The New View | Mitch Vingle

This is for both old and young WVU Mountaineer fans.
It’s for the old that, like me, grew up admiring Jerry West. This is for the young that didn’t have the chance to follow along with his career.
I write because I was out of the country when WVU honored West’s legacy this past Saturday at the Coliseum in Morgantown. It hurt my heart because I so wanted to be at the game to pay my respect. (It hurt even more I missed the Mountaineers pulling off an amazing upset over No. 2 Iowa State.)
What helped warm my heart, though, was athletic director Wren Baker announced West’s No. 44 will be retired in all sports at the university.
Because Baker gets it. He gets what West meant to lifelong Mountaineer fans. He gets what West kept meaning to Mountaineer fans throughout our lives.
See, Jerry never let us down. Ever.
From start to his passing on June 12, 2024, he made us proud.
From his career at East Bank High.
To his amazing career at WVU.
To his amazing career as co-captain of the 1960 U.S. Olympic gold medal team.
To his amazing career with the Los Angeles Lakers.
To his amazing career as an NBA executive – twice as Executive of the Year and eight times as champion.
Whenever you thought he couldn’t deliver another reason to be proud, well, he did. Born in 1938, he was still delivering in 2019 when he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
It’s beyond rare to have a hero that never lets you down, especially in sports. Jerry was my guy as a child, when I watched and, as a 9-year old, read the book “Mr. Clutch: The Jerry West Story” by Bill Libby.
He inspired me. He inspired thousands in West Virginia. Are you kidding? A skinny 6-3 kid from Chelyan could lead WVU to a national championship game and become an NBA star in L.A.? Later, he could make a deal for the draft rights of Kobe Bryant and sign Shaquille O’Neal?
He showed West Virginians what was possible in life. Over and over and over.
He was more than our “favorite son.” He was our beacon of hope. He was a beacon of hope that never forgot his roots.
So I’m sad I missed the celebration. Aside from being my hero, he was always kind to me during my days as a sports columnist.
But I’m happy WVU and Baker understand what West meant to our state. I’m glad they made the grand gesture of retiring his number across all sports.
Because the man was grand indeed.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

If you’re a WVU basketball fan, watching the Mountaineer men (and women) has been a joy this season.
For the most part.
With the program still reeling from the Bob Huggins issues, new coach Darian DeVries pumped life into the team and fans with a stunning win over then-No. 3 Gonzaga and, after a nine-point loss to Louisville, an overtime victory over then-No. 24 Arizona, all in the Bahamas.
WVU also downed Georgetown in the Big 12-Big East Battle before shocking college basketball by going to Allen Fieldhouse and beating Kansas in Lawrence for the first time ever.
Yet there was also that Nov. 15 loss to Pitt. Well, it was more than a loss. It was a 24-point blowout at the Petersen Events Center. Then, in a rematch with Arizona this past Tuesday, Jan. 7, the Wildcats crushed the Mountaineers by 19 in the Coliseum.
Through it all, WVU stands at 11-3 (78.6 winning percentage) despite a brutal schedule that won’t be letting up. That’s terrific. At this point, the Mountaineers are definitely in line for the NCAA tournament.
But I began to wonder after the Arizona game if the blowouts will hurt the team’s resume. The NCAA selection committee uses a number of factors to rank teams for at-large berth and a biggie is the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool). Score differential is a component, although it is capped at 10 points per game. (Overtime games are capped at one point.)
Of course, the committee certainly can check out all the scores.
Anyway, I’m a naturally curious guy and, fortunately, friends with the foremost college basketball sports writer Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News. He’s a Big Ten Network studio analyst. He does NCAA brackets for FoxSports. In sum, he’s the man.
So I put it to him. I know WVU is in great shape re the NCAA tournament. But do the blowouts hurt? His response:
“When you’re processing the number of games the committee does — we’re talking about at least 80 tournament candidates, including those that enter through automatic bids, playing roughly 35 games each — how much of an opportunity is there for them to parse through the scores of individual games?
“All committee members are assigned a specific set of conferences to monitor. So, if that person happened to watch WVU get run out of the gym by Arizona, there might be a slightly negative impression gained that night. But if the Mountaineers are seriously a tournament team by March, as it appears they will be, then by definition there’ll be an overall positive impression of them when the members go into the room to make the selections and seed the bracket.”
He continued.
“One of the apparent secrets of the process is that seedings tend to align more closely with results metrics and quadrant records, which don’t factor in margin of victory, than predictive metrics that incorporate that data. Last year, Auburn was the No. 4 team in predictive metrics but 3-7 against Quad 1 opponents. They were a No. 4 seed. North Carolina had 2 seed numbers in predictive metrics but won 17 games against Quad 1 and 2. They were a No. 1 seed.”
In sum?
“It doesn’t feel good to get blown out, and it’s obviously not wise to make a habit of it, but I do think some who follow the sport get a little too wrapped up in that one factor.”
The quadrant system is the quality of wins and losses organized based on game location and the opponent’s NET ranking. The number of Quadrant 1 wins is incredibly important to the selection committee. So is the number of Quadrant 3-4 losses.
Anyway, thanks to Mike we have a clearer picture. Getting blown out by an opposing team is never good. But if limited, a few can certainly be overcome.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

Most WVU sports fanatics are sharp.
They follow the Mountaineers closely. They follow football, basketball, etc., closely. They get that wins over Kansas, Gonzaga and Arizona, like those posted by WVU this season, are special.
Yet as a former sports writer and columnist, I might have a special appreciation for the accomplishments. You see, I’ve been to Kansas. I’ve been to Gonzaga. I’ve seen intimidation close up.
And that’s why I can tell you unequivocally that what WVU pulled off on New Year’s Eve, beating Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse without Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry, must be the most impressive regular season Mountaineer victory of all time.
I know I wrote something similar last season when a decimated West Virginia team stunned Kansas at the Coliseum.
“If you’re like me you thought, ‘Are you kidding? After the implosion surrounding Bob Huggins’ departure? With a potential Final Four roster, including Tre Mitchell (now at Kentucky), Joe Toussaint (Texas Tech), Jose Perez (Arizona State), Mo Wague (Alabama) and James Okonkwo (North Carolina), shattered? After the earlier suspension of Kerr Kriisa, the health issue of Akok Akok, the late start by RaeQuan Battle and the injury to Jesse Edwards?’”
It was mind-blowing. That was Morgantown though. Winning at the Phog, with the historical setting, with the fans and, yes, with the officials, is akin to conquering Pythagorean theorems and Euclidian geometry. It’s like solving the laws of motion and harnessing electricity.
OK, maybe I’ve gone a BIT too far. But the atmosphere at Kansas, with the students passing beach balls hours before the game, with the “Pay Heed All Who Enter/Beware of the Phog” banner in the north end of the Fieldhouse (and yes, it is a fieldhouse), with Dr. Naismith’s original rules of basketball encased in the arena’s passageway, is something fans, announcers and, again, yes, officials get caught up in. The Mountaineers had been 0-11 vs. Kansas in Lawrence prior to Tuesday. The Jayhawks had won 33 consecutive conference openers. Bill Self’s record at Allen Fieldhouse entering the game was 321-18.
That’s special. WVU historian John Antonik said the win “approaches WVU’s win at Kentucky in the KIT with the late Jerry West on the floor for the Mountaineers.”
The KIT, as it was known back then, was considered college basketball’s premier holiday tournament and getting an invitation from Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp was a big deal. To beat the Wildcats, as WVU did in 1957 at Memorial Coliseum when Jerry West was a sophomore, was a very big deal.
It’s just different winning against those teams. I remember covering WVU and Kentucky in 2008 in Las Vegas over the Thanksgiving holiday. The place was packed with Wildcat fans. To heck with Thanksgiving. For them it was “Go Big Blue.”
I submit WVU’s win at No. 18 UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in 2006 was special. I was there – as was the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden, perhaps the greatest coach of all time. He’d retired, but was watching with interest as Mike Gansey stole the ball and hit two free throws to seal a Mountaineer win with seven seconds left.
Keep in mind, the topic is regular season wins.
The greatest WVU game overall, at least that I’ve seen, is the 2010 NCAA Elite Eight win over a Kentucky team that could have been an NBA all-star team. And there are a ton of others in the tournaments, like the 2005 win over Wake Forest and Chris Paul, the 1998 Jarrod West miracle shot that stunned No. 2 seed Cincinnati – and Huggins. Of course, there was the run to the national championship with West.
Re regular season wins, you could point to Feb. 27, 1983, when WVU beat No. 1 UNLV at the Coliseum. But Jerry Tarkanian’s Runnin’ Rebels had just lost and were only technically No. 1.
After last season’s home win over Kansas, I pointed to the Mountaineers’ victory over No. 8 Florida at the Charleston Civic Center. It was set up as a 2002 homecoming party for St. Albans native and Florida guard Brett Nelson after new Mountaineer coach John Beilein had taken over after a disastrous 8-20 season.
But that was in West Virginia.
James Naismith’s rules weren’t in the Civic Center. There wasn’t a “Phog” hovering. Bill Self wasn’t coaching the other team.
I was blessed to visit many places in my former sports writing career. Gonzaga’s small, 6,000-seat arena may have been the neatest.
But nowhere is as intimidating as Allen Fieldhouse.
Nowhere is as historic.
Just like WVU’s New Year’s Eve victory there.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

When Memphis’ Elijah Herring intercepted a Garrett Greene pass and the Tigers ran out the clock late in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, it was a wrap for the WVU football season.
So (yes, since it’s Christmastime), it’s time to put a bow on both the Mountaineer season and the Neal Brown era.
As for the former WVU coach, well, it was time for a new direction. Every Mountaineer fan could feel it after the regular season finale, a 52-15 blowout at the hands of Texas Tech. It was nice some of the WVU players wore the “Neal Breezy” T-shirts at the bowl in support, but most saw this coming from the Aug. 31 loss to Penn State, the 38-34 loss to Pitt until the very end.
As I’ve told friends, there should be no animosity toward Brown. Great guy. Hard worker. Great with the media. Great representative of the university. It just didn’t work out. End of story.
I remember once talking to Buckhannon native Chris Wallace, who was the general manager of both the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies. He spoke of the carousel of coaches and players on teams. In the end, he said, it’s entertainment. Fans get tired of the same cast. Change is welcomed.
That’s certainly the case here. John Lowe of Gold and Blue Nation pointed out this was the fourth seven-loss season in a six-year span – a first in program history.
And this team? A glance at the stats will tell you all you need to know.
Rushing offense? 27th nationally at 195.1 yards per game.
And it just goes downhill from there.
Passing? No. 87 at 210.3
Overall offense: No. 52.
As for the defense, shield your eyes. In rush defense, WVU was 58th, allowing 144.5 yards a game.
In passing defense, it was No. 125, allowing 270.8 per game. (There are only 134 FBS schools.)
Overall defense? No. 111.
So, yeah, not a pretty package. For me, the highlight of the season was Wyatt Milum’s recognition as one of the nation’s top offensive linemen (and possible first-round NFL draft pick), Greene’s feistiness and, I don’t know, maybe the away beatdown of Oklahoma State and victory at Arizona.
Of course, now there’s a ray of hope. Or, a Rich of hope, if you will. AD Wren Baker went to the Way Back Machine and grabbed Rich Rodriguez, who once brought Mountaineer Nation glory – and a heartbreak like no other.
I was in the middle of the Rich Rod years, covering WVU for the then-Charleston Gazette as a columnist alongside beat writer Dave Hickman. We also broke stories of his not-good departure.
Yet I’m inclined to think the hire was a good one. Probably the best option for Baker. Rich Rod has a “name” a la Bob Huggins back in the day. That worked well for a long time until it didn’t. Also, Rodriguez has support from media mogul Pat McAfee, who has been shining the TV lights on the coach, and Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. The former players all seem on the bandwagon as well.
Now we’ll see if there are some nice recruiting presents to be unwrapped during the holiday season. The hope is all the exposure from McAfee, etc., pays off in the form of elevated recruiting. Forget sugar plums, thoughts of Sugar Bowls are dancing in our heads.
WVU fans are not only filled with the Christmas spirit but, once again, hope. As always, time will tell.
Whatever the case there, though, please have a Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year’s!
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

When I read that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark was stumping for his league’s football champion to receiver a first-round College Football Playoff bye last week, I had to shake my head.
“The committee continues to show time and time again they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” he said.
It smacked of desperation.
As we know now, the champion, Arizona State, did receive the desired bye. But in a college football world now solidly dominated by the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences, you can feel the distress.
“The one thing I am concerned about, candidly, is I need to better understand what the key metrics are being used with the rankings each week,” Yormark said of the CFP. “Strength of schedule was something identified early in the fall as a very, very critically important metric – and I’m not sure that has happened to date.”
He’s a fighter, we know. With a diverse background in sports and entertainment, he single-handedly saved the Big 12 by jumping the line and agreeing to terms on a new media rights deal with ESPN and Fox. His move sunk the Pac-12 and expanded the Big 12 to 16 schools. He’s served up many ideas, like partnering with the WWE, etc.
But Yormark’s biggest challenge, now that the league has been saved, is bolstering the talent within the football league. You watch the SEC. You watch the Big Ten. You watch the Big 12. The last – as well as the ACC – doesn’t compare to the first two across the board.
Yormark has to help. The Big 12 has to stay at least within shouting distance of the Big Two conferences talent-wise. And we all know what that’s going to take: more money.
Thankfully, he’s had a solution in mind for a while now: working with private equity. A firm, for instance, could invest close to $1 billion into the league. The Big 12 needs to stay competitive in the new Name, Image and Likeness world and so far, the talent gap is only widening.
Yormark and the Big 12 need to act now. And now is the time because of the House v. NCAA settlement that opened the door to the influence.
For the first time in history, the NFL has allowed private equity firms to buy into league ownership. Check out the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills.
Now, the Big 12 must jump as it did with the media rights deal. The SEC and Big Ten are already taking 58 percent of the CFP media revenue. It’s time for Yormark and the schools to move.
Of course, there are terms to examine, and risks involved. But Yormak and the schools have to do SOMETHING. It was good to read YahooSports’ Ross Dellenger tweeting on Wednesday, “Sign of the times here in Las Vegas. Big 12 held AD meetings here that featured presentations from several big brands, including Verizon, PayPal and New Era, related to revenue-generating partnerships & commercial deals.”
On the (sort of) flip side, CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello tweeted this on Wednesday:
“NCAA prez Charlie Baker on private equity in college sports: ‘What the schools really have to figure out …: How does that relate to their donor and booster community? Are donors going to write big checks to schools if a piece of that is going to go back to private equity?’”
That reads like hesitation. That reads like an opportunity for the Big 12.
I know from talking to at least one higher-up at WVU there’s hesitation on private equity. But, man, just watch and compare the leagues, look at the NFL drafts, check the top 100, 200, 300 mock drafts to see the disparity in talent.
It’s time for the Big 12 to act. Yes, the other leagues may then act too.
But it certainly wouldn’t hurt to get a head start once again.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

As a West Virginian, I always try to be a friendly, helpful guy. I hold open doors. I say hello on the street. And if you need help moving, hey, I’ll help you find someone.
So, consider this a helping hand for WVU athletic director Wren Baker. He’s tasked with finding the next Mountaineer football coach. And since I spent 38 years covering WVU before joining America’s marketing agency Wheelhouse Creative, I saw what worked and what didn’t regarding the program.
You must learn from the past, right?
So, I put together this de facto blueprint of the perfect WVU candidate/coach for Wren. (You sir are very welcome.)

• Find a coach who can recruit and be a quarterback whisperer. That’s true at any school, but especially WVU. Consider when Don Nehlen jump-started the Mountaineer program: Oliver Luck and Jeff Hostetler, both future NFL QBs. He had Marc Bulger, an NFL quarterback. Bill Stewart and then Dana Holgorsen had success with Geno Smith, now leading the Seattle Seahawks. There was Will Grier. Yet perhaps the most success came from running quarterbacks, Major Harris (national championship game) and even Darren Studstill (who, rotating with Jake Kelchner, led the team to an undefeated regular season) with Nehlen and Pat White (four bowl victories) with Rich Rodriguez.
• This is a MUST. He absolutely, positively must embrace pepperoni rolls, our state food (it really is officially the state food, if you missed the announcement).
• He should have a unique offensive philosophy because of the state’s small recruiting base. Rodriguez offset the disadvantage with the no-huddle, spread offense, born out of Mouse Davis’ Run and Shoot. Dana Holgorsen had early success at WVU with the Air Raid. Just be different.
• Learns how to say the town of “Hurricane” and spell “Colasessano’s.”
• Has adaptability, flexibility. Nehlen had the most success when he moved from drop-back passers Browning Nagle and Mike Timko to Major Harris. The coach and QB both knew how to scramble. Rodriguez flexed by not only using Pat White and Steve Slaton but fullback Owen Schmitt. Bill Stewart and Dana Holgorsen used Tavon Austin as a wide receiver, runner, punt returner, kick returner, you name it. Be flexible, innovative.
• A southern drawl, by the way, is a plus. Just make sure it’s not too southern. (See Bobby Bowden and that hung in effigy ordeal.)
• Ability to spot and develop “projects.” This is huge. Nehlen was the master of that. Consider the paths of players like Bulger, Darryl Talley, Renaldo Turnbull, John Browning, Chris Henry, Anthony Becht, Mike Fox, Mike Compton, John Thornton and Barrett Green. Important: Have the strength to guide and hone unbridled talent like Pac-Man Jones, Jerry Porter, Reggie Rembert and Bruce Irvin.
• Definitely, definitely, definitely know all the words to “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
• Have serious connections and be able to recruit West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. Perhaps NIL and the transfer portal have made that less of a necessity but considering the prices for top-shelf players and WVU’s coffers perhaps not. Prioritizing those areas for young (and junior college) talent more than other Power Four schools will always be a path for the Mountaineers.
• Say “y’all” a lot.
• Know how to find fast guys. See Austin, Tavon and Devine, Noel.
• Have the ability to spell Monongahela and Monongalia and know the difference between the two.
• Be able to spot and secure the line talent that does come through the Mountain State. Signing guys like Rich Braham, Zach Frazier, Dante Stills and Wyatt Milum are top priorities. It’s inexcusable to let a guy like Darnell Wright escape (thanks Dana!) as he did to Tennessee. The man is now starting for the Chicago Bears.
• Have a Walmart Plus membership and learn how to explain West Virginia with a bird flip hand map.
• Little known point of success: Be kicker keen. WVU has had great success with kickers and punters. Kids, look up Todd Sauerbrun. Look up Paul Woodside, Mike Vanderjagt (aka known in NFL lore as that “idiot kicker,” according to Peyton Manning.) Oh, and there was that Pat McAfee guy. (Wonder whatever happened to him…)
• Know that “creek” and “crick” are interchangeable.
• Can sell recruits on the fact they can visit Booger Hole, Left Hand, Looneyville and/or Big Ugly, WV.
• Oh, and understand the real No. 1 selling point of the Mountain State comes down to two words:
Yann dogs.

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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

In this Thanksgiving season, some college athletes have much for which to be thankful.
You see, there’s about to be financial gravy on their plates.
It just may be hard for traditional college sports fans to stomach.
Beginning today, Tuesday, Nov. 26, eight men’s basketball teams will be eligible for a total of $9 million in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money via the Players Era Festival, according to a Daniel Libit story on Yahoo! Sports.
It’s as close to pay-to-play action as we’ve seen, even in the shifting world of NIL collectives and universities.
No. 6 Houston, No. 9 Alabama, No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 21 Creighton, San Diego State, Oregon, Rutgers and Notre Dame play 12 games between today and Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with each school promised $1 million in NIL collective money.
“Everything we do is about delivering value to the players, and our guiding principles continue to be paying the players fair market value for their NIL and creating captivating content for fans,” EverWonder Studios CEO Seth Berger told Libit.
An additional $1 million worth of NIL opportunities will be available to players across all eight schools.
During my time as a sports writer, I covered events in Las Vegas at this time of year. And it seems hard to believe $9 million could be available. But as Sports Business Journal first reported, Players Era enlisted Eli Lilly & Company and Starbucks to serve as presenting sponsors, along with MGM, so apparently, it’s possible. EverWonder, according to its agreements with the schools’ collectives, owes the $1 million within 15 days of the tournament’s conclusion.
You can decide how this hits you. It certainly blurs the lines between NIL and pay-for-play, which remains forbidden by the NCAA.
But if schools like WVU wish to stay relevant and competitive they must not only accept such invitations, but seek them out.
According to writer Jeff Tracy, “the Players Era Festival wants to eventually expand to 18 teams, add a women’s tournament and potentially apply this framework to other sports. In all, they plan to distribute more than $50 million in NIL opportunities over the next three years.”
Again, the NIL game is shifting. Collectives may start moving under universities’ umbrellas. But whatever the case there, schools like WVU must be on top of that NIL game more now than ever.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

I always felt WVU football’s main hurdle to clear was finding top-shelf linemen. It seems the majority are in the SEC or Big Ten.
The Mountaineer program always seemed to find good linebackers (Chuck Howley, Darryl Talley, David Long Jr., Sam Huff), running backs (Steve Slaton, Adrian Murrell, Amos Zereoue), defensive backs (Aaron Beasley, Mike Logan, Pac-Man Jones, Rasul Douglas, Fulton Walker, Jerry Holmes, Bo Orlando, Tom Pridemore, heck, Beanie Bishop!), receivers (Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Danny Buggs), even quarterbacks like Oliver Luck, Jeff Hostetler, Major Harris, Marc Bulger, Geno Smith and Pat White.
But linemen like centers Rich Braham and Mike Compton, guard Bruce Bosley, tackle Brian Jozwiak and, on defense, Mike Fox, David Grant, Gary Stills, Jeff Merrow, Renaldo Turnbull and John Thornton were difficult to find – especially from the base recruiting landscape that’s the state of West Virginia.
But, hey, look at the Mountain State and linemen lately.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans certainly know of Fairmont native and starting center Zach Frazier. It didn’t take the second-round draft pick long to make waves in the Steel City.
And while on the subject of the Steelers, don’t forget about guard Doug Nester, who is stashed on the practice squad. Nester, 6-7, 319 pounds, is from Kenova, W.Va., where he played at Spring Valley High.
On defense, of course, Fairmont native Dante Stills starts at right end for the Arizona Cardinals after his stint at WVU. All he did there was become the all-time leader in tackles for loss.
Don’t forget Martinsburg native Trevon Wesco, who is still hanging on with the Las Vegas Raiders after stints with the New York Jets, Bears and Tennessee Titans. The tight end went to Musselman High before moving to Lackawanna and then WVU.
One of the finest linemen to come out of West Virginia recently was Huntington High’s Darnell Wright. Although WVU’s Neal Brown and staff made a late run at Wright after getting hired, the offensive tackle went to Tennessee and was selected by the Chicago Bears No. 10 overall in 2023.
Also, San Francisco 49ers starting offensive tackle Colton McKivitz is from Union Local, a mere 21 miles from Wheeling.
I could keep going if you want me to get technical. Former North Carolina and three-year NFL guard Landon Turner – and nephew of WVU’s Jim Braxton – was born in Morgantown.
The point is, with advances in weight training and playing opportunities, more and more fine linemen are popping up in the Mountain State.
Which is good news for a WVU program trying to keep up in an increasingly dog-eat-dog college football world.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

I remember it well. As the sports editor and columnist of the Charleston Gazette, I was front and center at that city’s Civic Center on Dec. 3, 2002.
WVU’s men’s basketball team versus No. 8 Florida before 9,626.
There were low expectations for the Mountaineers and new head coach John Beilein – especially after a loss at Duquesne in Game 2.
Yet damned if West Virginia didn’t pull off the upset 68-66. Eighteen days later, it also beat Tennessee.
There was hope.
Unfortunately, WVU was in the rugged Big East at the time and settled for a 14-15 season record, but at least there was that spark, something to grasp after the disastrous 2001-02 season in which the Mountaineers imploded, finishing 8-20.
The situation was as bad – and probably worse – than the collapse of Bob Huggins’ Hall of Fame career in Morgantown. With Huggins, the story was mostly a personal tragedy in nature, albeit one that had far-reaching effects on the WVU program.
In 2002, there was layer upon layer of catastrophe.
The huge get that was Jonathan Hargett – perhaps the most decorated recruit since Jerry West – turned into a nightmare after then-coach Gale Catlett gave him free rein.
There was in-fighting among the team – literally.
WVU lost nine straight games and on Jan. 27, 2002, Catlett left citing health reasons. His nephew Drew Catlett was an interim coach for a stretch.
But the Mountaineers lost 18 of 19 en route to the 8-20 record.
And yet that wasn’t all.
After Catlett left for good, West Virginia AD Ed Pastilong hired Dan Dakich, a former Bobby Knight assistant.
Dakich came and, on an April morning, went. He just left after eight days in Morgantown.
Morgantown was college basketball’s version of ground zero, the surface above an exploded nuclear bomb.
Fortunately, Pastilong rebounded by hiring the respected Beilein from Richmond. Perhaps he had mercy because he went to college in Wheeling. But the hire certainly worked.
With 10 players left on the Mountaineer roster (none that really fit his system at the time), Beilein gave WVU fans hope.
With more of a fatherly, but disciplined, approach, Beilein fashioned respect from a lineup of Drew Schifino, Kevin Pittsnogle, Joe Herbert, etc.
Against Florida, Schifino dogged Brett Nelson, a St. Albans native returning home for what was to be a celebration. Against Tennessee, Pittsnogle banked in a buzzer beater. There was a win at Villanova.
Yes, WVU dropped after its 7-1 start that season. The Big East was incredibly brutal.
But Mountaineer fans saw Beilein’s motion, multiple-cut offense. They saw promise.
And that’s what West Virginia fans are looking for this season with new coach Darian DeVries, formerly of Drake.
Hope. Mountaineer fans need hope.
Are they expecting the Elite Eight, Sweet Sixteen kind of success from DeVries we saw from Beilein? Probably, because we’re fans.
But for now, the desire is to see a spark by building off wins against Robert Morris and UMass, showing disciplined teamwork and energy, and giving reason to believe.
Once again.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.

As the Mountain East Conference assembled for its basketball media day in Wheeling, Chuck McGill’s smile was as wide as his title long.
Associate Commissioner for External Engagement and Communications.
Perhaps it’s because that title is actually SHORTER than his previous title: Associate Director of Athletics for External Engagement and Fan Experience at Marshall University.
Most folks in West Virginia sports circles, however, know Chuck for his fine sports writing at the Charleston Daily Mail and Charleston Gazette-Mail.
Chuck and I worked together briefly in Charleston before my move to Wheelhouse Creative. And as fine as McGill’s writing was, he may have been as well known for his upbeat personality. Folks love being around him.
And now he’s been tasked by MEC Commissioner Reid Amos to help fans enjoy being around the league more.
“I met Reid on Labor Day at the Poky Dot in Fairmont,” McGill said. “I was convinced I wanted to get back into college athletics.”
Chuck has been teaching as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Memphis and has written content for The Topps Company, which deals in sports cards. As many journalists, he jumped from the newspaper business because of the downturn and went to Marshall to work with then-AD Mike Hamrick. When Hamrick stepped down, McGill hung on for six months before moving on.
Now?
“Aside from media relations, I’ve been asked to develop corporate relationships for the league,” McGill said. “I covered WVU and Marshall. I’ve lived in Charleston. I have a lot of contacts.”
The smile then beamed.
“I’m just super stoked about it. I’m really, really excited. I went to our cross country championship at Oglebay and you wouldn’t believe the people there. There must have been 1,000 people involved or watching. They had a musket go off to start.
“I actually started crying because I saw how impactful college athletics still is to so many people. The Division I side has seen so much change. This (Division II) experience felt so pure.”
As for the basketball side, the preseason polls were released. Once again West Liberty is favored on the men’s side with Fairmont State and the University of Charleston next in line. Fairmont is the heavy favorite on the women’s side.
Also, McGill said Amos would like to add another football school to make it an even dozen.
In my eyes, Chuck’s task now is to help bring more fans to the MEC table, to get them to know the teams, to watch the standings, to, hey, get to games. As Amos pointed out, West Liberty’s basketball teams have had national success.
Kim Caldwell (formerly Stephens) led Glenville to the 2021-22 NCAA Division II National Championship before guiding Marshall to a 26-7 record and then jumping to Tennessee where she’s now the head coach.
Of course, former Wheeling standout Haywood Highsmith is now with the Miami Heat and ex-Fairmont State coach Joe Mazzulla just won an NBA title as the head coach of the Boston Celtics. Another former Fairmont coach, Jared Calhoun, was named the head coach of Utah State.
Heady stuff. Now, the trick is to parlay that into more and more success for the MEC, to tap into the local flavor and maybe draw fans somewhat turned off by Division I.
“It’s about getting people to understand the brand,” McGill said. “It’s about getting them to understand how strong we are.
“We have 23 championships. We’re continuing to make the best fan experiences possible, to get as many people involved as possible.”
The DuPont High grad again smiled, knowing the task isn’t small.
“I’ve had 100 things thrown at me,” he said. “I’m trying to grasp it all with this Eastern Kanawha County brain.”
There’s no doubt, though, he’ll be successful. Congrats on the gig, Chuck.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.