West Virginia

High Schoolers Prepare for 2024 WV Academic Showdown

Published

2 years ago

January 5, 2024

High Schoolers Prepare for 2024 WV Academic Showdown

Charleston, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) are pleased to announce details for the third annual Academic Showdown (Showdown). This year, 90 teams from 50 high schools representing 31 counties are registered to participate. The Showdown is an academic head-to-head competition testing students’ knowledge in subject areas including math, history, sports, fine arts and more.

Regional partners will host local double elimination competitions during the next three months. The Showdown is among the largest high school academic match-ups in the country using questions from the National Academic Quiz Tournament. The top two teams from each region will advance to the finale at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston on Tues., April 23, 2024.

The field of competitors continues to increase exponentially with 21 teams in the first year, 71 teams in year two and 90 teams this year. Students in grades 9 -12 may participate, and schools may enter up to two teams to compete. Specific regional information will be released prior to each event.

Marshall University Regional, Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center

Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, 9 a.m.

Round 1	Team Name	vs.	Team Name
1	Huntington HS Team 1	vs.	Point Pleasant HS Team 1
2	Spring Valley HS Team 1	vs.	Winfield HS Team 2
3	Spring Valley HS Team 2	vs.	Wahama HS Team 1
4	Hurricane HS Team 2	vs.	Wayne HS Team 2
5	Wayne HS Team 1	vs.	Point Pleasant HS Team 2
6	Winfield HS Team 1	vs.	Huntington HS Team 2

Shepherd University Regional

Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, 9 a.m.

Round 1	Team Name	vs.	Team Name
1	Frankfort HS Team 1	vs.	Musselman HS
2	Frankfort HS Team 2	vs.	Berkeley Springs HS Team 2
3	Petersburg HS	vs.	Hampshire HS Team 2
4	Spring Mills HS Team 2	vs.	Berkeley Springs HS Team 1

West Virginia University Regional

Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, 9 a.m.

Round 1

Team Name	vs.	Team Name	Column 4 Value
1	John Marshall HS	vs.	Brooke HS Team 2	Column 4 Value 2
2	Cameron HS Team 2	vs.	University HS Team 2	Column 4 Value 3
3	Morgantown HS Team 1	vs.	University HS Team 1	Column 4 Value 4
4	Cameron HS Team 1	vs.	Brooke HS Team 1	Column 4 Value 5

West Virginia State University Regional

Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, 9 a.m.

Round 1	Team Name	vs.	Team Name
1	Poca HS Team 1	vs.	George Washington HS Team 1
2	Ripley HS Team 2	vs.	Charleston Catholic HS Team 1
3	Charleston Catholic HS Team 2	vs.	Ripley HS Team 1
4	George Washington HS Team 2	vs.	Saint Albans HS
5	Buffalo HS	vs.	Sissonville HS Team 2

Fairmont State University Regional

Friday, March 8, 2024, 9 a.m.

Round 1	Team Name	vs.	Team Name
1	Weir HS Team 1	vs.	Williamstown HS Team 2
2	Weir HS Team 2	vs.	Bridgeport HS Team 2
3	Williamstown HS Team 1	vs.	Paden City HS Team 1
4	Liberty HS Team 2	vs.	Lewis County HS Team 2
5	Liberty HS Team 1	vs.	Paden City HS Team 2
6	Grafton HS Team 1	vs.	Lewis County HS Team 1
7	Doddridge County HS	vs.	Grafton HS Team 2

Concord University Regional

Saturday, March 16, 2024, 9 a.m.

Round 1	Team Name	vs.	Team Name
1	PikeView HS Team 1	vs.	James Monroe HS Team 2
2	James Monroe HS Team 1	vs.	Greenbrier West HS Team 2
3	Greenbrier West HS Team 1	vs.	Greenbrier East HS Team 2
4	PikeView HS Team 2	vs.	Bluefield HS
5	Mingo Central HS Team 1	vs.	Summers Co. HS

Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College/Logan Regional

Round 1	Team Name	vs.	Team Name
1	Scott HS Team 2	vs.	Sherman HS Team 1
2	Westside HS Team 1	vs.	Shady Spring HS Team 2
3	Wyoming East HS Team 2	vs.	Tug Valley HS Team 2
4	Westside HS Team 2	vs.	Wheeling Park HS Team 1
5	Wheeling Park HS Team 2	vs.	Logan HS Team 1
6	Wyoming East HS Team 1	vs.	Logan HS Team2
7	Scott HS Team 1	vs.	Shady Spring HS Team 1

Finale – West Virginia Culture Center, Charleston

Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 9 a.m.

Media

Media may conduct interviews and capture footage before the event from

8 a.m. – 9 a.m. Once the competition begins, video and audio recordings are prohibited to prevent public circulation of questions ahead of other regional competitions. Media may return after each regional competition to interview winning teams.

About Academic Showdown

The Academic Showdown is a partnership between the WVDE, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC), West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.

Learn more about the Academic Showdown by visiting the Academic Showdown page.

Media Contacts:

Christy Day, WVDE Office of Communications, 304-558-2699 or Christy.Day@k12.wv.us

Jessica Tice, WVHEPC Office of Communications, 304-545-9412 or Jessica.Tice@wvhepc.edu.

Round 1	Team Name	vs.	Team Name
1	John Marshall HS	vs.	Brooke HS Team 2
2	Cameron HS Team 2	vs.	University HS Team 2
3	Morgantown HS Team 1	vs.	University HS Team 1
4	Cameron HS Team 1	vs.	Brooke HS Team 1
BYE	Morgantown HS Team 2

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West Virginia

Delegate Larry Kump, master of various catch phrases, has died – WV MetroNews

Published

12 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Delegate Larry Kump of Berkeley County has died, state officials announced. Kump was 78 years old.

Larry Kump

Kump, a Republican, served in the House from 2010 to 2014, again from 2018 to 2020 and finally 2022 to the present. He had announced plans to run again in the coming electoral cycle.

“As a battle-tested and liberty minded Christian and Constitutional Conservative, my consecrated action principles of good governance remains solid and steadfast,” he wrote to supporters in January.

He had been serving in the ongoing legislative session, but had been absent in recent weeks.

The daily prayer in the House of Delegates this past Wednesday included an expression of concern for Kump: “A special prayer for Delegate Larry Kump. Lord, you know where he is in the hospital now, and I pray right now that you would send your angels there to touch him, to be with him.”

Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Kump’s death on social media, calling Kump “a devoted public servant who dedicated many years of his life to improving West Virginia.

“Delegate Kump served with a deep commitment to the principles he believed would strengthen our communities and protect our freedoms.

“On behalf of the First Lady and myself, we extend our condolences to Larry’s family, friends, former colleagues, and all those who had the privilege of knowing and serving alongside him. His legacy of service and his love for our state will never be forgotten.”

Secretary of State Kris Warner also posted condolences to Kump’s family. “Larry was a conservative Christian and a true Mountaineer! He will be sadly missed by his friends and colleagues,” Warner posted.

The West Virginia Democratic Party also put out a statement to offer condolences, saying Kump’s work reflected a lifelong commitment to accountability, public policy, and the effective administration of government.

“Delegate Larry Kump devoted his life to his family, his community, and to his state. He brought experience, independence and thoughtfulness to his role, and he never lost sight of the people he served,” said Mike Pushkin, the Democratic Party chairman who is also a delegate from Kanawha County.

Kump was known for his turns of phrase, for example kicking off his comments on the House floor with “Great googly moogly” for emphasis. He often described his adoration for his “beloved and bodacious wife Cheryl.”

He regularly concluded interactions and written communications this way: “Meanwhile, and for sure and for certain, may God bless you all real good!”

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West Virginia

Vape Safety Act of 2026 passes W.Va. House, tightening oversight and licensing for shops

Published

24 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Vape Safety Act of 2026 passes W.Va. House, tightening oversight and licensing for shops

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — The Vape Safety Act of 2026 passed in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Friday, aiming to crack down on what lead sponsor of the bill Del. David McCormick, R-Monongalia, said are the bad actors in the vape shop world.

“They’re very lightly regulated,” McCormick said. “Here’s something that is becoming a blight on our landscape out here in our neighborhoods and towns. They’re all over the state and they need some oversight.”

McCormick said the bill will also strengthen licensing as to who can run the shops.

A key part of the legislation that passed the House by a vote of 88-5 is an FDA registry, requiring all the products sold in the shops to be approved at the federal level.

“Make sure that something doesn’t have 30 times the nicotine in it that it’s supposed to, which has happened, and get a 12-year-old kid addicted to nicotine,” McCormick. “That’s buying something that looks like Pokémon.”

Cracking down on the marketing strategies vape shops use is also included in the bill. It has gained support from both sides of the aisle.

“You walk into them and they have you know it looks fun and all the flavors and all the things,” Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha said. “So when teens go in there, it’s geared towards teens. So I think some regulation is important.”

Other provisions include vape shops not being allowed within 300 feet of schools, libraries or churches.

“I would deem these things almost attractive nuisance for kids and teenagers,” Lewis said. “What we want to do in this piece of legislation, we want to ultimately, above anything else, is protect our children and to get rid of bad actors to make sure that we know what’s being sold in the shop and we know who’s selling it.”

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West Virginia

BYU Cougars at West Virginia Mountaineers odds, picks and predictions

Published

2 days ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

BYU Cougars at West Virginia Mountaineers odds, picks and predictions

The No. 23 BYU Cougars (20-8, 8-7 Big 12) visit the West Virginia Mountaineers (16-12, 7-8) Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. ET (FOX) tip from WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA basketball odds around the BYU vs. West Virginia odds and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions for the best bets.

BYU has dropped 2 of its last 3 games after falling 97-84 against UCF on Tuesday, failing to cover as a 13.5-point home favorite with the Over (162.5) hitting. F AJ Dybantsa led all scorers with 29 points and G Robert Wright III added 20 as only 3 Cougars players scored in double figures in the upset loss.

West Virginia has dropped 3 games in a row after falling 91-84 in overtime against Oklahoma State on Tuesday, failing to cover as a 1.5-point road underdog with the Over (143.5) hitting. G Honor Huff scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from 3, while the Mountaineers overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to force OT before running out of gas.

– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Watch NCAA basketball on Fubo!

BYU at West Virginia odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated 10:20 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): BYU -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | West Virginia +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
Against the spread (ATS): BYU -1.5 (-115) | West Virginia +1.5 (-105)
Over/Under (O/U): 142.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

BYU at West Virginia picks and predictions

Prediction

BYU 81, West Virginia 74

PASS.

There is better value on the Cougars to cover the spread.

BET BYU -1.5 (-115).

A win all but guarantees a cover for the Cougars in this matchup with such a slim spread. They have covered in 2 of their last 3 and 3 of their last 5, including back-to-back road games.

Neither side has played particularly well recently, with both teams being 4-6 straight up (SU) and 3-7 ATS over their last 10 games. This matchup will give Dybantsa, the nation’s leading scorer (25.1 points per game) who earned USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honors last week, an opportunity to take over the game.

BET OVER 142.5 (-110).

The Mountaineers have scored at least 74 points in 2 of their last 4 games while allowing 67 or more in 3 of their last 5.

The Cougars have hit the Over in 7 of their last 10 games. They have scored 79 or more points in 4 of their last 5, including 90 or more twice in that span. They have scored 82 or more points in 7 of their last 10 and have allowed at least 86 in 6 of their last 9.

For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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