A week ago, The Sabre launched a website update for the first time in several years that will upgrade the fan experience in many ways. It's an exciting time for the site as Virginia Athletics continues to rise and the return to our TheSabre.com URL roots is the perfect way to join in on the fun.

The transition has gone smoothly with little hiccups and our first priority of getting people logged in has gone successfully. If anyone is having issues, email us and let us know. We will get you on the site.

We Want You Here!

This a great time to be a Virginia fan and a member of The Sabre community. We want the site to be a gathering place for Hoos anywhere and everywhere. We want to create community events when appropriate. We want to foster relationships with fellow Alumni-owned businesses. We want to support UVA, other UVA businesses, and current UVA students. We want to have internships, more contributors, and more content.

But to do anything, we need you! Subscriptions impact the site more than any other way you can support. In celebration of this new site upgrade, a return to our TheSabre.com URL, and the exciting times ahead for the Hoos, we're offering a discounted annual subscription from now through Sept. 18. Just enter code NewSabre26 for 25% off your first year! Join us and spread the word.

Here are a few fan comments about the smooth transition so far:

  • "Like the Hoos, hitting on all cylinders"
  • "I love the new site. You guys did a great job!"
  • "Worked way better in-game. Nice work."
  • "Infinitely better"
  • "Excellent performance all day! Didn't encounter a single issue."
  • "10/10 no notes"

Fan Experience Changes - Part I

The update brought a lot of new or enhanced features to the message board experience. It give you more flexibility in how you view the boards, allows some easier linking interactions with content like videos, and more. Here are the highlighted upgrades that are either new or improved.

  • Message board formatting selections: At the top of each board, next to the board name, look for two drop down selectors that will allow you to choose how you view the boards. The first is to "Collapse/Expand Threads", which allows you to see only the original post in each thread and quickly see the most recent topic starters. The second is to choose between "Classic View/Thread View/Topic View" to decide how the board displays to you. Class view = the original line by line look. Thread view = the more modern mobile style look. Topic view = a list of threads by topic and the number of posts within that topic.
  • Enhanced user/account profiles: Tap your username in the site header (beside the notifcations bell) or inside a message board post to access your updated and improved user profile. This is much easier to navigate and control options. This includes tabs for Account info, Message Board info, Subscriptions, Payment history, Sabre Newsletters (Emails tab), and your DM inbox (Messages). Note: Anyone else who visits your profile will only see your message board profile, but not all that other stuff.
  • Direct Messaging: You now have the ability to directly message (DM) other posters in a private conversation. The message board toolbar located above the name of the message board (All Boards, What's New, etc.) includes a "More" dropdown menu. Select "More" then "Inbox" from the message board toolbar to access your DM Inbox. From there, you can DM other posters directly in a private conversation or check your own messages. You should also get a notification if you have received a message.
  • Block capabilities: You now have the ability to block other posters. This goes beyond Muting and allows you to cut someone off from communicating with you at all. Block someone and they won't be able to respond to your posts, DM you, or tag you (using the @ symbol). They'll be able to read your posts, but won't be able to interact with you directly. To Block someone, tap their username in a post and look for the Block button under their avatar.
  • Auto-convert links in the body of a post: On these new boards, you can just paste the URL of a link into the body/message part of your post, and up to three links in a post will be auto-converted to clickable hyperlinks for others. The "Add Link" feature is still there if you want to use that for linking, but this gives you the ability to quickly share a link or multiple links at once. Plus ...
  • Embed social media and YouTube videos into a post: The same ability to post links in the body/message board part of your post allows you to share many forms of social media and/or YouTube videos directly on the boards. No more having to leave to watch a coach's clip or highlight. Just paste the URL of a social media post (Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube video, etc.) into the body/message board part of your post, and it will be detected and converted to embed the actual item in your post.
  • Hot/Trending page: The message board tool bar includes "Fire emoji/Hot" spot that allows you to see busiest threads, most-liked posts, etc. That's in addition to "What's New" that remains an option to see the latest posts regardless of from which board they originate.

Fan Experience Changes - Part II

There were some rocky moments the past couple of years on the site, including at least one football win where the boards were frozen. We see you and while it took longer than wanted, many of those things have been addressed. One, the first game of the season went smoothly on the site with no down times detected and that was while UVA was winning big. Posts were going through and the site was accessible even from the stadium with all those people when the WiFi there would cooperate. That's encouraging.

If you are an iPhone user who was getting broken images loads/etc., those should be cleared up with this update. If you had log-in problems too often, you should be good to go. The site should load faster than before. The cloudflare interruptions have been addressed.

With all the additions noted above plus these customer experience improvements, fans should find the site is a great place to be!

So thank you for the ongoing support of the site. The Sabre is owned and operated by Hoos so you're helping lift up an Alumni-owned business with every subscription you buy. Tell a friend. Go Hoos!