Mountaineer Nation,

As December 1 rapidly approaches, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the start of the 2017-18 athletic season. A lot of good things are happening inside our department right now.

This fall, the women's soccer team recently wrapped up another successful campaign with their third straight appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 and 18^th straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The volleyball program continues to progress under Coach Reed Sunahara and capped off a successful regular season with a victory over No.14 Kansas, earning the program's first postseason invitation since 1991.

Rifle remains No. 1 in the national polls and has goals set to compete for a 20^th national championship this spring. Cross Country had two runners earn NCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Regional honors and men's soccer had six players named Academic All-Conference.

Our strong start this fall has already carried over into our winter sports with the men's and women's basketball teams ranked in the Top 20. We look forward to more exciting action on the hardwood from both teams in the coming months.

Football wrapped up another winning season on the gridiron, and we are anxious to learn more this weekend about our bowl destination and the exciting matchup that awaits. A special thanks goes out to the 20 seniors who are leading us to our fourth straight bowl appearance and the 36^th in school history.

Bowl support by Mountaineer Nation has always been strong for our football team, and as the bowl pairings start to take shape, I encourage all fans to consider spending some time during the holidays with us at our bowl destination.

Mountaineer Athletic Club members and football season ticket holders recently received priority information recently on bowl game ticket options. A strong early response from the priority mailing will make us as attractive as possible in the eyes of the bowl committees.

There are a lot of quality teams in the Big 12 Conference jockeying for position on Sunday when the bowl invites are extended. For this reason, I urge MAC members and season ticket holders to respond now by requesting their bowl tickets today at WVUGAME.com. Bowl trips are always enjoyable and this team not only deserves, but has earned our support.



Shane Lyons
WVU Director of Athletics