmental local funds made up of annual giving.”“That third part – the $600,000 of departmental local funds that came from annual giving is what was promised to be replenished in full,” he wrote.In addition to this, the restoration also did not include accounts falling under Student Affairs. According to the FOIA documents provided to The Rotunda in August, accounts such as “Stud Affairs,” “LU Cares Eme,” “Campus Rec,” “F & S Life,” “Club Sports,” among others had funds swept in June. Also not included in the restoration was the $30,000 swept from the “Moton Operat” account.In an email statement to The Rotunda on March 4 in response to a follow up question, McWilliams wrote, “The accounts that were replenished were departmental local accounts that are used to supplement annual operations of those academic departments in a way that E&G dollars often cannot be used. Student Affairs departments and the Moton Museum operate under fewer restrictions and have other sources of funding they can use for earmarked operations, like Advancement or Athletics. The Moton Museum in its partnership with the University also receives annual support for personnel, operations, and building maintenance.”When asked via email if Student Affairs operational budgets received funds from the university to supplement the loss of swept local funds, McWilliams wrote, “Yes, the university continues to fund these departments annually.”According to an email statement to The Rotunda on March 5 in response to a question about where restoration funds were sourced from, McGregor wrote, “Funds were transferred from the Longwood Fund account which is an unrestricted philanthropic account used to support general operations.”As reported by The Rotunda in August, the June sweep of local funds resulted in frustration and concerns from faculty members over a perceived lack of transparency and communication. Faculty Senate Chair and Professor of Sociology Dr. Lee Bidwell said in an interview on August 9, “What I'm hearing [from faculty members] is grave concern about the lack of communication.”In an interview on March 7, 2025, Bidwell said that some concerns have persisted into the Spring semester. “I think some faculty might feel more trust, other faculty might feel less, and for some it's no change. I would say that overall there still is a sense of distrust of the administration after the sweeping of the funds,” she said.Bidwell said there is “frustration that not all of the money that was taken was restored, because the interest that came from endowed funds was not restored, but other local funds were.” She also said there is “trepidation” among the faculty that a sweep like the one in June may happen again. She said, “There's still a lot in flux because of what's happening nationally right now and at the state level, but I wish I could say I don't think it would happen again… I wish I could be confident.”According to publicly available minutes of the President’s Advisory Council (PAC) meeting on Feb. 25, PAC members spoke to Reveley about trust and transparency. In attendance at the meeting was Reveley, Bidwell, Faculty Senate Vice Chair Dr. Eric Hodges, Faculty Representative to the Board of Visitors Dr. Lisa Kinzer, Dr. Darrell Carpenter and Dr. Benjamin Topham.According to a summary of the conversation in the minutes, “[Bidwell] explained that the surprising sweep of local funds last summer, which occurred after repeated assurances that the university’s budget situation was strong, resulted in mistrust of the President. The climate of mistrust has fueled rumors about the fiscal strength of the university”The minutes also state, “the president categorically denied there was any truth to rumors that Longwood is experiencing financial difficulty.” Bidwell, asked about this specifically during the interview, said, “Do I still worry about the financial health of the university despite those reassurances? Yes.”According to the minutes, PAC members encouraged Reveley to create opportunities for dialogue in order to improve trust in the administration and expressed willingness to work with him in order to repair trust. “PAC members suggested that meetings about budget and other campus concerns should provide an opportunity for open dialogue, rather than be formal presentations,” the minutes state.Bidwell said during the interview, “The President volunteered and offered to come to Faculty Senate on [March 6] and to explain some things that were coming from the federal government and offer opportunities for people to ask questions. He came at the beginning of the faculty meeting and at the end of the faculty senate meeting to answer any casual questions that faculty had. I think that’s an indication that he was trying to be more open in terms of communication.”According to McWilliams in the FOIA documents, the most recent restoration of local funds took place on Feb. 21, the Friday before Love Your Longwood Day. Smith informed academic department chairs and deans of the restoration on the night of Feb. 24, the day prior to Love Your Longwood Day.She wrote, “This is [the] first of a series of emails I will be sending this week to academic departments and deans about FY25 budgets and about FY26 budget planning. This email focuses on local funds. The restoration of local funds has been completed.” Love Your Longwood Day took place on Feb. 25, and according to their website, raised $907,847 and received 2,192 gifts from 1,474 donors. According to publicly available meeting materials from the September 2024 Board of Visitors meeting, in 2023, Love Your Longwood Day raised $735,247 from 1,894 donors. In 2024, coupled with the Longwood Men’s Basketball Team’s trip to March Madness, Love Your Longwood Day brought in $1.3 million dollars from 1,773 donors.There was previously concern among some officials that the summer sweep would impact annual giving, including on Love Your Longwood Day. Member of the Board of Visitors Vellie Dietrich-Hall, at the December 2024 meeting of the board, expressed concern over the university’s credibility with donors. She said, “I received so many emails from people who donated because they didn't know where that money went,” and added, “I hope we're not losing our credibility in soliciting money for the February campaign, for Love Your Longwood Day.”[Courtney] Hodges responded to her concerns and said, “Our gifts are always allocated to the purpose and intention they've given to… we hold donor intention paramount.” In the Feb. 28 email from McWilliams, he said, “fundraising activity for this year continues to be strong.”The Rotunda will continue to report on this story. Those with information relevant to this story, or those who would like to share their thoughts and opinions, are encouraged to contact therotunda@live.longwood.edu.
The Longwood Lancers women’s basketball team rolled past USC Upstate on March 7 at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee for their first Big South tournament win since their championship run in 2022. The Lancers held the Spartans to under 24% from the field in a smothering defensive display.
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Set in 1830s Germany, real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) travels to Transylvania for a fateful meeting with Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), a prospective client. During his absence, Hutter’s new bride, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp), is left under the care of their friends, Friedrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Anna Harding (Emma Corrin).
