By Fred Heblich

(The following is the first installment of a history of College Topics and The Cavalier Daily being researched and written by CD alumni Fred Heblich (‘71). Additional chapters will be posted on the CDAA website, www.cdalumni.org, as they are written.)
The establishment and early history of the student newspaper at the University that eventually became The Cavalier Daily is inextricably connected with the rise of athletics at the University. Although the newspaper eventually gained its independence and became an institution separate from the faculty, the University administration, and other student organizations, its origins cannot be understood except in the context of the times and events then influencing the University.
The University that existed on Jan. 15, 1890, when the first issue of College Topics, appeared, was not substantially different from the institution that emerged from the devastation of the Civil War. Enrollment for the 1889-’90 session (482) was actually slightly smaller than in 1866-’67 (490).
The University’s 10-month academic session began in mid-September and was divided into two terms, the Fall (or Xmas) and Easter terms. Finals were held in June or July.
Student extracurricular activities were dominated by the two debating societies, the Jefferson Society and the Washington Society. Student social life was dominated by fraternities.
The most important student publication was the University Magazine, published monthly during the session. Athletics, so to speak, hardly existed, although it was possible for students to receive instruction in fencing, boxing and gymnastics, and there were boating events on the Rivanna River.
During the 1866-’67 session, the debating societies reorganized and the Magazine resumed publication. However, there was change in the air. As early as 1865, baseball games were reportedly being played on the Lawn, and within a few years, baseball clubs were organized and games played, some with other local clubs; at least one match game was played with a club from Washington & Lee.
In 1877, students organized a University baseball club and played an increasingly ambitious schedule, including, by the mid-1880s, games with Richmond College, VMI, Johns Hopkins and the Naval Academy. Within a decade, the baseball team was a regional power, playing the better intercollegiate teams to be found, including Harvard, Princeton, Lafayette and North Carolina.
In keeping with Thomas Jefferson’s belief in student self-government, the athletic clubs were strictly student organizations. In 1888, the General Athletic Association was formed to provide an umbrella organization over the various athletic clubs and to promote better facilities and increased student support.
The association, which consisted of a board of directors, appointed a manager for each team. The first president of the group was Felix H. Levy, who was largely responsible for the establishment of the group and is credited as a significant figure in the development of the University’s athletic programs. Later the Association included a faculty adviser, and the University established a Faculty Committee on Athletics. Among the Association’s early accomplishments was raising $400 to enclose the baseball field.
A rudimentary form of football appeared in the 1870s, and the game caught on quickly. In 1888, the University played its first intercollegiate game—losing to Johns Hopkins, 22-0—and by the mid-1890s, football surpassed baseball in popularity.
During this decade golf, tennis and track also enjoyed popularity, and the construction of Fayerweather Gymnasium in 1893 gave the University the best gymnasium in the south.
In 1888 Corks and Curls made its appearance as the University’s yearbook, published as an offshoot of the Magazine.
Subsequently, a group of students tried to persuade the Jefferson Society to publish a “racy local college journal” but failed. Undeterred, the group set out on its own, and College Topics was born.
The newspaper was four-pages, published weekly on Wednesdays. Its motto was “Devoted to the Integrity of the University at Large,” and it promoted itself as a “Summary of the week’s news, devoting a portion of our space to the discussion of Athletic interests—Football, Baseball, Tennis, etc., etc.; Society News, Personals and all subjects of interest to the students.”
Importantly, the paper was filled with advertisements, mostly from local merchants in the Charlottesville community. It appears that in its first year the paper was distributed gratis, although there is nothing anywhere in the pages of the paper to indicate whether it was sold, or what the advertising rates were.
Neither is there any indication of the circulation of the paper, although it should be kept in mind that the enrollment of the University was less than 500.
According to Philip Alexander Bruce’s “History of the University of Virginia 1819-1919,” “the periodical was successful from the start—in no small degree because it always proved itself to be a steadfast defender of the rights of students, and an intelligent promoter of their best interests in the mass.”
College Topics published 21 issues during the Easter Term, the last on May 28, 1890.
The following semester, the paper was taken over by the General Athletic Association, and although it still proclaimed that it was “Devoted to the Integrity of the University at Large,” College Topics stated that it was the “official organ” of the General Athletic Association. It remained a four-page weekly and published 32 issues for the session. A year-long subscription cost $2.00, and it was probably distributed through the post-office, although there is little information about circulation, distribution or advertising rates.
The editors of the paper were selected by the General Athletic Association, with a different editorial staff selected for each term, a practice that continued until 1906.