First Call: How the Big Ten’s decision may impact Pitt, Notre Dame, West Virginia and others
Sometimes this job requires you to act like you have all the answers. All the time. Immediately. Even if you don’t. Saying “I don’t know” feels like a cop-out. But when it comes to asking what the football ripple effects will be from Thursday’s decision by the Big Ten to...
WVU delays start of women’s basketball workouts after 6 positive coronavirus tests
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia women’s basketball program has pushed back the start of its summer workouts by two weeks after six players tested positive for the coronavirus, the school said Thursday. The players who tested positive will enter a 14-day quarantine period along with others who were identified...
5 West Virginia men’s basketball players test positive for covid-19
West Virginia postponed the start of the men’s basketball team’s offseason workouts for two weeks after five players and a staff member tested positive for covid-19. The Mountaineers were scheduled to begin workouts Monday. Those who tested negative can start workouts July 20. The players and staff member who tested...
WVU men’s basketball player tests positive for covid-19
A member of the West Virginia men’s basketball team has tested positive for covid-19 and will be quarantined for 14 days, the West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced. The player was not unidentified. Voluntary workouts for the team’s student-athletes who have tested negative for the virus will begin...
Suspended WVU assistant football coach Koenning apologizes for commentsVideo
Suspended West Virginia defensive coordinator Vic Koenning apologized Wednesday after a player alleged he made a series of insensitive remarks, including against Hispanics. Koenning was placed on administrative leave Tuesday after safety Kerry Martin posted the allegations on his Twitter account about Koenning. “I never intended anything I said or...
WVU football coach Neal Brown faces tough times head-on
These are complicated times for West Virginia coach Neal Brown, but he appears unafraid to confront them. First, two of his players — both asymptomatic — tested positive for the coronavirus, but neither had an opportunity to participate in the voluntary workouts that began earlier this month. Also, people who...
WVU puts defensive coordinator Vic Koenning on leave over claims of inappropriate comments
West Virginia defensive coordinator Vic Koenning was placed on administrative leave Tuesday after sophomore safety Kerry Martin Jr. alleged he mistreated players and made inappropriate comments in their presence. I’ve been contemplating about posting but we need a change in our program. pic.twitter.com/40hZYXjxib— Kerry “KJ” Martin Jr.? (@KMartinJr11) June 23,...
2nd WVU football player tests positive for covid-19
A second West Virginia football player has tested positive for the covid-19 and will enter self-isolation for the next 14 days, the university’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced Saturday. The player was not identified. As part of WVU’s health and safety protocol, contact tracing began and identified additional WVU players...
Pitt, West Virginia ink deal to extend basketball ‘Backyard Brawl’ for 2 more seasons
West Virginia coach and alumnus Bob Huggins called Pitt “our biggest rival.” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said Panthers-Mountaineers is “one of the best (rivalries) in the country.” When hired as WVU athletic director, Shane Lyons reiterated a primary objective was to get Pitt and West Virginia playing again. Soon, despite...
Penn State, West Virginia scheduled to play in December hoops event in Brooklyn
Penn State and West Virginia are among the teams scheduled to play as part of a quadrupleheader basketball event Dec. 13 in Brooklyn. The Nittany Lions are to face Florida, and the Mountaineers are to play Purdue as part of the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at Barclays...
Craig Heyward, Steve Wisniewski among those on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot
Craig Heyward, Steve Wisniewski and Matt Cavanaugh are among those with local ties who were listed on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 that was announced Tuesday. Heyward was a 1987 consensus All-American after leading the nation in rushing yards for Pitt. The late...
West Virginia football player tests positive for covid-19
A West Virginia University football player has tested positive for covid-19. On Monday, the WVU athletic department announced a Mountaineer football player contracted the virus that has kept many athletic teams separated for the past three months. The player will enter a self-isolation period for the next 14 days. Voluntary...
WVU’s Rod Thorn to be inducted into Southern Conference Hall of Fame
There is quite an impressive class entering the Southern Conference Hall of Fame this year. The class, which was announced Wednesday, includes Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame members, a 10-year Major League Baseball veteran, an NCAA pioneer and an NCAA record holder. Members of...
Report: NCAA will vote on early start to summer football drills
College football players recently unleashed from coronavirus quarantine might be permitted to interact with coaches at workouts as early as two days after the Fourth of July. After spring practices were either truncated or canceled by covid-19, the NCAA Division I Oversight Committee is expected to vote June 17 on...
Big 12 revenue distribution down only slightly amid pandemicVideo
The Big 12’s revenue distribution to its 10 schools decreased only slightly because of the pandemic that led to the cancellation of spring sports, though there is still plenty of uncertainty ahead. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Friday at the end of the league’s virtual spring meetings the league was distributing...
West Virginia says football coaches, players can return to campus in June
West Virginia has put a phased plan in motion to bring football back to Morgantown in June. After the Big 12 said last week that student-athletes could return to on-campus facilities June 15 for voluntary workouts, the school followed up Friday with the announcement of its plan for coaches and...
WVU president promises football, ‘even if I have to suit up’Video
West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee vows that the Mountaineers will play football this fall “even if I have to suit up.” “I’ve got my ankles taped, I’m ready to go in,” the 76-year-old Gee joked in an interview with WOWK-TV broadcast this week. “But I think again, with...
WVU coach Neal Brown says Mountaineers ‘looking forward to a date’ for football’s return
Neal Brown remains “cautiously optimistic” that there will be a college football season this fall. What the West Virginia coach would like is a target date to set his sights upon. Not just for himself but especially for Mountaineers players. “It’s important that we play during this fiscal year,” Brown...
Penn State, Duquesne, WVU and Pitt teams recognized for academic progress
A total of 16 collegiate athletic teams from four local universities earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for their Academic Progress Rates (APR). The awards are presented annually by the NCAA to teams finishing among the top 10 percent in their sport over four academic years (2015/16-2018/19). APR is determined by...
WVU athletic director Shane Lyons calls pay cuts, furloughs ‘absolutely necessary’
Facing a projected $5 million budget shortfall after the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the NCAA Tournament and spring sports, West Virginia University on Friday implemented pay cuts and furloughs in its athletic department. WVU athletic director Shane Lyons called the moves “absolutely necessary” in a video conference call Friday afternoon....
West Virginia coach Neal Brown seeks normalcy in abnormal situationVideo
Neal Brown prefers sitting in his office among staff and players, perhaps barking out instructions on the practice field while preparing for the upcoming West Virginia football season. Although that’s impossible under current pandemic conditions, the Mountaineers coach has found positive light in his sixth week of quarantine. Anyone in...
Oscar Tshiebwe says he’s returning to WVU for sophomore season
West Virginia fans received good news that had been expected Sunday when star forward Oscar Tshiebwe said he plans to return for his sophomore season. Tshiebwe had requested an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee. Tshiebwe, a graduate of Kennedy Catholic, said in a Twitter post it was his...
Imani Christian grad Kenny Robinson acknowledges mistake, ready for NFL
If you didn’t know the story behind the young man, you would think his was just another name flashed across the bottom of the TV screen during the last day of the NFL Draft. But Kenny Robinson’s story is different — sad, embarrassing even. But it’s one he doesn’t run...
Carolina Panthers pick Imani Christian grad Kenny Robinson in 5th round
Kenny Robinson, who grew up in Wilkinsburg and played at Imani Christian Academy, knows a little bit about drafts. He was picked in the fifth round Saturday by the Carolina Panthers (No. 152 overall) after going to the St. Louis Battlehawks last year in the XFL’s first draft. Robinson, 6-foot-2,...
WVU offensive tackle Colton McKivitz goes to 49ers in 5th round
West Virginia offensive tackle Colton McKivitz, a four-year starter for the Mountaineers, joined the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on Saturday as their fifth-round draft choice (No. 153 overall). McKivitz was named third-team All-American and second-team All-Big 12 last season. He started 47 career games, three seasons on the right...
