Tim Benz: Supreme Court mocks notion of NCAA ‘amateurism;’ now let’s mock goal of ‘fair’ NCAA economics
Pick a topic. Not just sports. Any topic. Now pick a handful of conservative people you know and a handful of liberal people you know and have them discuss. See if you can get all nine or 10 of them to agree. On anything. Let me know how that goes....
Tim Benz: Potential hurdles for 12-team College Football Playoff as 2nd round of approval looms
The recently released plan to incorporate a 12-team College Football Playoff was largely met with applause last week. But it’s still a long way from becoming a reality. Remember, the idea was merely crafted by a CFB playoff subcommittee comprised of Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey,...
WVU will welcome the return of football fans to Milan Puskar Stadium at 100% capacity
In one of the final steps toward the return to normalcy at West Virginia football games, athletic director Shane Lyons said Tuesday that Milan Puskar Stadium will return to 100% fan capacity this season, with full stadium operating procedures, including pregame tailgating in the parking lots. Plus, all West Virginia...
Greensburg native Mark Goetz is WVU’s first All-American golfer
It was a historic day for the West Virginia golf team. That’s because senior and Greensburg native Mark Goetz became the school’s first All-American golfer. Goetz, who just missed qualifying for the NCAA Division I championship, was named an honorable mention All-American by Golfweek. “This is a big moment, not...
West Virginia men’s soccer joining Conference USA
The West Virginia men’s soccer team has a new home. The Mountaineers are joining Conference USA as an affiliate member, starting in the 2022 season. “Conference USA has quickly become a men’s soccer powerhouse, with so many reputable schools that have a strong tradition,” said WVU coach Dan Stratford, who...
Tim Benz: College football playoff expansion idea is good, but don’t go too far
The new college football playoff proposal is a case of a good idea that’s going half a step too far. According to multiple national reports Thursday, the current four-team format would extend to 12 schools. It’d be composed of the six highest-ranked conference champions, followed by the six highest-ranked at-large...
Backyard Brawl with Pitt returns to West Virginia’s basketball schedule
West Virginia’s 2021-22 nonconference basketball schedule features meetings with two former Mountaineers, the return of longtime foes Pitt and Connecticut and a spot in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. WVU will open the regular season Nov. 9 against Oakland at the WVU Coliseum. Three days later, Pitt comes to Morgantown for...
LaVar Arrington, 3 Steelers among Western Pa. stars nominated for College Football Hall of Fame
Nominees for the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame class include several Western Pennsylvania stars with roots in Bethel Park, Slippery Rock and many places in between. Plus, there are three who made their mark with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The ballot was emailed Wednesday to more than 12,000 NFF members...
West Virginia’s Jackson Wolf strikes out 7 in complete game
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jackson Wolf struck out seven in his first career complete game, and No. 8 seed West Virginia beat top-seeded Texas, 5-1, on Wednesday in the Big 12 Tournament. West Virginia (25-25) had just eight conference wins this season, with two coming against Texas to close the regular...
Big 12 revenue lower again in pandemic at $34.5M per schoolVideo
The Big 12 Conference is distributing about $345 million of revenue to its 10 schools, the second year in a row that figure has been lower because of the covid-19 pandemic. Each school, including West Virginia, will get about $34.5 million for the 2020-21 fiscal year, down from $37.7 million...
If WVU can play Penn State, Duquesne, Pitt on consecutive football Saturdays, why not Pitt vs. Duquesne?
A random tweet about West Virginia opening the 2023 football season with consecutive games against Penn State, Duquesne and Pitt raised this question Wednesday afternoon (also on Twitter): Why not Pitt vs. Duquesne in football? Major pats on the back to West Virginia for scheduling the first three games of...
Greensburg native Goetz sets WVU scoring record
Mark Goetz played one of his best rounds in his collegiate career at West Virginia on Tuesday at the NCAA Division I Regional at Noblesville,Ind. The WVU senior and Greensburg native shot a 6-under-par 66, the lowest round ever by a WVU golfer in an NCAA Tournament, during Round 2...
Browns pick WVU linebacker Tony Fields in 5th round
West Virginia linebacker Tony Fields II, who played one season for the Mountaineers after three years at Arizona, was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday by the Cleveland Browns. He was drafted 153rd overall. Fields (6-foot-1, 220 pounds) recorded 88 tackles for the Mountaineers in...
Pitt players eagerly await NFL Draft weekend
Here’s what we know about the NFL Draft, for sure: We don’t know anything, for sure. There was plenty of speculation — both good and bad — last month after Pitt’s Pro Day when the 10 Panthers who hired agents, plus several others, worked out for NFL scouts, coaches and...
WVU, Tennessee football teams to open 2028 in Charlotte
Fans of the West Virginia and Tennessee football teams can mark Sept. 2 on their 2028 calendars as the Mountaineers and Volunteers will do battle that day in the Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte, N.C., the Charlotte Sports Foundation announced Tuesday. West Virginia will be designated the home team for...
West Virginia’s Derek Culver signs with agent, will enter NBA draft
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — All-Big 12 forward Derek Culver has decided to skip his senior season at West Virginia to enter the NBA draft. Culver announced Monday night on Instagram that he has signed with an agent. Culver was named to the all-Big 12 first team as a junior. The...
Greensburg’s Mark Goetz, WVU looking to make noise at Big 12 golf championship
The Big 12 golf championship begins Monday at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., and West Virginia senior Mark Goetz is ready to roll. The Greensburg native and Kiski School graduate is coming off his first collegiate victory and a career-low 65. Goetz won the Mountaineer Invitational at the...
West Virginia football coach Neal Brown gets 2-year contract extension
Neal Brown was rewarded Thursday after guiding West Virginia football to a 6-4 record and a victory over Army in the Liberty Bowl this past season. Brown, who just completed his second season on the WVU sideline, received a two-year contract extension that will run through the 2026 season. “Coach...
Grad transfer Pauly Paulicap bolsters West Virginia frontcourt
Pauly Paulicap, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward, will join the West Virginia men’s basketball team, coach Bob Huggins announced Thursday. Paulicap, a graduate transfer, has committed to West Virginia after previously attending DePaul and Manhattan. He has one year of eligibility remaining after playing all 19 games for DePaul as a...
WVU football’s Gold-Blue Game set for Saturday
West Virginia football’s annual Gold-Blue spring football game is back after a one-year covid hiatus. The game will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. The stadium will operate at approximately 25% capacity as part of health, safety and wellness measures being implemented in response...
Charlie Huggins, father of WVU coach Bob Huggins, dies at 87
The father of West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins has died. Charlie Huggins, who led high school basketball teams to three Ohio state championships, was 87. James Gardner of Baxter-Gardner Funeral Home in Sherrodsville, Ohio, said Charlie Huggins died Tuesday. Gardner, the funeral home’s owner and director, said no official...
Pitt, Penn State, WVU soccer teams earn at-large bids to NCAA Tournament
Members of the Pitt men’s soccer team knew they would be in the field for the NCAA Tournament after reaching a No. 1 ranking at the end of the regular season. Despite falling to Clemson in the ACC’s automatic qualifier match Saturday, the Panthers secured an at-large berth into the...
Pitt beats West Virginia in the baseball version of the Backyard Brawl
Pitt’s Chris Gomez and two relief pitchers kept West Virginia bats in check, and No. 17 Pitt unleashed a 12-hit attack Tuesday in a 5-1 victory in the baseball version of the Backyard Brawl at Charles L. Cost Field. West Virginia (11-12) managed only seven hits while Gomez and Pitt...
First Call: Former WVU star visits Steelers; Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert at Notre Dame’s Pro Day; Sabres finally win
The Steelers may try to snag a defensive free agent away from the Cleveland Browns. They are also looking at some draft prospects from Notre Dame and North Carolina. Postseason odds are getting even longer for the Pirates. Plus, the Buffalo Sabres’ losing streak is finally over. And guess who...
Georgia Tech rolls over West Virginia women in NCAAs
SAN ANTONIO — Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 22 points, Lorela Cubaj had 21 points and 12 rebounds and No. 5 seed Georgia Tech used a big third quarter to beat No. 4 West Virginia, 73-56, on Tuesday in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. Esmery Martinez scored 13 points...