Officials from the Big 12 and West Virginia met with reporters via teleconference late Friday afternoon. Here’s a bit of what we learned. Big East/West Virginia disagree on exit terms As noted today, the Big East (27 months, or January 2014) and West Virginia (July 2012) have a clear disagreement on when the Mountaineers will become members of the Big 12. “As of July 1, we will be members of the Big 12. Our team and their team are in discussions about how we can make that happen,” West Virginia president James Clements said. As required in the bylaws, West Virginia wired a $2.5 million payment to the Big East upon notification of withdrawal, and the other $2.5 million exit fee is paid upon exit date. The school also plans to grant its Tier I and Tier II media rights to the Big 12 as the league’s other members, excluding Missouri and Texas A&M, have done. The paperwork to do so is being circulated to the school, and Clements said the school should have it officially OK’d around Tuesday. TCU and West Virginia on same revenue sharing plan There will be no difference in how Big 12 Conference revenue is shared between the league’s founding members and its new members, who both plan on entering the league in 2012. “It’s similar; it’s the same,” said Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported earlier this month that TCU would earn 50 percent of the expected $17 million payout in the 2012-13 academic year, 67 percent in 2013-14, 84 percent in 2014-15, and 100 percent in 2015-16. Future schedules in flux Don’t expect TCU to replace Texas A&M in the Big 12 schedule, and don’t expect West Virginia to slide in and replace Missouri if the Tigers’ exit to the Big 12 is finalized. Neinas says the conference won’t be starting from scratch, but it’s likely that changes to the 10-team, round-robin conference schedule will be made. No official word on Missouri Neinas offered no real updates on the status of Missouri, who was excluded from the Big 12 release on Friday that stated “Beginning with the 2012-13 season it is expected that the Big 12 Conference will be comprised of 10 Universities – Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech and West Virginia.” “Until it withdraws, Missouri is a member of the Big 12,” Neinas said. He deferred any questions about timing or details to Missouri officials. Quick hits Neinas didn’t rule out expansion in the future, but says there’s no sentiment across the league to be anything but a 10-team league, citing excitement about the round-robin schedule in basketball and football. West Virginia officials admitted they felt some nervousness when plans to join the league this week were put on hold, but remained confident that it would become official. The Big 12 said the plans were put on hold by the league’s members because they wanted to make sure the Big 12 didn’t become an 11-team league if Missouri decided to stay. For now, there seems to be a lot of legal wrangling, but from my perspective, it seems like West Virginia’s invitation was a tacit resignation that the Tigers are gone. Neinas went out of his way to say the lack of an invitation to Louisville wasn’t an indictment on the school. The Cardinals would be a good fit in the league, and in my opinion, if the Big 12 looks to expand again, they’ll be near or at the top of the list. Beer in the stadium? The Big 12 has no rules encouraging or prohibiting it at campus stadiums, but West Virginia made the addition to its stadium this year. The details of whether or not it will continue haven’t been ironed out yet.
Filed under Basketball, Football by on Oct 28th, 2011. Comment. 
West Virginia had to endure a week of limbo and a false alarm. The deal was on. Then it wasn’t. Now, it is: West Virginia is the newest member of the Big 12. Questions about the timing of the Mountaineers’ entrance ( July 2012 or 27 months from now? ) remain, but the biggest has a clear answer: Do the Mountaineers fit? In the only way that truly matters in realignment, on the field (and by default, the conference bank account), West Virginia has done everything necessary to prove that yes, it does belong. Realignment moves of late have made clear that geography is a secondary concern in realignment, right by basketball but barely within earshot of football acumen. The Big 12 wasn’t in a position to break the mold. It needed quality programs more than it needed a new neighbor, and West Virginia’s lack of the latter was nowhere near enough to outweigh the former. West Virginia proved it was a school worthy of any major conference. The Mountaineers have paid the BCS two visits. They beat SEC champion Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. Nobody’s beaten the SEC champion in the BCS since. Two years later, Big 12 champion Oklahoma went down by 20 points in the Fiesta Bowl. Those are games in which program’s reputations are staked upon
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West Virginia again proves what matters
Filed under Basketball, Football, News by on Oct 28th, 2011. Comment.
For a player who was barely recruited out of high school, Dustin Garrison is coming up big for West Virginia. Garrison has emerged from a trio of freshmen running backs after a 291-yard performance against Bowling Green last week in his first career start. But Garrison started showing serious flashes in the second half against LSU. His 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of that game brought the Mountaineers to within six. In the last two games, Garrison has gotten 42 combined carries — compared to three in the first three games. All three of those came against Norfolk State. “It’s hard when you have so many guys to get a guy into a rhythm, but there’s nothing you can do about that,” coach Dana Holgorsen said. “You have to tell those guys to take advantage of the opportunities they’ve had. The last six quarters, Dustin has been able to get in there and get on a roll. The more we gave it to him, the better he’s gotten.” Garrison remained patient through the first several games of the season, even after he got zero carries against Marshall and Maryland. He had shown his ability as a receiver out of the backfield, but wanted to make sure the coaches knew what he could do when he got his hands on the ball. His mom told him before every game to just wait. He would get his chance. Once he got his opportunity against Bowling Green, he was not going to let anything stop him. “It was hard for a while just waiting for my chance, but once I finally got it, I knew I had to show them I could make things happen,” Garrison said in a phone interview. Garrison ran for 233 yards in the first half, a school record. Neither he nor his teammates had any idea he had surpassed 200 yards in the half. It was only as they were headed to the locker room that they realized what he had done. “It was great,” Garrison said. “I never had the ball like that since high school, so it was like déjà vu. I had to go out there and make plays. It was a great feeling going out there and making people miss and things like that.” As a senior at Pearland (Texas) High, Garrison set school single-season records with 406 carries for 2,842 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also added 36 catches for 595 yards and five touchdowns. But no scholarship offers came. Schools were concerned about his size: 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. It was not until Robert Gillespie, then an assistant with Oklahoma State, called to say he was moving on to a new opportunity and they wanted Garrison with him. The new opportunity was at West Virginia with Holgorsen. “These last two games helped my confidence a lot,” Garrison said
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For a player who was barely recruited out of high school, Dustin Garrison is coming up big for West Virginia. Garrison has emerged from a trio of freshmen running backs after a 291-yard performance against Bowling Green last week in his first career start. But Garrison started showing serious flashes in the second half against LSU. His 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter of that game brought the Mountaineers to within six. In the last two games, Garrison has gotten 42 combined carries — compared to three in the first three games. All three of those came against Norfolk State. “It’s hard when you have so many guys to get a guy into a rhythm, but there’s nothing you can do about that,” coach Dana Holgorsen said. “You have to tell those guys to take advantage of the opportunities they’ve had. The last six quarters, Dustin has been able to get in there and get on a roll. The more we gave it to him, the better he’s gotten.” Garrison remained patient through the first several games of the season, even after he got zero carries against Marshall and Maryland. He had shown his ability as a receiver out of the backfield, but wanted to make sure the coaches knew what he could do when he got his hands on the ball. His mom told him before every game to just wait. He would get his chance. Once he got his opportunity against Bowling Green, he was not going to let anything stop him. “It was hard for a while just waiting for my chance, but once I finally got it, I knew I had to show them I could make things happen,” Garrison said in a phone interview. Garrison ran for 233 yards in the first half, a school record. Neither he nor his teammates had any idea he had surpassed 200 yards in the half. It was only as they were headed to the locker room that they realized what he had done. “It was great,” Garrison said. “I never had the ball like that since high school, so it was like déjà vu. I had to go out there and make plays. It was a great feeling going out there and making people miss and things like that.” As a senior at Pearland (Texas) High, Garrison set school single-season records with 406 carries for 2,842 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also added 36 catches for 595 yards and five touchdowns. But no scholarship offers came. Schools were concerned about his size: 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. It was not until Robert Gillespie, then an assistant with Oklahoma State, called to say he was moving on to a new opportunity and they wanted Garrison with him. The new opportunity was at West Virginia with Holgorsen.
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Dustin Garrison comes up big for WVU
Filed under Football by on Oct 5th, 2011. Comment.
Support women’s sports and SHARE this story with your friends! West Virginia got another big day from their frontline to take a massive step towards the Big East title with a convincing win in Washington D.C. over title rivals Georgetown on Friday. The Source: Women Talk Sports
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NCAA Soccer – Mountaineers Move Closer To Big East Title
Filed under News by on Oct 1st, 2011. Comment.
The shifting college football landscape has begun to put tradition on the back burner. Nebraska versus Oklahoma? See ya. Texas versus Texas A&M? Up in the air. Pitt versus West Virginia? That is the big question about to confront both schools as the next round of realignment begins. Pitt is moving on to the ACC, meaning the classic rivalry game will now be a nonconference affair. Already, there is fear for what happens to one of the oldest running rivalries in college sports without the same conference to call home. Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said Sunday he hoped the series would continue, and noted that it existed well before the two were members of the Big East. Indeed, the two rivals began playing in 1895, and the rivalry has turned into one of the most heated in all of college sports. Not just among the fans, but among the players as well. On Monday, coach Pitt coach Todd Graham was asked about the future of the game, and he offered not much in the way of an answer. “I have no idea,” Graham said. “It’s one of the great rivalries in college football. You would hope it would continue. I have no idea what the future holds.” West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said he was just worried about X’s and O’s. Certainly, coaches have football to worry about right now. Scheduling decisions often are made at the administrative level, with some input from coaches. But here is an open plea to all parties to keep this game going — for the rivalry, the fans, the players and college football. That way, there would be some sense of order in the college football world. What is happening with realignment has made plenty of fans uneasy because they see the dollar signs involved and the slow whittling away of the traditional rivalries and passion that has made college football so incredibly powerful. What remains are schools that will be separated by thousands of miles, little in common and no shared dislike for the other. Pitt already has lost one annual rivalry game with Penn State shortly after the Nittany Lions decided to join the Big Ten
Filed under Football by on Sep 19th, 2011. Comment.
So who are the new head coaches in the Big East? You have heard plenty about them already. Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia. His resume speaks for itself. As offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State last season, the Cowboys finished No. 2 in passing offense (345.6 ypg) and No. 3 in total (520 ypg) and scoring offense (44.2 ppg). During his two-year tenure as Houston offensive coordinator in 2008-09, his offenses averaged 563 yards of total offense, 433.7 yards passing and 42.2 points a game. His offense ranked No. 3 in total offense in 2008 and No. 1 in 2009. Where did he learn? From former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach. So what can he do at West Virginia? Getting the Mountaineers to score more would help. West Virginia ranked No. 78 in the nation last season, averaging 25 points a game. The talent is there. Now the system is there. It almost feels like a given that this offense is going to be better, and could get people around the country to take notice. Todd Graham, Pitt. Like Holgorsen, Graham’s offense at Tulsa put up big-time numbers last season. Tulsa ranked No. 5 in the nation in total offense (505.6 ypg) and No. 6 in the nation in scoring offense (41.4 ppg). In 2007 and 2008, Tulsa led the nation in total offense as well. Tulsa’s 661 points in 2008 set a school record and marked the second highest single-season total in the modern era of the NCAA (second only to Oklahoma’s 2008 total of 716 points). What to expect? Certainly a departure from the smash-mouth style Pitt has been accustomed to playing. Pitt will instead roll out a hurry-up approach to its “high-octane” offense
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Meet the new coaches
Filed under Football by on Aug 11th, 2011. Comment.
West Virginia receiver Tavon Austin has big goals this season. He is not being cocky, just realistic. Austin has pored over the stats. He knows Dana Holgorsen has had receivers with 100-plus catches in each of his stops. Justin Blackmon at Oklahoma State. James Cleveland at Houston. Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech. Austin led the Mountaineers with 58 receptions last season and is hoping for more in 2011. But he is not just optimistic for himself. Austin has high hopes for the receiving corps in general with Holgorsen in charge. “I think we can have two or three of us in the 1,000-yard receiver mark,” Austin said in a phone interview Wednesday. “All of us can catch the ball and make things happen after the catch.” Expectations are high outside of West Virginia as well. Austin and quarterback Geno Smith are on the Pony Express Award watch list, which will go to the top two- or three-player tandem in the nation. Austin also is on the Biletnikoff Award watch list, an award he says he hopes to win. So what is he working on this summer to get better? There are a few areas that Austin has focused on — strength and footwork. Austin has had a renewed dedication in the weight room because of a change in mindset. Last year, Austin hated lifting weights. Seeing 300 pounds on the bar just made him think he could never do it. But now, everything is different. “I’m a weight room fan now,” Austin said. “We train so we don’t look at the bar. You just go ahead and do it. Last year, it was hard because at first I was thinking it was hurting me, but the strength staff knows what they’re doing. The bottom line is there’s no way you can go around lifting. So I had to get my mind right, and I got stronger with my mindset.” Austin has improved dramatically. Last year, he benched about 225. This year, he is up to 315. He has put on more muscle and wants to be a solid 178 pounds when camp begins next month. As for his footwork, he has been working on ladder drills, which help with his quickness. He also worked on his route running. Though the Mountaineers have a new offense, Austin says he feels completely comfortable. He goes into fall practice feeling at ease with reading defenses. And he knows exactly what he needs to do to be the next in the long line of receivers who have thrived under Holgorsen. “I know what I’ve got to do, and I know what Coach Holgorsen expects out of me,” Austin said. “I’m comfortable in the offense now. If everybody does their part, we should be all right and come out on top.”
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WVU’s Tavon Austin has big goals
Filed under Football by on Jul 13th, 2011. Comment.
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Some quick thoughts after attending the viewing window of West Virginia’s spring practice on Wednesday, the Mountaineers’ first day in full pads: I was excited to see Dana Holgorsen’s new offense in person, and it’s not hard to see the reasons for optimism. The Mountaineers have speed at receiver, a promising young quarterback in Geno Smith and were giving their own defenses problems with the mix of run and pass. Bill Stewart had told me on Monday that the team hadn’t looked downfield much yet in practice, but Smith threw deep a few times during the 11-on-11 period, and with good success. It wasn’t all passing, though, as the offense lined up with two backs frequently and did some inside zone running. Holgorsen mostly stands on the sidelines during the team periods, signaling in the calls as he will on gameday. He doesn’t say a whole lot during practice, letting his assistants handle the bulk of the talking. Holgorsen gives out a lot more instructions during film review, the players say. No worries about Smith’s health. He was participating in all drills and running around well on his surgically repaired foot. This offense doesn’t ask him to run much, anyway. Freshman Paul Millard got the second-team reps and throws a nice ball. Holgorsen told me he’s far ahead of fellow freshman Brian Athey at this point, mostly owing to the fact that he played 5-A Texas high school ball. How this kid went unrecruited is baffling. Still no real standouts at tailback, but Daquan Hargrett had some nice runs while I was watching, including a burst up the middle for a long touchdown. Brad Starks got behind the defense for a long completion. He looks great and could be poised for a big senior year. Ivan McCartney dropped a pass early but later caught a short one and completely juked Brodrick Jenkins out of his shoes. McCartney has major potential if he continues to develop and mature. J.D. Woods also made a nice catch in traffic. Tyler Urban also got involved, and it will be interesting to see how the offense uses him. The defense wasn’t allowed to tackle the quarterback, of course, but Bruce Irvin was in the backfield a lot — “No one can block him yet,” Stewart said — and Julian Miller wasn’t far behind. That’s not surprising, especially since starting offensive tackles Don Barclay and Jeff Braun are out this spring with injuries. Irvin and a few other players were wearing the gold shoes from last year’s special Nike Pro Combat uniforms, which made me happy to see. Linebacker Tyler Anderson had an interception off a tipped ball. Stewart then told him he should have stayed up and tried to score instead of falling on the ground. About the only thing last year’s defense didn’t do right last year was get turnovers and points. Overall impression: The Mountaineers weren’t as sharp or crisp defensively as they were a year ago at this time, but that’s almost a given after losing seven starters. There is still a lot of talent and speed here, and it’s just going to take a little time for the defense to gel and the offense to get the system down. If it all comes together, this could easily be the best team in the Big East this year. But there’s a long way to go.
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Thoughts from West Virginia
Filed under Football by on Apr 6th, 2011. Comment.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s early, real early, this spring for West Virginia, which began practice later than any Big East team. But one thing seems pretty clear in the initial going: the Mountaineers have a wide-open competition at running back. This is something new around these parts, as West Virginia could count on Noel Devine and Steve Slaton before him to claim the ball-carrying load for the past several years. With a new offensive system and different types of backs on the roster this year, though, that position looks uncertain. “I have not seen that Noel Devine or that Steve Slaton guy,” head coach Bill Stewart said. “I have not seen that jump cut. Is it there? We’ll see. But I haven’t seen it yet.” The most experienced running backs on the team are 230-pound Ryan Clarke , 220-pound Shawne Alston and 235-pound Matt Lindamood . Those aren’t the types of runners that Dana Holgorsen is used to using in his spread offense. “The main back has always been a little quicker, a shiftier guy,” Holgorsen said. “Someone who can get involved in the passing game, get the ball out in space and go score.” Kendall Hunter , who ran for more than 1,500 yards under Holgorsen last season at Oklahoma State, was a 200-pounder. He coached smaller, quicker backs at both Houston and Texas Tech before that. Holgorsen will adapt his offense to his personnel — see his three-back, diamond formation last season at Oklahoma State — and West Virginia will be able to throw some serious power looks at teams with Clarke, Austin, Lindamood and even Tyler Urban , who will see some time in the backfield as the tight end is phased out. But it seems likely that a younger, more fleet-footed tailback will get some opportunities in an offense based on speed. “A guy like Daquan Hargrett or a Trey Johnson , those guys have got a chance to see the field and touch the ball a lot more than they did last year,” Holgorsen said. “That doesn’t mean we’re giving up on Alston and Clarke.” The Mountaineers will also bring in two shiftier players this summer in highly-regarded running back prospect Andrew Buie, a 190-pounder, and highly-productive Texas high school runner Dustin Garrison, who measures 5-foot-8 and 160. Both could see some action right away, just as Slaton and Devine did as true freshmen. It might be until the summer, at least, before West Virginia discovers the heir to those former stars.
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West Virginia searching for top tailback
Filed under Football by on Apr 5th, 2011. Comment.
