Slade joins broadcast team on UVa. football radio broadcasts

Virginia Sports Properties, a division of CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, the multimedia rights partner of the Virginia athletics department, announced today that former Cavalier defensive end Chris Slade has joined the Virginia Sports Network. Slade will serve as the sideline reporter for Cavalier football games after Tim Sherman decided not to return for the 2009 season. Slade joins the radio crew of play-by-play announcer Dave Koehn and former Virginia great Frank Quayle.

“I would like to thank Tim Sherman for his contributions to the Virginia Sports Network over the last three seasons,” said Executive Associate Athletics Director Jon Oliver. “Many Virginia fans remember Chris Slade as one the great defensive players in ACC history. His analysis of the game and interaction with Coach Groh and the student-athletes after the game will enhance our broadcast coverage. I’m excited to have him back working with our football program on a regular basis.”

“It’s an honor to come back to a place that has always been in my heart,” Slade said. “Coming back to the University and working with the football program again is something I’ve always been interested in. This is a great opportunity for me to stay in football now that my playing days are through and the chance to work with Coach Groh again is special.”

Slade, the first Virginia football player to earn first-team All-American honors in back-to-back seasons, lettered at Virginia from 1989 to 1992. He set Virginia and ACC career records for quarterback sacks with 40, including 31 unassisted. A team captain in 1992, Slade was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 by Football News and was a first-team All-America selection in both 1991 and 1992.

He was a second-round selection of the New England Patriots during the 1993 NFL Draft. He played for the Patriots for eight seasons, earning Pro Bowl honors in 1997. He spent his final NFL season with the Carolina Panthers in 2001. He was a member of the Patriots team that played in Super Bowl XXXI.