A Great Time to Be a Mountaineer
November 08, 2005 10:43 AM | General
November 8, 2005
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| Beilein |
Sometime last weekend, between another Marcus Vick fumble and an ESPN flash bulletin on Terrell Owens, a thought crossed my mind: It truly is a great time to be a Mountaineer. That’s right, not a great day or great night, but an all-encompassing-sunup-to-sundown “great time” to be a Mountaineer.
Five years ago the West Virginia University athletic department faced a unique situation -- a situation that no other Division I school in the entire country had to encounter. WVU was placed into this exclusive club because it had been the only major college program in the nation that had the same head football and basketball coach on the job throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It was a feat that likely will never be accomplished again in today’s world of college athletics.
The successful reigns of Don Nehlen and Gale Catlett, two Hall of Fame coaches, were about to come to an end. The decisions on who would replace them would have long-lasting ramifications, not only within the athletic department, but to the overall perception of the University both in-state and nationally.
Five years later, we can now look back and say the decisions to hire Rich Rodriguez and John Beilein were exactly what the programs and university needed. These two coaches have rejuvenated both programs to a level never seen before in school history. When was the last time both teams were nationally ranked in-season at the same time? The answer is never.
Fred Schaus had the WVU basketball program near the top of the national rankings in the late 1950s, and Art Lewis led the Mountaineer football program to the 1954 Sugar Bowl, but their great success never quite intersected the way Rich Rodriguez’ and John Beilein’s programs have today.
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| Rodriguez |
As of this writing, West Virginia University is one of three schools in the nation currently rated in the top 15 in both football and basketball. That’s right – JUST ONE OF THREE SCHOOLS. Texas and Alabama are the other two members of that distinguished group. This is not to say that there haven’t been better football or basketball teams at WVU, but it does say there hasn’t been a combination the likes of which we are seeing right now.
At some point the football and basketball teams will lose, that’s life in the real world. But the point is that West Virginia University’s football and basketball programs are resting on a very solid foundation and as a result the future continues to remain bright.
Some random thoughts:
Don’t forget to tune in the MSN broadcast tomorrow night and for those listening outside of West Virginia on Sirius Satellite Radio, look for channel 126 to access the game. Have a great week!
