One of the reasons WVU has such a strong history in athletics is perhaps because of the many traditions at the university.
Several of the school traditions and icons are listed below:
Flying WV
The logo of the university is known as the "Flying WV," which is one of the most popular items to emerge from the Don Nehlen
era of Mountaineer football. The logo was quickly adopted as the official university logo.
The Mountaineer
The Mountaineer was adopted in 1890 as the official school mascot. A new Mountaineer is
selected every year by the school's senior honorary, The Mountain. The new Mountaineer is given a custom tailored outfit and
carries a traditional rifle which is fired to mark the opening of sporting events. Male Mountaineers traditionally grow a beard
and wear a coonskin cap.
Take Me Home, Country Roads
The John Denver song
Take Me Home, Country Roads, which has become
a
de facto anthem for the state, has also been adopted by WVU as its unofficial theme song. It is commonly played at most
home sporting events as well as other occasions on campus. John Denver himself showed up in 1980 to help dedicate the new Mountaineer Field, now called Milan Puskar Stadium, and lead the crowd in
Country
Roads.The Pride of West Virginia
The Pride of West Virginia is the marching band at WVU. It performs at the start of every football game and makes many other
appearances on campus throughout the year. While on the field, they often form the shape of the state of West Virginia as well as the Flying WV. (see picture to right)