West Virginia University
|
|
Mountaineer.jpg
West Virginia Universty is an institute of higher learning based in Morgantown, West Virginia, with off-site campuses in Parkersburg, Montgomery, Keyser and Charleston, West Virginia. WVU was founded in 1867 as a land-grant university with the help of the Morrill Act, and was originally called the "Agricultural College of West Virginia." The university gained its current name in 1868. Enrollment for Fall semester of 2002 was 23,492 but has gone up by several thousand since then.
The university offers 170 different majors in 13 different colleges. These colleges are the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, & Consumer Sciences; the College of Business & Economics, the College of Creative Arts; the School of Dentistry; the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences; the School of Social Work & Public Administration; the College of Engineering & Mineral Resources, the Office of Academic Affairs; the College of Law; the College of Human Resources & Education; the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism; the School of Physical Education; the School of Medicine; the School of Nursing; and the School of Pharmacy. Some of these programs, especially Nursing, Pharmacy, Engineering and Education, have almost 100% job placement rates after graduation. WVU also has one of the most respected forensic science programs in the United States.
Since the school's formation, 25 Rhodes Scholars, including current WVU president David Hardesty, have been chosen from WVU. There are only 6 other public universities with more. The university has also produced 24 Goldwater Scholars, 15 Truman Scholars, 5 members of USA Today's All-USA College Academic First Team, and 2 Udall Scholarship winners.
| Contents |
PRT System
Because the Morgantown campus is split into two campuses (Downtown and Evansdale) one of the major icons at the school is a Personal rapid transit system to link its the two.
In 1974, Boeing began construction of the first major PRT project in Morgantown, West Virginia, designed to shuttle students between WVU's two campuses. The original WVU campus, located in the valley of the Monongahela River was already fully developed. Because it proved impossible to develop any more valley land, WVU expanded to a separate parcel a couple of miles away on the other side of a ridge.
The WVU PRT has been in continuous operation since 1975, with about 15,000 riders per day (as of 2003). The system uses about 70 vehicles, with an advertised capacity of 20 people each (although the real number is more like 15). The system has five stations (Walnut, Beechurst, Engineering, Towers, and Medical) and a 4 mile (6 km) track. The vehicles are rubber-tired and run along electrified rails. Steam heating keeps the elevated guideway free of snow and ice. Most students habitually use it. This system was not sold to other sites because the heated track has proven too expensive. The system will occasionally break down, yet it is usually only for about ten minutes. Otherwise, it is reliable to transportation students between Downtown and Evansdale.
Athletics
The school's sports teams are called the Mountaineers and compete in the Big East Conference, a member of the NCAA's Division I. The school has teams in a variety of sports and has won several national championships.
Mountaineer sports were started in 1891 when a group of students organized the first football game at the school in a cow pasture. Since then, each sport at WVU has adhered to NCAA rules and regulations. See below for a list of sports offered as well as other information (as of 2004):
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
Mens Basketball
- Playing Facility: WVU Coliseum
- Head Coach: John Beilein
- Most Victories: 29 in 1959
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 19
- NIT Appearances: 14
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2005
- All-Americans: 13
- Drafted Players: 28
- Players In The NBA: 11
Womens 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
Cross Country
- Head Coach: Jeff Huntoon
- NCAA Appearances: 2
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2000
- All-Americans: 2
Football
- Playing Facility: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
- Head Coach: Rich Rodriguez
- Most Victories: 11 in 1988 and 1993
- Bowl Game Appearances: 25
- Last Bowl Game Appearance: 2005 Gator Bowl
- All-Americans: 9
- Drafted Players: 150
- Players Currently In The NFL: 19
- All-Time NFL Players: 132
- Hall of Famers: 2
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
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
Mens Soccer
- Playing Facility: Mountaineer Soccer Complex
- Head Coach: Mike Seabolt
- Most Victories: 13 in 1966 and 1999
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 7
- Last NCAA Appearance: 1992
- All-Americans: 4
- Mountaineer Professionals: 12
Womens Soccer
- Playing Facility: Mountaineer Soccer Complex
- Head Coach: Nikki Izzo-Brown
- Most Victories: 18 in 2002
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4
- Last NCAA Appearance: 2003
- All-Americans: 3
- Academic All-American: 4
- Mountaineer Professionals: 2
Mens Swimming
- Playing Facility: WVU Natatorium
- Head Coach: Sergio Lopez
- Most Victories: 11 in 1966
- NCAA Qualifiers: 19
- NCAA All-Americans: 2
- Olympians: 1
Womens Swimming
- Playing Facility: WVU Natatorium
- Head Coach: Sergio Lopez
- Most Victories: 9 in 1990
- NCAA Qualifiers: 9
- NCAA All-Americans: 4
- Olympians: 1
Womens Tennis
- Playing Facility: Mountaineer Tennis Courts
- Head Coach: Dan Silverstein
- Most Victories: 21 in 1990
Womens Track
- Head Coach: Jeff Huntoon
- Olympians: 2
- NCAA National Champions: 2
- NCAA All-Americans: 13
Womens 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
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
School Traditions
One of the reasons WVU has such a strong history in athletics is perhaps because of the many traditions at the university. Several of the school traditions and icons are listed below:
Flying WV
Goldoutline115w.gif
The logo of the university is known as the "Flying WV," which is one of the most popular items to emerge from the Don Nehlen era of Mountaineer football. The logo was quickly adopted as the official university logo.
The Mountaineer
The Mountaineer was adopted in 1890 as the official school mascot. A new Mountaineer is selected every year by the school's senior honorary, The Mountain. The new Mountaineer is given a custom tailored outfit and carries a traditional rifle which is fired to mark the opening of sporting events. Male Mountaineers traditionally grow a beard and wear a coonskin cap.
Take Me Home, Country Roads
The John Denver song Take Me Home, Country Roads, which has become a de facto anthem for the state, has also been adopted by WVU as its unofficial theme song. It is commonly played at most home sporting events as well as other occasions on campus. John Denver himself showed up in 1980 to help dedicate the new Mountaineer Field, now called Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium, and lead the crowd in Country Roads. It is now part of a new tradition: After a victory, fans are encouraged to stay in the stands and sing "Country Roads" along with the football team.
The Pride of West Virginia
PrideofWestVirginia.jpg
The Pride of West Virginia is the marching band at WVU. It performs at the start of every football game and makes many other appearances on campus throughout the year. While on the field, they often form the shape of the state of West Virginia as well as the Flying WV. (see picture to right)
Notable Alumni
- Ret. Gen. Earl E. Anderson - Marine Corp General
- Allen Appel - writer
- Phillip D. Beall - WWII & Korean War soldier & winner of a Silver Star, two Purple Hearts, and two Bronze Stars
- Terry Bowden - ABC Television Sports Analyst
- Tommy Bowden - Head Coach at Clemson University
- Charles Frederick Tucker Brooke - Shakespeare scholar and professor at Yale, Cornell & the University of London.
- Marc Bulger - St. Louis Rams Quarterback
- Gale Catlett - winningest coach in WVU basketball history
- John Chambers - President and CEO of Cisco Systems
- Jay Chattaway - a Star Trek music score writer
- Stephen Coonts - New York Times bestselling author
- William Harrison Courtney - special assistant to President Clinton
- Brig. Gen. Frank Kendall Everest, Jr - test pilot and pioneer of rocket aircraft
- Gen. Robert Fogelsong - US Air Force HQ vice chief of staff
- Bucky Guth - Minnesota Twins player
- Kathleen M. Hawk - Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Jeff Hostetler - Washington Redskins & New York Giants Quarterback
- Sen. Harley M. Kilgore - chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on War Mobilization during World War II
- Fuzzy Knight - writer of the WVU Fight Song and Country Western Actor
- Don Knotts - television and movie actor
- Blanche Lazzell - artist
- William Leonhart - former ambassador to Tanzania and Yugoslavia
- Jon McBride - astronaut
- Herb Morrison - announcer for Chicago station WLS who described the Hindenburg German airship bursting into flames.
- Todd Sauerbrun-NFL punter
- Mike Vanderjagt - Indianapolis Colts placekicker
- Jerome Alan "Jerry" West - WVU & NBA basketball player
WVU students staged a riot against the National Guard in the spring of 1970, shortly after the shootings at Kent State.
External links
- Official school site (http://www.wvu.edu)
- History of West Virginia University web site (http://www.as.wvu.edu/cwc/WVU-history-bhowe.html)
- Official WVU athletics site (http://www.msnsportsnet.com)
- The Daily Athanaeum (http://www.da.wvu.edu)