Now available on Rhoback’s website are three new polos aptly named “The Cavalier,” “The V-Sabre” and “The Virginia Gameday.” Later this fall, a UVA quarter-zip and two hoodies also will be for sale. While Rhoback has plans for similar releases at other universities over the next year, the Loftuses were intentional in wanting UVA to be the first.
The desire came from a place of love.
The Loftuses arrived on Grounds as students in UVA’s Darden School of Business and, over the last decade, have become increasingly more passionate toward their new favorite team.
"We think the UVA community is everything,” Kristina said, adding that the Darden community played an important role in the company's success. "And then, just Charlottesville, it’s such a beautiful town, such a beautiful place to live. We came here and we didn’t want to leave.

Rhoback co-founders Matt and Kristina Loftus have enjoyed many moments as Wahoo fans, most especially the night of April 8, 2019, when they were in attendance at John Paul Jones Arena for the viewing party of UVA’s national championship win in men’s basketball. (Contributed photo)
Matt Loftus is from Ridgefield, Connecticut, and attended Davidson College in North Carolina for his undergraduate education. Kristina Loftus is from Bedford, New York, and stayed in the Empire State for undergrad at Hamilton College. They met while working together at General Electric, prior to their move to Charlottesville.
Matt graduated from Darden in 2016 and Kristina followed a year later. The entrepreneurs, who married at Verulam Farm in Albemarle County, operate their mostly online business out of a warehouse off Seminole Trail that is proudly staffed with many UVA alumni and student workers.
Having a Wahoo-laden staff was key in Rhoback’s design process for the new gear, Matt said. The goal wasn’t to just slap a logo on a solid-color shirt and move on to the next project. Rhoback, instead, “wanted to tell UVA’s story.”
“We relied on our experience, but we also leaned on our team members who were Hoos or double-Hoos,” Matt said. “We wanted to show what made the school unique.”
The research is especially felt in “The Virginia Gameday” polo that features a repeated pattern of a vintage UVA football helmet, pennant and the Rotunda, among other motifs.