As a result of the visit and social justice issues happening around the country, Jana – with Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall and Director of Athletics Carla Williams’s support – decided he wanted to play this season without any name on the back of his No. 13 jersey.
The choice was made more feasible after an NCAA ruling in July allowing players to replace the last name on the back of their jerseys with “something intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes.”
Jana, a Vancouver, British Columbia, native who attended nearby Woodberry Forest for high school and is now in UVA's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, debuted his look in the Hoos' season-opening victory over Duke University at Scott Stadium last Saturday.
“When I walked in the locker room and saw the jersey without my last name, I just felt connected to hundreds and hundreds of years of people,” Jana said. “It was a pretty remarkable experience.”