Associated Press

Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-7) at West Virginia Mountaineers (7-2, 1-0 Big 12)

Morgantown, West Virginia; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mountaineers -25; over/under is 135.5

BOTTOM LINE: Bethune-Cookman comes into the matchup with West Virginia as losers of three straight games.

The Mountaineers are 5-0 on their home court. West Virginia is 7-1 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.1 turnovers per game.

The Wildcats are 0-6 on the road. Bethune-Cookman has a 2-6 record in games decided by 10 or more points.

West Virginia scores 77.9 points per game, 3.9 more points than the 74.0 Bethune-Cookman gives up. Bethune-Cookman has shot at a 39.7% clip from the field this season, 1.3 percentage points higher than the 38.4% shooting opponents of West Virginia have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tucker DeVries averages 3.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Mountaineers, scoring 14.9 points while shooting 47.3% from beyond the arc.

Brayon Freeman is averaging 16.2 points for the Wildcats.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Teachers in Harrisonburg, Virginia, do not have to ask for or use students’ preferred pronouns after a lawsuit settlement Tuesday.

Deborah Figliola, Kristine Marsh and Laura Nelson filed a suit in June 2022 against the Harrisonburg City School Board saying their rights protected in the Commonwealth’s Free Speech Clause and the Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act had been violated by compelling speech to which they object.

The lawsuit stemmed from the teachers having to undergo training to ensure they were compliant with the school board’s nondiscrimination policy, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the teachers. The training entailed requiring teachers to ask a student’s “preferred” name and pronouns and to always use them. 

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The teachers said they were also expected to do so without notifying parents or seeking their consent. The Harrisonburg City Public Schools’ nondiscrimination policy threatened discipline against teachers and even “termination” for noncompliance.

The two sides reached an agreement when the school board granted the teachers religious accommodations Tuesday. 

In the settlement, the school board maintained that they do not require staff to ask for or use students’ preferred names and pronouns and “[do] not support hiding or withholding information from parents.” The board agreed to continue to inform staff about religious accommodations that are available.

ADF senior counsel Kate Anderson, director of the ADF Center for Parental Rights, said that all teachers are protected “under the Constitution to do their job in alignment with their religious beliefs, including how they refer to their students and the vital information they share with parents.”

“We are pleased to favorably resolve this case on behalf of our clients and ensure that the Harrisonburg City School Board will respect every teacher’s right to speak consistent with her faith,” Anderson said.

HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS FROM THE NORTH FLOCK TO SOUTHERN UNIVERSITIES: REPORT

The Alliance Defending Freedom scored a legal victory in the Rockingham County Circuit Court Tuesday, representing Christian teachers who challenged the Harrisonburg City Public Schools. 

The Harrisonburg City Public School Board said in a statement, “The Harrisonburg City School Division is pleased to see this litigation resolved. From the start, our focus has been to support all students and employees with dignity and respect. Before the litigation began, we were open to collaborating on accommodations for diverse needs, as evidenced by our correspondence with ADF in early 2022.

“Our commitment is reflected in School Board policies and actions, including the adoption of a formal religious accommodations policy (Policy 682) over a year ago and the implementation of training for employees this August. These efforts demonstrate our dedication to fostering a respectful and inclusive environment.

“This case concludes because the processes we have always encouraged—both informal and formal—proved effective. We are gratified by this resolution and wish it could have been accomplished without litigation.”

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ADF won a similar case in November involving a Virginia school board firing a teacher for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns.

An ADF attorney told Fox News Digital at the time that the settlement had “seismic implications.”

“It protects all teachers in Virginia and its rationale should guide other courts addressing similar issues,” ADF president and CEO Kristen Waggoner said.

The Virginia-based West Point School Board agreed to pay a former high school teacher, Peter Vlaming, $575,000 in damages and attorney’s fees after he refused to call a transgender student by their preferred pronouns.

A heckler tried to steal the show during Rich Rodriguez’s introductory press conference on Friday, as he made his triumphant return to West Virginia.

As the spectator began to shout at Rodriguez as he took the podium, fans in attendance booed and clamored for the unruly guest to be tossed. Police quickly got involved and escorted the heckler out, to a chorus of cheers from the massive group of Mountaineers faithful. Check out the video below of the incident, shared to X by Inside The Dome.

After the spectator was removed, Rodriguez had the perfect response to make light of the situation: “Okay, any other Pitt fans can leave the building,” he proclaimed, as the crowd went wild.

It was certainly an electric start to the highly-anticipated press conference. It’s not the first time West Virginia fans have heard Rodriguez speak, as he joined them via satellite during a live rendition of The Pat McAfee Show, but the energy in the building is on another level regardless.

To add some more juice for a couple of West Virginia’s rivals, Rodriguez also called out both Pitt and Marshall during his aforementioned appearance on McAfee’s show, firing a couple jabs before his introduction got underway.

Earlier in his interview, Rodriguez pointed out two characteristics he doesn’t want in players. He’s not looking for “soft” or “lazy” – but he later remembered one more four-letter word he forgot: “I probably misspoke a little bit earlier when I said the two worst four-letter words were soft and lazy,” Rodriguez said. “I left out Pitt.”

Then, McAfee’s co-host Boston Connor asked if the game between West Virginia and Marshall could return given the Thundering Herd’s recent hire of Tony Gibson, who worked for Rodriguez at WVU, Michigan and Arizona.

Although Rodriguez acknowledged his relationship with Gibson, he also summed up his thoughts on Marshall perfectly. It’s safe to say, he’s not worrying about the Thundering Herd.

“Gibby is a great friend of mine,” Rodriguez said. “Was a great staff member, and we’re still very dear friends. [If] you think I have spent one second thinking about Marshall, you’re wrong.”

Alas, Rich Rodriguez is hitting all the right beats during his big day in Morgantown on Friday. Time will tell if it translates to wins on the football field, but the confidence in palpable for the Mountaineers at the moment.

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.