HUNTINGTON -- Forecasting continued success while balancing big picture concerns highlighted West Virginia University's sojourn to the Tri-State.
Mountaineer football coach Bill Stewart was among Mountaineer athletics officials mingling with fans on a sun-drenched Friday evening. A modest crowd of approximately 75 supporters attended WVU's annual coaches caravan stop at Boston Beanery in Heritage Station, discussing a promising 2008-09 athletic season.
WVU football likely will receive a repeat top 10 preseason ranking. Men's basketball, meanwhile, is fresh off a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance under first-year coach Bob Huggins.
At the same time, WVU is working through a lawsuit with Stewart's predecessor, Rich Rodriguez, and university president Mike Garrison has received a pair of no-confidence votes. Pressure to force Garrison's resignation stems from a controversy surrounding a degree awarded to Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter.
Mountaineer fans opted for the upbeat Friday evening, welcoming Stewart, who dismissed the notion that he had entered enemy territory.
"No, no, no," Stewart emphasized. "I coached here very proudly."
Stewart, all-time winningest Marshall head coach Bobby Pruett and current Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe served as assistants on the 1980 Thundering Herd coaching staff. Stewart and Grobe, a Huntington native, immediately forged a bond that continues nearly three decades later.
"He became my best friend," Stewart said. "We just kind of blended. It's just been a lifelong friendship."
The unassuming, fan-friendly coach carries similar sentiment toward Huntington in general and Marshall in particular. There wasn't a hint of smack talk from the Mountaineer coach who will lead his team against the Thundering Herd on Sept. 27, the third meeting of a seven-game series.
"I worked here. I have a lot of love for Marshall University," Stewart said. "And that's not going to make any West Virginia fan mad. If it does, then they're not a true fan.
"I'm loyal to the paycheck and to the people who gave me work. ... I have a lot of love for Huntington. There are a lot of good people here."
Stewart favors a continuation of the series beyond the seven-game contract. He also supports reported efforts of the Big East to add a ninth football team.
"We need to have nine teams," Stewart said. "I would love to have eight league games, Marshall and then a border war like Maryland. ... You're talking about a perfect world. If we can't get another football team, I wish we could play Notre Dame.
"But I would love to play four home, four away in the Big East every year. I want to play Marshall every year. It's a state rival. We need to play Marshall.
"I want to play Maryland. They dropped us. We're trying to get them back. We want games our fans can get to."
Stewart represents both the present and past of Mountaineer football, having lured Doc Holliday and Steve Dunlap, former long-time WVU assistants under Don Nehlen, back to the coaching staff. After serving as an assistant under Rodriguez, Stewart's head coaching tenure kicked off with a resounding Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma. Stewart's interim tag as head coach was lifted within hours and fans appear to embrace the move.
"Initially they worried about is this an emotional hire?" Charleston's Russ Voltin said moments after posing for a photo with Stewart. "The reality is, it's the best thing that could have happened for the university."
7-day Archive
