West Virginia Mountaineer

The Mountaineer, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia

West Virginia Mountaineer
University	West Virginia University
Conference	Big 12
Description	Person in buckskins and coonskin cap, carrying a rifle
First seen	1920s

The West Virginia Mountaineer is the official mascot of West Virginia University (WVU). Selected annually since the 1930s from the university’s student body, the mascot is a popular tradition at the school. The Mountaineer appears in a buckskin costume at West Virginia Mountaineers football and men's and women's basketball matches and at other events.

History

Boyd "Slim" Arnold, the first Mountaineer mascot to don the traditional buckskin uniform. His selection in 1937 marked the beginning of an official process to appoint the mascot annually.

Daily Athenaeum articles indicate that designating individuals to serve as the Mountaineer started as early as 1927. (The name is derived from "Mountain State", meaning West Virginia). Clay Crouse was designated that year, followed in 1932 by Burton Crow and then Bill Fahey. Others may have served. However, it was not until 1934-35, when trackster Lawson Hill was selected by the Mountain, that a more stable process was established. By 1937, the Mountaineer was being selected on an annual basis by Mountain. Mountain was not active for three years; during this time the president of the student body was responsible for choosing the Mountaineer. Beginning in 1934, The Monticola (the WVU yearbook) sponsored a contest to determine the male senior who had contributed most to the university throughout his four years in college. This male was entitled to be “The Mountaineer”. During the next decade the criterion was amended to specify a person who was suitable for the role.

In the 1930s the unofficial mascot appeared at WVU sporting events wearing flannel shirts, bearskin capes and coonskin caps and carrying a rifle. At first, volunteers including Burton “Irish” Crow, Lawson Hill, and William “Buckwheat” Jackson made appearances throughout the season.

Boyd H. "Slim" Arnold, a physical education major from Bayard in Grant County, was the first Mountaineer selected to serve three years in succession (1937-39) and was the longest tenured until Rock Wilson equalled it in 1991-93. During Arnold's tenure, he became the first Mountaineer to wear the now traditional buckskin uniform. Minutes of Mountain meetings from the late 1930s indicate that a donor gave the Honorary several deerskins asking that a buckskin costume be made for the Mountaineer.

In 1950, The Mountaineer Statue Festival raised $15,000. This bought the bronze statue of the Mountaineer, situated in the Mountainlair front lawn. The Mountaineer was first used in commerce in 1972 and registered as a U.S. trademark in 1985. Mountaineers' retired rifles, and costumes are housed in a glass case in the Vandalia lounge of the Mountainlair, located on the downtown campus.

Natalie Tennant, who became the West Virginia secretary of state in January 2009, served as the first female Mountaineer in 1990.^[1] Rebecca Durst was the only other woman so far to fill the role: this was in 2009.

Selection

The Mountaineer is selected each year by the Mountain – the school’s secret honorary. The Mountaineer’s costume is tailored to fit each winner, and male Mountaineers customarily grow beards during their tenure to go along with the coonskin cap and rifle, although the beard is not a requirement for the mascot position.

How Does The Selection Process Work?

After each candidate turns in an application for the position, the Mountaineer Mascot selection committee, which consists of several WVU students, faculty, and staff members, review the applications. Most of these members are members of Mountain Honorary. Depending on the number of applicants, the committee will select no more than ten candidates to participate in a half-hour interview. After the interview process, the top four candidates based on a combination of their interview and application scores will participate in a mascot try-out during a WVU basketball game. During the mascot try-out, the top four candidates will get to wear buckskins and carry a rifle. Also during the try-out, members of the selection committee will evaluate the candidate’s performance and interaction with the crowd. The committee will then select the new Mountaineer Mascot with the highest score based on a combination of their application, interview, and try-out scores. The candidate with the second highest score will be selected as the Mountaineer Mascot Alternate. The selected applicant will begin his/her term as the Mountaineer Mascot at the annual Blue and Gold football game in April. Between the time of selection and the Blue and Gold football game the incoming Mountaineer Mascot will work with the current Mountaineer Mascot using the current Mountaineer as a mentor to learn about the role of the Mountaineer and how to conduct him/herself as the Mountaineer.

Duties

John, the 2012 West Virginia Mountaineer, cheering at the Big East Women's Basketball Tournament.

The role has remained substantially unchanged since its origins. The costume is tailored to fit each year's winner, and male Mountaineers customarily grow beards during their tenure. The rifle is a percussion rifle that has been traditionally built by Marvin Wotring. This style of rifle requires the user to become schooled in the amount of powder required to fire the charge.

The responsibilities of the Mountaineer Mascot are set forth by the Mountaineer Advisory Committee Manual Regulations. The Mountaineer must attend every away and home West Virginia Mountaineers football game, as well as all home men’s and women’s basketball games. They might also be required to travel with the team as determined by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Mountaineer leads the football team onto Mountaineer Field every game, firing his or her rifle into the air. The Mountaineer also leads the fans, along with the cheerleaders, on the football field and the basketball court in the Let’s Go Mountaineers cheer and other cheers. The mascot is also encouraged to attend certain alumni events and community events, and visit the WVU Children’s Hospital. The Mountaineer may make close to 300 appearances per year. He or she is also responsible for the cleaning, care, and handling of the rifle and no one else is allowed to fire it except for the Alternate Mountaineer. Additionally, the Mountaineer is expected to follow a proper code of conduct at all times. While in costume, the mascot cannot be under the influence of alcohol or use tobacco, and may not accept money or gifts for appearances or endorse a company or product for profit.

Other schools with a Mountaineer mascot

List of Mountaineers

Clay Crouse – 1927
Burdette “Irish” Crow – 1932-33
William “Bill” Fahey – 1933-34
Lawson M. Hill – 1934-35 (deceased)
William “Buckwheat” Jackson – 1936-37 (deceased)
Boyd H. “Slim” Arnold – 1937-39 (deceased)
Julius W. Singleton Jr. – 1940-1941 (deceased)
William F. Gott – 1942-43 (deceased)
(War years – 1943-44)
Robert L. Carr – 1945
James G. Couglin – 1946 (deceased)
Sidney H. Gillis – 1947
Matthew W. Harrison Jr. – 1948 (deceased)
John P. Russell – 1949
Thomas A. Deveny III – 1950
James Almond – 1951 (deceased)
Dan B. Fleming – 1952
Dan R. Oliker – 1953
John Coyner – 1954
Fred S. Pattison – 1955 (deceased)
Larry Reppert – 1956
James L. McCoy – 1957 (deceased)
Robert H. Allen – 1958
David L. Ellis – 1959
William R. McPherson – 1960 (deceased)
Jerry S. Sturm – 1961
William D. Thompson – 1962
William W. “Buck” Rogers Jr. – 1963
Edward S. Pritchard – 1964-65 (deceased)
Kenneth B. Fonville – 1966
Louis A. Garvin Jr. – 1967
Frederick G. Reel – 1968, 1969
Douglas F. Townshend – 1970
Robert S. Lowe – 1971
Mark Lothes – 1972
Stuart A. Wolpert – 1973, 1974
Junior Taylor – 1975
Jerome E. Scherer – 1976
Bruce D. Heisler – 1977
Richard D. Poling – 1978
James Campbell – 1979
Cecil C. Graham – 1980
Andy M. Mergler – 1981
Ed R. Cokeley – 1981
Robert E. Richardson – 1982
Michael G. Russell – 1983
Mark Boggs – 1984
Tim S. Nilan – 1985
Matt P. Zervos – 1986
Tom E. Dulaney Jr. – 1987
Dan C. Pearson – 1988
Benjamin F. White – 1989
Natalie E. Tennant – 1990
Rock S. Wilson – 1991, 1992, 1993
John R. Stemple – 1994, 1995
Andrew R. Cogar – 1996, 1997
Brandon S. Flower – 1998, 1999
Scott W. Moore – 2000, 2001
Trey Hinrichs – 2002, 2003
Derek Fincham – 2004, 2005
Brady Campbell – 2006, 2007
Michael Squires – 2008
Rebecca Durst – 2009
Brock Burwell - 2010, 2011
Jonathan Kimble - 2012, 2013
Michael Garcia - 2014, 2015
Troy Clemons - 2016 present

References

↑ "The Mountaineer". West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved 12 February 2014.

Sullivan, Ken (2006). The Mountaineer. The West Virginia Encyclopedia.
Ambler, Charles H. (1951). A History of Education in West Virginia. Huntington, WV: Standard Printing and Publishing.
Doherty, Jr., William T.; Summers, Festus O. (1982). West Virginia University, Symbol of Unity In a Sectionalized State. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press.

External links

West Virginia Mountaineers football

Venues	Mountaineer Field (1924–1979) Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium (1980–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Marshall Maryland Penn State Pittsburgh Syracuse Virginia Tech

Culture & lore	The Mountaineer Marching band "Take Me Home, Country Roads"

People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball

Venues	WVU Fieldhouse (1929–1970) WVU Coliseum (1970–present)

Rivalries	Marshall

Culture & lore	History The Mountaineer

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

Mascots of the Big 12 Conference

Judge and Bruiser (Baylor)
Cy the Cardinal (Iowa State)
Big Jay / Baby Jay / Centennial Jay (Kansas)
Willie the Wildcat (Kansas State)
Sooner Schooner / Boomer and Sooner (Oklahoma)
Pistol Pete / Bullet (Oklahoma State)
Bevo / Hook 'em (Texas)
Super Frog (TCU)
The Masked Rider / Raider Red (Texas Tech)
Mountaineer (West Virginia)

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