West Virginia

Rich Rodriguez says he 'should've never left' West Virginia, has quip for heckler at intro presser

Published

6 months ago

December 13, 2024

Rich Rodriguez says he 'should've never left' West Virginia, has quip for heckler at intro presser

If West Virginia had any hard feelings toward Rich Rodriguez for leaving 17 years ago, they weren’t apparent at the press conference introducing his return to Morgantown on Friday.

Well, one fan apparently wasn’t enthused about Rodriguez coming back to coach the Mountaineers. But the heckler was quickly shouted down by the fans in attendance and eventually escorted out of the WVU Coliseum.

Rodriguez had a quick quip for the heckler, winning over the crowd that was already enthusiastic about his return.

“OK, any other Pitt fans can leave the building,” said Rodriguez, who previously coached West Virginia from 2001-07 before leaving for Michigan.

The response from fans — and insulting chants toward rival Pitt — made Rodriguez emotional as he began his remarks.

“This is really surreal,” he said. “I never should have left.”

Rodriguez signed a five-year contract with WVU and will be paid an average annual salary of $3.75 million, according to ESPN. The value of the deal could increase with incentives tied to win totals and other benchmarks.

During his first stint in Morgantown, Rodriguez went 60–26 with five bowl appearances including a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia after the 2005 season. WVU went 32–5 in Rodriguez’s last three seasons and oversaw a revolutionary spread-option offense. Most memorably, the Mountaineers were in position for the BCS championship game in 2007 but lost 13–9 to Pitt.

Rodriguez left before WVU played in the Fiesta Bowl, where they defeated Oklahoma under interim coach Bill Stewart. Stewart was eventually named the permanent head coach.

That final loss to Pitt apparently stuck with Rodriguez, who made a point of taking a few jabs at the Panthers during his press conference and an interview with WVU alum Pat McAfee.

“I probably misspoke a little bit earlier when I said the two worst four-letter words were ‘soft’ and ‘lazy,’” Rodriguez said when describing the kinds of players he did not want at West Virginia. “I left out Pitt.”

West Virginia and Pitt play next season on Sept. 13.

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West Virginia

ESPN FPI Gives West Virginia a Staggering 0.8% Playoff Chance

Published

2 hours ago

June 7, 2025

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ESPN FPI Gives West Virginia a Staggering 0.8% Playoff Chance

Winning 10+ games in year one of Rich Rodriguez’s return to West Virginia is a tall task, especially given the schedule the Mountaineers have. Unfortunately, that’s likely the ballpark WVU needs to be in if they want an at-large bid in the College Football Playoff, assuming they don’t win the Big 12.

The chances of that happening? Slim to none, according to the ESPN Football Power Index (FPI).

West Virginia has just a 0.8% chance of making the playoffs, which is toward the bottom among Power Four teams. Only Mississippi State, Arizona, Stanford, Syracuse, Houston, Northwestern, Wake Forest, and Purdue have worse odds of making it.

Anyone who is expecting WVU to crash the college football playoff party this season may want to rethink their assessment of the team. Yes, Curt Cignetti did it in year one at Indiana a year ago, but he had the benefit of playing just one ranked opponent all season. Rich Rod won’t get that lucky.

Rodriguez knows it’ll be an uphill battle in 2025, but that doesn’t mean he’s altered his main goals.

“If we’re not in contention in November for the conference championship, then I think it’s not a good year,” he told the ESPN College GameDay crew. “Every year, our first goal is to win the league. Now, if you win the league, you’re going to be in the playoff. I saw Arizona State do it last year, and I know it was in Kenny (Dillingham’s) second year, but they went from down the bottom to the top. Now, can we do that in one year, not two years? That’s a harder ask to do, but certainly that’ll be our focus.”

West Virginia

Air quality alert lifted in West Virginia

Published

21 hours ago

June 6, 2025

Press Room

Air quality alert lifted in West Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Wildfires burning in Canada affected the air quality in much of the United States.

“Until 2023, wildfires hadn’t been as much of an issue in West Virginia or even generally on the East Coast as we’re seeing now in 2025,” said Renu Chakrabarty, assistant director, air monitoring & air toxics for the West Virginia EPA. “We’re seeing another round of wildfires coming through and impacts from wildfires.”

Smoke made its way into our region — triggering an air quality alert on Thursday.

“We just wanted to make sure that folks who may have some health sensitivities–children, elderly, heart or lung conditions — were aware of what was going on so they could take precautions if they thought it was warranted,” Chakrabarty said.

The EPA has different time averaging periods for different pollutants.

In this case, particulate matter is what led to the haze.

The Air Quality Index monitored by the EPA looks at the hourly data for the pollutant.

“We were concerned that some of the hours in the day maybe go over the standard on an hourly basis,” Chakrabarty said. “We actually did not see that. We did come close.”

The West Virginia APA also checks data and forecasts from the National Weather Service to better inform what they see on their own monitors.

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West Virginia

West Virginia students cheer for Cystic Fibrosis awareness

Published

2 days ago

June 5, 2025

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West Virginia students cheer for Cystic Fibrosis awareness

ST. MARYS, W.Va. (WTAP) – The Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis football game is almost here.

Six West Virginia cheerleaders were picked to cheer during the football game.

These girls are representing St. Marys High School, Tyler Consolidated High School, and Wirt County High School.

They have all graduated and will be cheering for the last time.

Savannah Keife from St. Marys said she is excited to cheer at the game.

“Being able to cheer one last time. It’s just I didn’t think it would happen, so I’m so very glad it’s happening, and I think everyone should come out Friday night and at least come here to support, like the football players and the cheerleaders and everyone’s who got everyone who is battling cystic fibrosis. And if you can’t do anything else, at least be here to support the game,” said Keife.

Their coach, Becca Mathews, is familiar with Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis.

She performed as a cheerleader in 2019 with girls from West Virginia and Ohio.

Mathews said it will be a night to remember.

“It’s a great feeling. I personally cheered this event myself and it’s one of my favorite memories as a cheerleader, so I know it’s gonna be one of theirs. It’s a great feeling just coming out one last time and just to coach it is amazing,” said Mathews.

All of the proceeds from the game will go towards Cystic Fibrosis research and helping local families affected by Cystic Fibrosis.

Ava Mongold from Tyler Consolidated said she is excited to support a good cause.

“It’s just an honor, honestly, all of us being here and supporting it. It just makes me feel good. Makes others with this diagnosis probably feel good too, and just help everyone out,” said Mongold.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at St. Marys High School’s football stadium.

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