WVU Libraries

Written by Olivia Howard, reference assistant

Another Fall semester means the start of a new football season! As we headed into the first game of the season on August 31^st, I became curious about the history of football at West Virginia University.

I began my search by looking through the many photos of Mountaineer football through the years that can be viewed on West Virginia History OnView and then filled in the gaps with more detailed information from books within the West Virginia & Regional History Center’s collection, such as Bring on the Mountaineers by Kevin Keys and Shelly Poe.

WVU football traces its origins all the way back to 1891, but like most great things in history, it didn’t have an easy start.

It all began with a small group determined to organize a team. At the time, only 224 students were enrolled at the university, but even with limited options, they were able to recruit others and create a team of fourteen players. Despite knowing very little about the game and facing a negative response from faculty and other students, the team enthusiastically took on the challenge. They arranged a game with Washington & Jefferson on Thanksgiving Day, raised money for equipment, and worked to transform pastureland into a suitable game site.

An estimated crowd of 250 gathered to watch the game. They arrived in carriages decorated in gold and blue and enjoyed treats like hot chocolate before the game in an early version of the ever-popular fan tradition of tailgating.

Though WVU suffered a loss of 72-0, this first game made its mark. It served as the beginning of the long-lasting tradition of Mountaineer spirit that we know today.

Over the next several years, WVU football experienced many changes. They increased the number of games in their schedule and took on new opponents, even beginning a rivalry with one. On October 24, 1895, they played their first game against Pitt (then Western University of Pennsylvania) and took home the victory with a score of 8-0.

In 1918, a record crowd of 8,000 attended a game against Washington & Jefferson and by 1922, during their only undefeated season, the Mountaineers saw another record crowd of 15,000. They had come a long way since that first crowd of only 250 spectators and it was time for a stadium upgrade.

Plans for a new stadium were set in motion in 1922 by athletic director Harry A. Stansbury. The site of the new stadium, located down the hill from Woodburn Hall, was chosen because of its proximity to the railroad stations. Steam shovels and horse-drawn wagons were used for the excavation process, which took more than four weeks to complete.

Mountaineer Field was completed in time for the 1924 season. The first game was a win against West Virginia Wesleyan with a score of 21-6 in front of a crowd of 16,000. At the time, this was the largest crowd to gather for a sporting event in West Virginia, but by 1979, Mountaineer Field would see a crowd as large as 38,681!

When the location of the original Mountaineer Field limited its ability to be expanded, Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium was constructed. The field was dedicated on September 6, 1980. Not only was this game the first for head coach Don Nehlen, but it was also the exciting game where John Denver made an appearance and led fans in the singing of “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

The largest crowd the newest stadium has seen was in 1993 with 70,222 in attendance and it regularly sees crowds of around 60,000.

WVU Football has come a long way since that first game in 1891, but one thing has remained the same through it all: the deep sense of pride one feels to be a mountaineer.

Let’s have another great season and let’s go, Mountaineers!