West
Virginia adopted the late John Denver as
one of its own following his May, 1971 release of the hit single
“Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Denver was on hand to dedicate new
Mountaineer Field in 1980, and “Country Roads” has since become a
game-day anthem at Mountaineer Field.
School Fight Song
Play school fight song (MP3 format)
Hail West Virginia!
It's West Virginia, it's West Virginia,
The pride of every Mountaineer,
Come on you old grads, join with us young lads.
It's West Virginia now we cheer!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Now is the time boys to make a big noise.
No matter what the people say,
For there is naught to fear, the gang's all here,
So hail West Virginia, hail.
“The Pride of West Virginia”
Throughout its 100-year history, the Mountaineer Marching Band has
evolved into an active, high-spirited organization with great
tradition. The esprit de corps of the group, its tradition of
excellence in performance, and the enthusiastic audience response to
the sight and sound of the 350-plus member band have made it
recognized throughout the nation as one of America’s truly great
marching bands. West Virginia’s pre-game arrangement has been a
Mountaineer Field fixture for more than 30 years.
The
Formation of the State
The signature formation of “The Pride of West Virginia” is the
creation of the state near the end of “Country Roads.” Football game
days come alive when “The Pride” takes on the shape of West Virginia
during “Hail West Virginia” and marches end zone to end zone to the
delight of Mountaineer fans.
The Flying WV
One of the most popular items to emerge from the Don Nehlen era of
Mountaineer football was the “Flying WV”, which has since been
adopted by the University as the school’s official logo. It is
copyrighted and manufacturers must obtain a license for its use.
Since its creation more than 20 years ago, the “Flying WV” has
become one of the most recognizable marks in college sports.
The Backyard Brawl
West Virginia’s annual football and basketball games with Pitt are
referred to as “The Backyard Brawl” because of the close proximity
of the two schools. West Virginia University and the University of
Pittsburgh have played 99 times in football,
making it the nation’s 14th oldest football rivalry. The two
basketball teams have played nearly 175 times times since 1904.
Roll out the carpet!
One of college basketball’s great traditions was introduced by Fred
Schaus at West Virginia University in 1955. It was during that time
that Schaus and Mountaineer supporter Alex Mumford came up with the
idea of rolling out an elaborate gold and blue carpet for the
Mountaineer players to run out on during pregame warm-ups. In
addition, Mountaineer players warmed up with a special gold and blue
painted basketball.
West Virginia University continued
this tradition during the George King era until it was interrupted
in the late 1960s. Former Mountaineer player Gale Catlett
reintroduced the carpet when he returned to West Virginia in 1978,
and it has since become the highlight of pregame introductions at
the WVU Coliseum.
