First Syracuse (22-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) lost in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, throwing all prospects of making the NCAA Tournament in jeopardy.

Then, the bracket leaked and Syracuse made the Tournament. Crazy.

As a No. 10 seed. Crazier.

Now the Orange is in the Elite 8 after staving off Gonzaga in a hectic last 11.2 seconds. Craziest.

Syracuse lives another day, and so do the fun facts.

Here are 10 things about Virginia (29-7, 13-5) that, if you don’t know, now you know:

1. Virginia said “Nah,” to Dr. Seuss

The University of Virginia denied Dr. Seuss admittance and, rumor has it, he named the fictional town of “Whoville” as a pun off the University’s nickname of the “Hoos.” UVA got the last laugh, though. The school nickname is the Cavaliers, but the students unofficially adopted the Wahoos, a fish that can drink its weight in water, as its second mascot after opposing fans jeered it at a football game.

2. Quoth the Raven

Edgar Allen Poe briefly attended UVA. He registered in February and said, “Nevermore” in December.

3. Can’t knock the hustle

UVA has never awarded an honorary degree. Official policy states degrees from the university may “only be earned.”

4. Trust me, I’m a doctor

Charles T. Pepper, the dude who Dr. Pepper is named after, attended the university. Other famous alumni: Woodrow Wilson, Tina Fey, Robert F. Kennedy, Katie Couric, Georgia O’Keefe and the cofounders of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman.

5. Young moolah, baby

Virginia is the third most expensive Elite Eight school to attend for students without in-state advantages. The check comes to an aorta-tightening $59,498, per the school site’s estimate. It falls behind only Notre Dame and Villanova, each private schools with $60,000-plus semesterly limb hacks.

6. Run the Campus (Bros)

Women weren’t accepted into school until the Class of 1970. In 1969, a UVA governing board voted to gradually allow females onto “the grounds,” as UVA students call it, by proposing to admit qualified wives and daughters of staff. UVA administrators said the school would further increase the number of female students over 10 years with a student population cap of 35 percent. Then four women said — and I believe this is a direct quote — “This is whack,” and filed a lawsuit. One year later, the bro era ended.

7. Secret Societies that aren’t secret/have Wikipedia pages

The name of UVA’s oldest secret society is Eli Banana. If you’re an Eli Banana, you can’t tell anyone you’re an Eli Banana until you D-I-E.

8. Apparently tremendous foliage

According to the university’s own magazine, the No. 1 reason to love UVA’s campus in fall is not the Shenandoah National Park, Monticello Wine Trail or Ragged Mountains. It’s … leaves! Which no other campus has during autumn, I guess.

9. The Honor System

After a professor was shot to death on The Lawn at the center of campus while attempting to resolve a conflict between two students in 1842, UVA students founded an honor code. That was the pinnacle of conflict because tensions between teachers and students, mostly wealthy from southern plantations, were always high. Nowadays the code is simple: Don’t lie, cheat or steal. And one conviction on these violations leads to expulsion.

10. Dick the Mockingbird

Thomas Jefferson, who founded the school, thought of mockingbirds as “superior beings in the form of a bird,” according to Jefferson’s official historian’s site. He had several pet mockingbirds, but liked “Dick” the best. According to the legend, Dick flew freely around the room, ate crumbs from Jefferson’s lips and literally sang him to sleep during siesta. #SquadGoals.

Published on March 26, 2016 at 2:05 pm

Contact Sam: sjfortie@syr.edu | @Sam4TR