MASSENA, New York (WWNY) – Virginia M. Martin, 81, of Somerset Ave, peacefully passed away Sunday afternoon, April 14, 2024 at her home with the love of her family at her side.

Virginia was born January 17, 1943 in Massena, the daughter of the late Donald J. and Elsie (Salvage) Peets and was a graduate of Norwood-Norfolk Central School.  She married Leonard P. Martin in 1969, he sadly predeceased her in 1977.

Virginia worked at Massena Central School, where she was fondly known as “The Box Lady”, retiring in 2003.  Virginia enjoyed visiting the casino, playing bingo and cards, and was an avid reader.  In her younger years, she enjoyed playing softball and bowling.

Virginia is survived by her daughter, Amanda Martin and her wife, Becca of Massena; her grandson, Donovan Turner; her little angel, Grace Duncan; her sisters, Susan Dempsey of Massena, Mary Langholtz of Massena, Molly (Gary) Locey of Cornwall, and Jane (Paul) Millerschin of Massena; and many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was predeceased by a brother, Harry Peets and a sister, Dorothy Jarvis.

Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Donaldson Funeral Home, Massena, however there will be no calling hours.  A graveside service will be held May 4, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Calvary Cemetery.

Virginia’s family wishes to extend the deepest gratitude and thanks to Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley, especially her angel nurse, Candi, for their sincere care for her.  They further wish that memorial contributions be made in her memory to Hospice.

Friends are encouraged to share memories and offer condolences online at www.donaldsonfh.com.

Copyright 2024 WWNY. All rights reserved.

Thursday morning, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law legislation permitting Virginia’s universities to directly sign student-athletes to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, a development that could spell massive changes across college athletics.

The NCAA currently prohibits schools from directly paying players, meaning most NIL money is raised and distributed through third-party organizations called collectives. For example, many of the University of Alabama’s NIL resources are distributed through Yea Alabama, which is not directly affiliated with UA.

Virginia’s new law, going into effect on July 1, contradicts the NCAA’s rule. The bill will make it illegal for the NCAA to punish schools for “violat[ing] [the NCAA’s] rules or regulations concerning name, image, or likeness.” Schools in Virginia will still not be able to pay players based on their on-field performance, but will be able to use athletic department resources to compensate athletes for appearing in campaigns and promotions.

The law won’t yet render collectives obsolete — there are too many moving parts and not enough open communication for that to be realistic, said University of Virginia Athletic Director Carla Williams — but it will bring collectives and athletic departments closer to unified entities.

In December, NCAA president Charlie Baker proposed that all schools have the ability to pay athletes via NIL deals, but “the schools who actually make the rules have thus far balked at bringing the athlete marketplace inside the athletic department’s control,” according to ESPN’s Dan Murphy.

NCAA president Charlie Baker has pushed for schools to be able to pay athletes directly for NIL, but the schools who actually make the rules have thus far balked at bringing the athlete marketplace inside the athletic department’s control.

— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) April 18, 2024

Virginia’s new legislation may force the issue. If powerful members of D1 athletics don’t expedite their process and bring Baker’s proposal to a vote, the commonwealth’s schools could enjoy a significant recruiting advantage.

The bill is the latest in a series of state-level legislation across the country usurping the NCAA. Prominent NIL attorney Mit Winter, a former basketball player at William & Mary, told a Charlottesville newspaper that “he doesn’t think the NCAA has a whole lot of legal recourse” and pointed out the NCAA’s recent losing streak in court against lawsuits from the attorney generals of Virginia and Tennessee.

Youngkin emphasized his desire to see NIL governed by “colleges and universities,” not by parties like the NCAA.

“This bill takes a most important step that we in fact are first going to make sure that our institutions of higher education, our colleges and universities, are at the forefront with policies and procedures that they can review and approve, that they in fact can help manage this,” said the governor. “This is going to be a program that’s going to be managed by Virginia’s universities and colleges and not by outside institutions or associations.”

Nick Saban, U.S. Senators want to regulate NIL before it’s too late

The bill also explicitly stated that Virginia student-athletes will still not be considered employees.

Several figures representing Virginia’s D1 universities attended the bill’s signing, all of whom lobbied for NIL legislation.

“We are thankful to the state legislature and Governor Youngkin for their proactive work in the NIL space,” said Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock. “We take care of our student-athletes and recognize the value they bring to ensure the longstanding success of our athletic programs.”

UVA’s Williams thanked legislators “for ensuring student-athletes in Virginia have every opportunity to take full advantage of NIL.”

“Ultimately, and most importantly, we have an opportunity to fully support our student-athletes and coaches in NIL activities,” she added.

Charles Vaughan is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News.

Virginia has yet to take make its first big recruiting splash of the offseason, but that could change soon as the Cavaliers are set to host a major high school recruiting target this weekend. Class of 2024 four-star point guard and former USC commit Trent Perry will reportedly be taking a visit to Virginia this upcoming weekend.

A little over a week ago, we wrote about how Trent Perry could be a potential solution to Virginia’s point guard void with Reece Beekman departing for the NBA Draft and no reliable succession plan in place. At the time, UVA was only mentioned as one of the many schools who had reached out to Perry since he decommitted from USC after head coach Andy Enfield left to take the job at SMU. Other schools mentioned as having been in contact with Perry are Alabama, UCLA, Oregon, Stanford, Villanova, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Tennessee, TCU, and others, so the competition is stiff to say the least.

But so far, Trent Perry has only scheduled an official visit with one program: Virginia.

Virginia was initially a top candidate for Perry’s recruitment the first time around and Perry even said this about Tony Bennett in an interview with On3 last summer:

“It’s Tony Bennett. He’s a legendary coach, honestly. He won a national championship and he played in the league. Coach Bennett knows how to develop guards, guys like Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy. He’s also had West Coast guys like London Perrantes and Kihei Clark. I have a great relationship with the staff and it’s pretty comfortable knowing that they want West Coast kids and they’ve been pretty successful there.”

Perry was originally going to visit Virginia, but changed plans after Christian Bliss committed and he ultimately pledged to USC last October. Now, Perry is back on the market after a coaching change at USC and he’s giving the Cavaliers the first swing at landing his commitment.

This is a massive opportunity for Tony Bennett and company, as Perry is one of the most talented recruits available in this recruiting cycle. A consensus four-star recruit and top 50 overall prospect in the class of 2024 across each of the major recruiting services, ESPN has Perry ranked as the No. 26 overall recruit in the country.

In his senior season at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, the 6’4″ point guard averaged 18.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6.0 assists en route to being named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of California. Perry played in the McDonald’s All American Game, won the three-point shooting contest, and participated in the Nike Hoop Summit last week.

Virginia’s case to Perry will be simple. There is an avenue for him to earn lots of early playing time at UVA due to the uncertainty at the team’s point guard position. Reece Beekman is gone, ending a stretch of a decade-plus where the Cavaliers always knew who their next starting point guard was going to be. The only two point guards currently on the roster are Dante Harris, who struggled in a backup PG role last season after transferring from Georgetown, and Christian Bliss, a talented player with a high ceiling, but who spent most of his redshirt season in a walking boot and will likely not be ready to take over the starting job in his first season of college basketball.

Tony Bennett can also point to the examples of London Perrantes and Kihei Clark, two California native point guards who were regular starters right from their freshmen seasons and who went on to have successful All-ACC careers in their time at Virginia.

Expect Bennett and the Cavaliers to do all they can to get a commitment from Perry this weekend.

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Could Trent Perry be the Solution to Virginia’s Point Guard Problem?
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