West Virginia Mountaineers
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| West Virginia Mountaineers | |
 |
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| University | West Virginia University |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big East |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Ed Pastilong |
| Location | Morgantown, WV |
| Varsity Teams | 17 |
| Stadium | Mountaineer Field |
| Arena | WVU Coliseum |
| Mascot | The Mountaineer |
| Nickname | Mountaineers |
| Colors | Old Gold and Blue |
| Homepage | www.wvu.edu/~sports |
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is also known as the Mountaineer. The two major sports at the university are football (played at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium) and basketball (played at the WVU Coliseum), although many of the other sports have large followings as well.
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[edit] Baseball
- Playing Facility: Hawley Field
- Head Coach: Greg Van Zant
- Most Victories: 40 in 1994
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 12
- Last NCAA Appearance: 1996
- All-Americans: 7
- Drafted Players: 53
- Players In The Majors: 19
- Website: http://www.wvubaseball.com
[edit] Notable players
- Babe Barna who played 3-sports
- Marvin Bolyard who also played basketball
- John Doyle
- Jack Gocke
- Steve Harrick
- Charley Hockenberry
- Steve Kline
- Rosemary Kosiorek
- Bill Marovic
- Dustin Nippert
- Dale Ramsburg who was a famous coach
- Scott Seabol
- Charley Seabright
- Sean Diehl
[edit] Men's Basketball
- Playing Facility: WVU Coliseum
- Head Coach: John Beilein
- Most Victories: 29 in 1959
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 19
- NIT Appearances: 14
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2006
- All-Americans: 13
- Drafted Players: 28
- Players In The NBA: 11
[edit] History and Coaches
West Virginia men's basketball has competed in only two basketball championship final matches: the 1959 NCAA final and the 1942 NIT final (at that time, the NIT was considered by many to be more prestigious than the NCAA). They lost 71-70 to California in the 1959 final. The Mountaineers won the 1942 NIT by 47-45 over Western Kentucky.
[edit] Notable players
- Willie Akers
- Rudy Baric helped WVU win the NIT Championship
- Babe Barna who played 3-sports
- Eddie Beach who was the first Mountaineer to be selected in the NBA Draft
- Marvin Bolyard who also played baseball
- Leland Eugene Byrd who was also famous as athletic administrator
- Gale Catlett, who later became more notable as WVU's coach
- John Doyle
- Mike Gansey
- Marshall Glenn
- Jack Gocke
- Clyde Green
- Louis Guidi
- Johannes Herber
- Scott Hamilton who helped WVU win the NIT championship
- Roger Hicks who helped WVU win the NIT championship
- Charley Hockenberry
- Rod Hundley
- Greg Jones
- Sam Mandich
- Jim McCormick
- Lee Patton
- Kevin Pittsnogle
- Richard Raese
- Wil Robinson
- Fred Schaus
- Charley Seabright
- Lloyd Sharrar
- Rod Thorn
- Jerry West
- Ron 'Fritz' Williams
- Mark Workman
[edit] Notable Games
- March 2, 1949 against Geneva in Morgantown, West Virginia with a 75-38 win when Fred Schaus scored 1000th career point.
- February 26, 1951 at Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a 72-74 loss when the final basketball game played in Pitt Pavilion was held.
- February 9, 1957 at Richmond in Richmond, Virginia with a 87-81 win when Rod Hundley scored 2000th career point.
- February 11, 1960 at St. John's in New York City with a 73-79 loss when Jerry West scored 2000th career point.
- January 14, 1970 at Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a 67-66 Overtime win when a Pittsburgh fan threw a large dead fish onto the court after a technical foul against Pittsburgh.
- March 3, 1970 against Pittsburgh in Morgantown, West Virginia with a 87-92 loss in the final game in Mountaineer Fieldhouse.
- March 19, 2005 in a 111-105 double overtime win against Wake Forest in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.
[edit] Women's Basketball
- Playing Facility: WVU Coliseum
- Head Coach: Mike Carey
- Most Victories: 26 in 1992
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
- WNIT Appearances: 2
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2004
- All-Americans: 3
- Drafted Players: 2
- Players In The WNBA: 1
[edit] Notable Players
- Kittie Blakemore was the first women's basketball coach at WVU
- Cathy Parson who was the first woman to be inducted in the WVU Sports Hall of Fame
- Georgann Wells
[edit] Cross Country
- Head Coach: Jeff Huntoon
- NCAA Appearances: 2
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2004
- All-Americans: 2
[edit] Notable Players
- Carl Hatfield
- Mike Mosser
- Stan Romanoski who was one of the most successful coaches
[edit] Football
- Playing Facility: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
- Head Coach: Rich Rodriguez
- Most Victories: 11 in 1988, 1993, and 2005
- Bowl Game Appearances: 26
- Last Bowl Game Appearance: 2006 Sugar Bowl
- All-Americans: 11
- Drafted Players: 150
- Players Currently In The NFL: 19
- All-Time NFL Players: 132
- Pro Football Hall of Famers: 2
- Big East Champions: 1993, 2003(co), 2004(co), 2005
[edit] History and Coaches
The WVU football program first started in 1891 with a record of 0-1-0. But throughout the years, the program has garnered a 631-437-45 record. Beginning in 1937-1938, West Virginia was classified as a College Division. From 1939-1972, West Virginia was in the University Division. From '73-'77, WVU was Division I, then from '78-present WVU has been Division I-A.
WVU played mainly as an Independent from 1891 to 1990, with intermittent stints in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1925-1927), and the Southern Conference (1950-1967). Since 1991, after reclassifications as a Division 1 Independent (1973-1977) and a Division 1-A Independent (1978-1990), the team competes in the Big East Conference. WVU had no team in 1892 and 1918.
West Virginia has only had undefeated regular seasons in 1988 when it went to the National Championship in the Fiesta Bowl to face University of Notre Dame and in 1993 when they went to the Sugar Bowl to face University of Florida. However, West Virginia lost both bowl games, 34-21 to Notre Dame, and 41-7 to Florida. Both undefeated regular seasons were under their coach Don Nehlen.
WVU has been Conference champions twelve times (8 in the Southern Conference, four in the Big East Conference). West Virginia's highest coach/AP ranking in program history has been #3, achieved following the 1988 regular season heading in to the Fiesta Bowl and in the poll released on October 29, 2006. WVU has been in bowls 24 times, their record stands at 9-15. Major bowls were the Sugar Bowl (3 times), Peach Bowl (4 times), Fiesta Bowl (1 time), and the Gator Bowl (5 times).
The average winning percentage for WVU coaches is 0.587. The games for all coaches in total are 113 and the years are 112.
Quarterback Major Harris has been credited as being the Mountaineers' greatest quarterback, while backs Amos Zereoue and Avon Cobourne have been reconized as the greatest rushers. Although, current Mountaineers Pat White and Steve Slaton are fan favorites and are looking to "dethrone" Harris and Zereoue/Cobourne, respectively.
[edit] Trivia
- Doug Flutie, with his Boston College team, was never able to defeat WVU in his tenure there.
[edit] Rivalries
- West Virginia vs Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl
- West Virginia vs Syracuse in the battle for the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy
- West Virginia vs Maryland
- West Virginia vs Marshall in The Friends of Coal Bowl for the Governor's Trophy (although this rivalry is newer and fails to carry the same heat as more-established rivalries)
- West Virginia vs Louisville (another newer rivalry)
- West Virginia vs Virginia Tech in the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy (ended run in 2005 season)
- West Virginia vs Penn State, though they have not played since the 1992 season
[edit] 2006 Season Results
| Date | Opponent | WVU | Opp. | Notes |
| September 2 | vs. Marshall | 42 | 10 | Friends of Coal Bowl |
| September 9 | vs Eastern Washington | 52 | 3 | |
| September 14 | vs. Maryland | 45 | 24 | |
| September 23 | @ East Carolina | 27 | 10 | |
| October 7 | @ Mississippi State | 42 | 14 | |
| October 14 | vs. Syracuse | 41 | 17 | |
| October 20 | @ Connecticut | 37 | 11 | |
| November 2 | @ Louisville | 34 | 44 | |
| November 11 | vs Cincinnati | 42 | 24 | |
| November 16 | @ Pittsburgh | 45 | 27 | Backyard Brawl |
| November 25 | vs South Florida | 19 | 24 | |
| December 2 | vs Rutgers (3 OT) | 41 | 39 | |
| January 1 | vs Georgia Tech | Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) |
[edit] Current NFL Players
- Jahmile Addae
- Anthony Becht
- Rich Braham
- John Browning
- Marc Bulger
- James Davis
- Jason Davis
- Lance Frazier
- Barrett Green
- Kay Jay Harris
- Chris Henry
- Adam "Pacman" Jones
- Antwan Lake
- Mike Logan
- Mike Lorello
- Rasheed Marshall
- Dee McCann
- Corey McIntyre
- Anthony Mims
- Rod Olds
- Jerry Porter
- Todd Sauerbrun
- Gary Stills
- Jay Taylor
- John Thornton
- Mike Vanderjagt
- Quincy Wilson
[edit] Pro Football Hall of Famers
[edit] Notable players
- Roger Alford
- Tommy Allman
- Russ Bailey
- Babe Barna who played 3-sports
- Quentin Barnette who was also famous as a football & basketball coach and a professor
- Aaron Beasley
- Paul Bischoff
- Bruce Bosley
- Terry Bowden
- Jim Braxton
- Danny Buggs
- Harry Clarke
- Avon Cobourne
- Mike Compton
- Carl Crennel
- Travis Curtis
- John Doyle
- Marshall Glenn
- Barrett Green
- George Henshaw
- Shawn Foreman
- Garrett Ford
- Delbert Fowler
- Chris Haering
- Major Harris
- Ken Herock
- Charley Hockenberry
- Jeff Hostetler
- Chuck Howley
- Sam Huff
- Brad Hunt
- Khori Ivy
- James Jett
- Brain Jozwiak
- Gene Lamone
- Oliver Luck
- Rasheed Marshall
- Walter Mahan
- John Mallory
- Sam Mandich
- Joe Marconi
- Homer Martin
- Ross McHenry
- Russ Meredith
- Lance Nimmo
- Mike Nixon (assistant coach)
- Bob Orders
- Bo Orlando
- Artie Owens
- Solomon Page
- Rick Phillips
- Tom Pridemore
- Reggie Rembert
- David Saunders
- Charley Seabright
- Floyd Schwartzwalder
- Mike Sherwood
- Steve Slaton
- Henry Slay
- Fred Smalls
- Clarence Spears (head coach)
- Gary Steills
- Darryl Talley
- John Thornton
- Jimmy Walthall
- Patrick White
- Grant Wiley
- Quincy Wilson
- Ron Wolfley
- Paul Woodside
- Fred Wyant
- Amos Zereoue
[edit] Notable Games
- 1975 Peach Bowl, West Virginia 13, NC State 10: Bobby Bowden was coaching West Virginia when Lou Holtz was coaching NC State. The game was won by West Virginia when Scott MacDonald, a tight end, caught a 50 yard pass. Bill Cowher, later famous for coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers, was playing linebacker for NC State.
- 1982, West Virginia 41, No. 9 Oklahoma 27: West Virginia opened their season off upsetting Oklahoma as an underdog. Jeff Hostetler helped win the game with his passing game. After the game, West Virginia players were escorted by police onto the bus, out of Norman, Oklahoma.
- 1983, West Virginia 24, Pittsburgh 21: With Jeff Hostetler passing for a touchdown with 6:27 left in the game, West Virginia lifted themselves over Pittsburgh and into the Number 7 spot in the polls. This was West Virginia's first victory over Pittsburgh in seven years.
- 1984, West Virginia 21, No. 4 Boston College 20: West Virginia entered the half trailing 20-6. Their second half ended with 15 points to come from behind to upset Boston College. This would be the fourth straight time that Boston College Heisman winner Doug Flutie had failed to defeat West Virginia.
- 1984, West Virginia 17, No. 19 Penn State 14: Only a week after upsetting Boston College, West Virginia upset then ranked 19, Penn State. That would be the first time West Virginia had beat Penn State since 1955 and it lifted West Virginia to 12 in the polls.
- 1988, West Virginia 51, Penn State 30: West Virginia, ranked 7 at the time, scored 41 points in the first half to roll over the Nittany Lions. It was the most first half points ever allowed by a Joe Paterno coached team and the most ever had scored in its history. West Virginia's win was also credited widely to Major Harris, who had a touchdown run which is forever known in West Virginia history as "the Play".
- 1993, West Virginia 17, No. 4 Miami 14: With a school record 70, 222 fans attenting to watch West Virginia, the Mountaineers came from behind to defeat Miami. Robert Walker of West Virginia scored the game winning touchdown in the 4th quarter to help Number 9 West Virginia advance in the polls.
- 1993, West Virginia 17, No. 11 Boston College 14: Edd Hill, a receiver of West Virginia, scored the game winning touchdown with a leaping catch in the endzone in the final seconds for No. 5 West Virginia to win their final regular season game. West Virginia advanced to the Sugar Bowl, only to lose to No. 8 Florida.
- 1998, West Virginia 35, No. 15 Syracuse 28: Marc Bulger of West Virginia passed a touchdown to receiver David Saunders to score the winning touchdown. Donovan McNabb, quarterback of the Orangemen, couldn't take the ball downfield and West Virginia pulled out a win.
- 2000 Music City Bowl, West Virginia 49, Ole Miss 38: West Virginia scored 25 first half points to upset favored Mississippi in coach Don Nehlen's last game coaching West Virginia. West Virginia's Brad Lewis, quarterback, scored a bowl-record 5 touchdown passes and their whole offense racked up 432 total yards on offense.
- 2002, West Virginia 21, No. 13 Virginia Tech 18: Quincy Wilson rushed for 125 yards and a touchdown and West Virginia held Virginia Tech on the goalline to win the game. It was West Virginia's first victory over a nationally ranked team on the road since defeating Boston College 17-14 in 1993, and the first win over a ranked team since defeating Syracuse 35-28 in 1998.
- 2003, West Virginia 28, No. 3 Virginia Tech 7: West Virginia's victory was the biggest in school history. No. 3 Virginia Tech was the highest ranked team West Virginia had beaten on the football field and was Rich Rodriguez' first win over a Top 10 team. Virginia Tech's only score was on a controversial fumble return Touchdown. (Some fans refer the final score to the game as 28-"7", or West Virginia 28 - Referees 7 - Virginia Tech 0)
- 2005 West Virginia 46, No. 19 Louisville 44: West Virginia was down 24-7 late in the fourth quarter, and nobody had picked them to win the game. Adam Bednarik, the then starting quarterback for the Mountaineers, injured his foot late in the fourth, and redshirt freshman Pat White took over on a fourth-and-ten. He, along with RB Steve Slaton, engineered 3 scoring drives for the Mountaineers in the last 7 minutes, tying the game 24-24. In a triple-overtime thriller, the Mountaineers prevent Louisville's two-point conversion try, and win it 46-44.
- 2006 Sugar Bowl, West Virginia 38, Georgia 35: In what is considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of BCS bowl games, West Virginia scored 21 points in the first quarter (and 28 points in the first 20 minutes) to jump ahead early. Steve Slaton, a true freshman running back, won the MVP award and broke Tony Dorsett's Sugar Bowl record of 204 rushing yards. The play of the game was when in the 4th quarter Rich Rodriguez called a fake punt which caught the Bulldogs punting unit off-guard to get the first down and run out the clock to win.
[edit] Gymnastics
- Playing Facility: WVU Coliseum
- Head Coach: Linda Burdette
- Most Victories: 26 in 1992
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
- AIAW Appearances: 1
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2000
- All-Americans: 4
[edit] Notable Gymnasts
- Bill Bonsall first WVU gymnastic coach
- Shari Retton
[edit] Rifle
- Playing Facility: WVU Shell Building
- Head Coach: Marsha Beasley
- Most Victories: 19 in 1964
- NCAA Appearances: 24
- NCAA Team Championships: 13
- National Individual Champions: 20
- NCAA All-Americans: 65
- Olympians: 12
[edit] Notable Riflemen
- Bruce Meredith
- Jack Writer
[edit] Men's Soccer
- Playing Facility: Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
- Head Coach: Marlon LeBlanc
- Most Victories: 15 in 2006
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 9
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2006
- All-Americans: 5
- Mountaineer Professionals: 12
[edit] Notable Men's Soccer Players
- Devon McTavish
- Nick Noble
- Joe Okhakhu
- Aaron Pitchkolan
- Jarrod Smith
[edit] Women's Soccer
- Playing Facility: Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
- Head Coach: Nikki Izzo-Brown
- Most Victories: 18 in 2002
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 7
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2006
- All-Americans: 3
- Academic All-American: 4
- Mountaineer Professionals: 2
[edit] Men's Swimming
- Playing Facility: WVU Natatorium
- Head Coach: Sergio Lopez
- Most Victories: 11 in 1966
- NCAA Qualifiers: 19
- NCAA All-Americans: 2
- Olympians: 1
[edit] Women's Swimming
- Playing Facility: WVU Natatorium
- Head Coach: Sergio Lopez
- Most Victories: 9 in 1990
- NCAA Qualifiers: 9
- NCAA All-Americans: 4
- Olympians: 1
[edit] Notable Women's Swimmers
- Kim Kaufman
[edit] Women's Tennis
- Playing Facility: Mountaineer Tennis Courts
- Head Coach: Marc Walters
- Most Victories: 21 in 1990
[edit] Women's Track
- Head Coach: Jeff Huntoon
- Olympians: 2
- NCAA National Champions: 2
- NCAA All-Americans: 13
[edit] Notable Players
- Connie Ellerbe
[edit] Women's Volleyball
- Playing Facility: WVU Coliseum
- Head Coach: Veronica Hammersmith
- Most Victories: 35 in 1979
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- Last NCAA Appearance: NA
- NIT Appearances: 1
- All-Americans: 0
- All-East: 2
[edit] Wrestling
- Playing Facility: WVU Coliseum
- Head Coach: Craig Turnbull
- Most Victories: 14 in 1976 and 1990
- NCAA Individual Appearances: 67
- Best NCAA Finish: 6th in 1991
- All-Americans: 16
- National Champions: 3
- EWL Champions: 18
[edit] Notable Wrestlers
- Dominic Black
- Scott Collins
- Steve Harrick
- Floyd Schwartzwalder
- Greg Jones
- Vertus Jones
- Brandon Rader
[edit] Pageantry
- Team Colors: Old Gold and Blue
- Fight Song: Hail West Virginia! (Take Me Home, Country Roads is local song)
- Nickname: Mountaineers
- Mascot: The Mountaineer
- Marching Band: Mountaineer Marching Band, known as "The Pride of West Virginia." Well-known for their formation of the West Virginia state outline.
