| West Virginia Mountaineers | |
| University | West Virginia University |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Big East, (Big 12 beginning July 1, 2012) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Oliver Luck |
| Location | Morgantown, WV |
| Varsity teams | 17 |
| Football stadium | Mountaineer Field |
| Basketball arena | WVU Coliseum |
| Baseball stadium | Hawley Field |
| Mascot | The Mountaineer |
| Nickname | Mountaineers |
| Fight song | Hail, West Virginia (official) Take Me Home, Country Roads (unofficial) |
| Colors | Gold and Blue [1]
|
| Homepage | www.msnsportsnet.com |
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. On July 1, 2012 the Mountaineers will switch conferences, moving from the Big East to the Big 12,[2] becoming the conference's easternmost team, and first in the Eastern Time Zone. The school's mascot is known as the Mountaineer. The two major sports at the university are football (played at the Mountaineer Field) and basketball (played at the WVU Coliseum), although many of the other sports have large followings as well. The West Virginia University athletic program also has the honor of being the only school in the nation in 2007 to win a BCS game, a NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament game, and a NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament game.[3]
The fight song for the Mountaineers is "Hail, West Virginia". "Take Me Home, Country Roads", a popular song by John Denver which salutes the state of West Virginia, is also played at many athletic events, including all football and basketball games.
The Mountaineer was adopted in 1890 as the official school mascot and unofficially began appearing at sporting events in 1936.[4] A new Mountaineer is selected each year during the final two men's home basketball games, with the formal title "The Mountaineer of West Virginia University." The new Mountaineer receives a scholarship, a tailor-made buckskin suit with coonskin hat, and a period rifle and powder horn for discharging when appropriate and safe. The mascot travels with most sports teams throughout the academic year. While not required, male mascots traditionally grow a beard. As of 2010-2011, the Mountaineer mascot is portrayed by Brock Burwell. List of Past Mountaineers
The "Flying WV" is the most widely used logo in West Virginia athletics. It debuted in 1980 as a part of a football uniform redesign by Coach Don Nehlen, and was adopted as the official logo for the University in 1983.[5] While the "Flying WV" represents all university entities, unique logos are occasionally used for individual departments. Some examples include the script West Virginia logo for the WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, and the interlocking WV logo used in baseball.[6]
The official fight songs of West Virginia University are "Hail, West Virginia" and "Fight Mountaineers." However, the fan response to John Denver's "Country Roads" has made it the unofficial song of the university and the state of West Virginia. The West Virginia University Alma Mater was composed in 1937, and is sung before every home football game.
The upperclassmen of 1890 selected the official colors of "old gold and blue" from the West Virginia state seal.[4] While the official school colors are old gold and blue, a brighter gold is used in official university logos and merchandise. This change in color scheme is often cited for the lack of a universal standard for colors during 19th century when the university's colors were selected. Additionally, the brighter gold is argued to create a more intimidating environment for sporting events. The university accepts "gold and blue" for the color scheme, but states clearly that the colors are not "blue and gold", to distinguish West Virginia from its rival school the University of Pittsburgh.
The West Virginia University Mountaineer Marching Band, nicknamed "The Pride of West Virginia," is the official marching band of WVU. The 390-member band performs at every home football game and makes several local and national appearances throughout the year. The band was the recipient of the prestigious Sudler Trophy in 1997.
The John Denver song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is traditionally played at all Mountaineer athletic events. In 1980, Denver helped dedicate the new Mountaineer Field, and performed the song as a sing-along with the crowd. It then became a tradition for fans to stay in the stands after every victory to sing Country Roads with the football team.[7]
The Mountaineer mascot carries a period rifle and powder horn for firing a shot to signal the opening of several athletic events. The Mountaineer points the gun into the air with one arm and fires a blank shot, a signal to the crowd to begin cheering at home football and basketball games. The Mountaineer also fires the rifle every time the team scores during football games.
The Pride of West Virginia forms the outline of the state of West Virginia during the pregame show of all home Mountaineer football games. The outline of the state moves down the field during the playing of "Hail West Virginia", and the shape inverts to face the student side of the stadium when the crowd begins the "Let's Go...Mountaineers" chant.
In 1955, Fred Schaus and Alex Mumford devised the idea of rolling out an elaborate gold and blue carpet for Mountaineer basketball players to use when taking the court for pre-game warm-ups. In addition, Mountaineer players warmed up with a special gold and blue basketball. The University continued this tradition until the late 1960s when it died out, but former Mountaineer player Gale Catlett reintroduced the carpet when he returned to West Virginia University in 1978 as head coach of the men's basketball team.
The "Let's Go...Mountaineers" cheer originated at home football games as a competition between opposite sides of the stadium.[4] The student side of the stadium chants "Let's Go...", and the pressbox side responds "Mountaineers". The chant can continue for long periods of time, as each side of the stadium tries to keep the chant from fading. The cheer has spread to other athletic events including basketball and soccer. The "WVU First Down" cheer is used when fans are expecting a first down call during a football game. Prior to the announcement, fans put their arms in the air and yell while waiting for the call. After the announcement, the fans lower and raise their arms three times while simultaneously yelling the initials "WVU". Then, the fans clap and signal to the end zone while cheering "first down!"
In a state that lacks professional sports franchises, the citizens of West Virginia passionately support West Virginia University and its athletics teams.[8] West Virginia fans are nationally known for following their Mountaineers to bowl games and games throughout the country. West Virginia games also have received high TV ratings throughout the years. Men's basketball head coach Bob Huggins, a former Mountaineer basketball player who was born in Morgantown, stated that the "strong bond between the university and the people of West Virginia" is a relationship that is difficult for non-natives to understand.[8] Former basketball player Da'Sean Butler cited the fan support as a factor in his decision to play for WVU, saying "everybody loves our school to death" in reference to the fan base in West Virginia.[9]
West Virginia fans have also been recognized for their hospitality. In the first football game played by the University of Connecticut following the death of Jasper Howard, a banner displayed at Mountaineer Field in the Connecticut entrance tunnel read "Today we are all Huskies". Connecticut fans described the warmth of the environment as impressive, citing the number of WVU fans who offered condolences.[10] In a letter to WVU, then UConn head football coach Randy Edsall wrote:
"The response that you gave our team before and after the game was tremendous and greatly appreciated. The pregame moment of silence and team handshake was the most moving experience I have ever had in my 29 years of coaching football." [11]
The Mountaineer Maniacs is the largest student-run organization on campus, and the official WVU student section for all athletic events. The group was founded to promote sportsmanship, increase athletic team awareness, and preserve Mountaineer traditions.[12]
Some WVU fans, primarily in the student sections, have developed a reputation for unruly behavior, being compared to "soccer hooligans" by GQ magazine.[13][14] At some events, there have been cases of objects thrown onto the field or at opposing teams.[15][16] There were previously also issues with small-scale fires, most notably of couches, being set after games; over 1,100 intentionally-ignited street fires were reported from 1997 to 2003.[13] The tradition of igniting furniture continues to this day, including the celebration after the WVU basketball team won the Big East title. Fires have rarely occurred in response to non-sporting events, such as following the announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed and captured.
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