West Virginia Mountaineers

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West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia Mountaineers athletic logo
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.

Contents

[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

Steve Kline
Dustin Nippert
Scott Seabol
Charley Seabright
J.R. House

[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
Gale Catlett, who later became more notable as WVU's coach
Mike Gansey
Johannes Herber
Rod Hundley
Lee Patton
Kevin Pittsnogle
Fred Schaus
Charley Seabright
Rod Thorn
Jerry West
Ron 'Fritz' Williams

[edit] Notable Games

[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

  • Georgann Wells

[edit] Cross Country

Head Coach: Jeff Huntoon
NCAA Appearances: 2
Last NCAA Appearance: 2004
All-Americans: 2

[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: 9
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 started out in 1891-1924 as an Independent. Then 1925-1927 it was in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. But from 1928-1949 it was again an Independent. From 1950-1967 it was in the Southern Conference, but from 1968-1972 it was again an Independent. Finally, from 1973-1977 it was a Division I Independent. Then from 1978-1990 it was a Division I-A Independent, and finally resides from 1991-present 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 a 41-7 blowout by Florida. Both undefeated regular seasons were under their greatest 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.

[edit] Trivia


[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 Governer's Trophy (although this rivalry is newer and fails to carry the same heat as more-established rvialries, especially among out-of-state students)
  • West Virginia vs Louisville
  • 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.
September 2 vs. Marshall 42 10
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
November 25 vs South Florida
December 2 vs Rutgers

[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

Sam Huff
Joe Stydahar

[edit] Notable players

Aaron Beasley
Jim Braxton
Danny Buggs
Avon Cobourne
Mike Compton
Travis Curtis
Barrett Green
Shawn Foreman
Delbert Fowler
Chris Haering
Major Harris
Jeff Hostetler
Chuck Howley
Sam Huff
Brad Hunt
Khori Ivy
James Jett
Brain Jozwiak
Oliver Luck
Rasheed Marshall
Lance Nimmo
Bo Orlando
Solomon Page
Rick Phillips
Reggie Rembert
David Saunders
Charley Seabright
Floyd Schwartzwalder
Steve Slaton
Henry Slay
Fred Smalls
Gary Steills
Darryl Talley
John Thornton
Patrick White
Grant Wiley
Quincy Wilson
Ron Wolfley
Paul Woodside
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

  • 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

[edit] Men's Soccer

Playing Facility: Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
Head Coach: Marlon LeBlanc
Most Victories: 13 in 1966, 1999 and 2005
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 7
Last NCAA Appearance: 2005
All-Americans: 4
Mountaineer Professionals: 12

[edit] Notable Men's Soccer Players

Devon McTavish
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: 6
Last NCAA Appearance: 2005
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] 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] 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
Floyd Schwartzwalder
Greg Jones

[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.

[edit] References

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