title: Klaipėda Region

text: In 1226 Duke Konrad I of Masovia requested assistance against the Prussians and other Baltic tribes, including the Skalvians who lived along the Neman (Memel) River. In March 1226, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II issued the Golden Bull of Rimini, which provided that the Teutonic Knights would possess lands taken beyond the Masovian border in exchange for securing Masovia. After uprisings of the Baltic Prussian tribes in 1242 through 1274 failed, the Order conquered many remaining western Balts in Lithuania Minor, including the Skalvians, Nadruvians, and Yotvingians. In 1252 the Order constructed Memel Castle where the Dangė river flows into the Neman, at the north end of the Curonian Spit. In 1422, after centuries of conflict, the Order and the Polish–Lithuanian union signed the Treaty of Melno which defined a border between Prussia and Lithuania. Although Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania wanted the border to be coextensive with the Neman River, the treaty border started north of Memelberg and ran southeasterly to the Neman. This border remained until 1918. After the Treaty of Melno was signed, many Lithuanians returned to northeastern Prussia, which became known as Lithuania Minor in the 16th century.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: After World War I ended in 1918, the Klaipėda Region was defined as a roughly triangular wedge, with the northern border being the Treaty of Melno border, the southern border following the Neman River, and on the west abutting the Baltic Sea. In 1923, fearing that the western powers would create a free state, Lithuanians took control of the region and, as part of larger regional negotiations, incorporated the region into the State of Lithuania. In March 1939 Lithuania acquiesced to Nazi demands and transferred the Klaipėda Region to Germany. As World War II came to an end in 1945, the Soviet Union incorporated the region into the Lithuanian SSR. Since 1990 the area of the Klaipėda Region has formed part of the independent Republic of Lithuania, as part of Klaipėda and Tauragė counties. The southern border established by the Treaty of Versailles defines the current international boundary between Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The eastern boundaries of Prussia (from 1871, part of the German Empire), having remained unchanged since the Treaty of Melno in 1422, became a matter of discussion following World War I, as the newly independent states of Poland and Lithuania emerged. The separatist Act of Tilsit was signed by few pro-Lithuanian oriented Prussian Lithuanians in 1918, demanding the unification of Prussian Lithuania with Lithuania proper. It is traditionally viewed by Lithuanians as expressing the desire of Lithuania Minor to unite with Lithuania – but the majority of Prussian Lithuanians did not want to join with Lithuania and the Prussian Lithuanians did not make up a majority of the population.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The division of Prussia was also promoted by Poland's Roman Dmowski in Versailles who acted by orders of Józef Piłsudski: the purpose was to give the lower part of Neman River and its delta, which was located in Germany and called the Memel River, to Lithuania as this would provide her access to the Baltic Sea, while Lithuania itself should be part of Poland. These ideas were supported by the French prime minister Georges Clemenceau.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: In 1920, according to the Treaty of Versailles, the German area north of the Memel river was given the status of "Territoire de Memel" under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors, and French troops were sent for protection. During the period of French administration, the idea of an independent State of Memelland grew in popularity among local inhabitants. The organisation "Deutsch-Litauischer Heimatbund" (German-Lithuanian homeland federation) promoted the idea of a "Freistaat Memelland", which later should return to Germany. It had 30,000 members, both ethnic Germans and Lithuanians, about 21% of the total population.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: On 9 January 1923, three years after the Versailles Treaty had become effective, Lithuania occupied the territory during the Klaipėda Revolt, mainly by militia that had entered the region from Lithuania. France at the same time had started the Occupation of the Ruhr in Germany, and the French administration in Memel did not take any significant counteractive measures against the rebels. On 19 January, the territory was annexed by Lithuania, and the "fait accompli" was eventually confirmed by the Council of Ambassadors in 1924.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The area was subsequently annexed by Lithuania. In the Klaipėda Convention, signed by the Council of Ambassadors and Lithuania, the area was granted a separate parliament, two official languages, the capacity to raise its own taxes, charge custom duties, and manage its cultural and religious affairs, and was allowed a separate judicial system, separate citizenship, internal control of agriculture and forestry, as well as a separate social security system. The Council of Ambassadors accepted the resulting arrangement and confirmed the autonomy of the region within the Republic of Lithuania. On 8 May 1924 a further Convention on the Klaipėda region confirmed the annexation, and a resulting autonomy agreement was signed in Paris. The Memel Territory was recognized as an integral part of the Republic of Lithuania also by The Weimar Republic on 29 January 1928, when the two countries signed the Lithuanian-German Border Treaty.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Importantly, the annexation gave Lithuania control of a year-round ice-free Baltic port. Lithuania made full use of Klaipėda's port, modernizing and adapting it, largely for its agricultural exports. The port reconstruction was certainly one of the larger long-term investment projects enacted by the government of Lithuania in the interwar period.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The inhabitants of the area were not given a choice on the ballot whether they wanted to be part of the Lithuanian state or part of Germany. Since the pro-German political parties had an overall majority of more than 80% in all elections to the local parliament (see election statistics below) in the interwar period, there can be little doubt that such a referendum would have been in favour of Germany. In fact, the area had been united since the monastic state of the 13th century, and even many Lithuanian-speakers, regarding themselves as East Prussians, declared themselves as "Memellanders/Klaipėdiškiai" in the official census (see below for demographic information) and did not want to belong to a Lithuanian national state. According to the Lithuanian point of view, Memellanders were viewed as Germanised Lithuanians who should be re-Lithuanised.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: There was also a strong denominational difference since about 95% of the inhabitants of Lithuania Minor were Lutherans while more than 90% of Greater Lithuanians were Catholics. Following the "Agreement concerning the Evangelical Church of the Klaipėda Region" () of July 23, 1925, concluded between the Directorate of the Klaipėda Region and the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, a church of united administration of Lutheran and Reformed congregations, the mostly Lutheran congregations (and a single Reformed one in Klaipėda) in the Klaipėda Region were disentangled from the old-Prussian "Ecclesiastical Province of East Prussia" and formed the Regional Synodal Federation of the Memel Territory (Landessynodalverband Memelgebiet) since, being ranked an old-Prussian ecclesiastical province of its own. An own consistory in Klaipėda was established in 1927, led by a general superintendent (at first F. Gregor, elected in 1927, succeeded by O. Obereiniger, elected by the regional synod in 1933). The Catholic parishes in the Klaipėda Region used to belong to the Bishopric of Ermland until 1926 and were then disentangled, forming the new Territorial Prelature of Klaipėda under Prelate Justinas Staugaitis.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The government of Lithuania faced considerable opposition from the region's autonomous institutions, among others the Parliament of the Klaipėda Region. As years passed, claims were becoming more and more vocal about a re-integration into a resurgent Germany. It was only during the latter period that Lithuania then instituted a policy of "Lithuanization". This was met by even more opposition, as religious and regional differences slowly became insurmountable.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: After the December 1926 coup d’état, Antanas Smetona came to power. As the status of the Memel Territory was regulated by international treaties, the Memel Territory became an oasis of democracy in Lithuania. Lithuanian intelligentsia often held marriages in Memel/Klaipėda, since Memel Territory was the only place in Lithuania where civil marriage was in use, in the rest of Lithuania only church marriages were legitimized. Thus, Lithuanian opposition to Smetona's regime was also based in Memel Territory.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: At the start of the 1930s, certain leaders and members of pro-Nazi organizations in the region were put on trial by Lithuania "for crimes of terrorism". The 1934–5 trial of Neumann and Sass in Kaunas can be presented as the first anti-Nazi trial in Europe. Three members of the organizations were sentenced to death, and their leaders imprisoned. Following political and economic pressure from Germany, most were later released.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The local parliament had 29 seats, one for every 5,000 inhabitants. Men and women from age 23 had the right to vote.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: A Lithuanian census carried out in the region in 1925 found its total population was 141,000. Declared language was used to classify the inhabitants, and on this basis 43.5 percent were German, 27.6 percent were Lithuanian, and 25.2 percent were "Klaipėdan" ("Memeländisch"). Other sources give the interwar ethnic composition as 41.9 percent German, 27.1 percent Memeländisch, and 26.6 percent Lithuanian.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Overall, Prussian Lithuanians were more rural than Germans; the part of Lithuanian speakers in the city of Klaipėda itself increased over time due to urbanization and migration from villages into cities and later also from remaining Lithuania (in the city of Klaipėda, Lithuanian-speaking people made up 21.5% in 1912, 32.6% in 1925 and 38.7% in 1932*). Foreign citizens might include some Germans, who opted for German citizenship instead of Lithuanian (although at the time the German government pressured local Germans to take Lithuanian citizenship, so that German presence would remain). There were more Lithuanian speakers in the north of the region (Klaipėdos apskritis and Šilutės apskritis) than in the south (Pagėgių apskritis). Other locals included people of other nationalities who had citizenship of Lithuania, such as Jews.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: In the 1930s, a novel by local author Ieva Simonaitytė based on family history illustrated the centuries-old German–Lithuanian relations in the region.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The authoritarian regime of A. Smetona enforced a policy of discrimination and Lithuanisation: it sent administrators from Lithuania, and German teachers, officials and priests were fired from jobs. Local inhabitants—both Germans and Prussian Lithuanians—were not accepted for state service in Memel Territory. People were sent from Kaunas instead.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Until 1938, no Governor was appointed from local Prussian Lithuanians. This policy led Prussian Lithuanian intelligentsia and some local Germans to organise a society in 1934 to oppose Lithuanian rule. This group was soon dismantled.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Election results in Memel Territory were irritating for the authoritarian Smetona regime, and it attempted to "colonise" Memel Territory with Lithuanians. The Lithuanian settlements Jakai and Smeltė were built. The number of newcomers increased: in 1926 the number was 5,000, in 1939–30,000.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Lithuania introduced a hard-line Lithuanisation campaign that led to even deeper antagonism between local Prussian Lithuanians, Memellanders, Germans and newcomers.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: By late 1938, Lithuania had lost control of the situation in the Territory. In the early hours of 23 March 1939, after an oral ultimatum had caused a Lithuanian delegation to travel to Berlin, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Juozas Urbšys and his German counterpart Joachim von Ribbentrop signed the "Treaty of the Cession of the Memel Territory to Germany" in exchange for a Lithuanian Free Zone for 99 years in the port of Memel, using the facilities erected in previous years.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Hitler had anticipated this aboard a Kriegsmarine naval ship and at dawn sailed into Memel to celebrate the return "heim ins Reich" of the Memelland. This proved to be the last of a series of bloodless annexations of territories separated from the German or Austrian Empire by the Treaty of Versailles, which had been perceived by many Germans as a humiliation. German forces seized the territory even before the official Lithuanian ratification. The United Kingdom and France, as after the revolt of 1923, took no action. It was under these conditions that the Seimas was forced to approve the treaty, hoping that Germany would not press any other territorial demands upon Lithuania.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Still, the reunion with Germany was welcomed by the majority of the population, both by Germans and by Memelanders.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: According to the treaty, the citizens of the Memel Territory were allowed to choose their citizenship: either German or Lithuanian. 303 people or, counting family members, 585, asked for Lithuanian citizenship but only 20 requests were granted. Another term stated that persons who had settled in the Memel Territory during the occupation period from 1923 to 1939 should emigrate. About 8,900 Lithuanians did so. At the same time, Germany expelled about 1,300 local Memel and Lithuanian Jews and about 40 Prussian Lithuanians.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: After Nazi Germany took over the area in 1939, many Lithuanians and their organizations began leaving Memel and the surrounding area. Memel was quickly turned into a fortified naval base by the Germans. After the failure of the German invasion of the USSR the fate of East Prussia and Memel was sealed. By October 1944 the inhabitants of the area, without ethnic distinction, had to make a decision whether to stay or leave. Nearly all of the population were evacuated from the approaching Red Army, but the city itself was defended by the German army during the Battle of Memel until January 28, 1945. After its capture only six persons were found in the city.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: At the end of the war, the majority of the inhabitants had fled to the West to settle in Germany. Still in 1945–46 there were around 35,000 local inhabitants, both Prussian Lithuanians and Germans. The government of the Lithuanian SSR sent agitators into the displaced persons camps to make promises to former inhabitants that they could return and their property would be restored. In the period of 1945–50 about 8,000 persons were repatriated. Bilingual Lithuanian-German returners were viewed as Germans.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: The few remaining ethnic Germans were then forcibly expelled, with most opting to flee to what would become West Germany. Indigenous people who remained in the former Memel territory were dismissed from their jobs. Families of notable local Lithuanians, who had opposed German parties before the war, were deported to Siberia. In 1951 the Lithuanian SSR expelled 3,500 people from the former Memel Territory to East Germany. In 1958, when emigration was allowed, the majority of the surviving population, both Germans and Prussian Lithuanians, emigrated to West Germany; this event was called a repatriation of Germans by the Lithuanian SSR. Today these formerly Lutheran territories are mostly inhabited by Lithuanians who are Catholic and by Orthodox Russians. However, the minority Prussian Lithuanian Protestants historically were concentrated in these regions, and some remain to this day. Only a few thousand natives are left. Their continued emigration is facilitated by the fact they are considered German citizens by the Federal Republic of Germany. No property restoration was performed by the Republic of Lithuania for owners prior to 1945.


title: Klaipėda Region

text: Although maintaining that the Memel Territory in 1939 was re-annexed by Germany and acknowledging that Lithuania itself was occupied in 1940 by the Soviets, Lithuania, after regaining independence on 11 March 1990, did not restore autonomy to the Memel Territory.


title: KEPD 350

text: Taurus KEPD 350 is a Swedish-German air-launched cruise missile, manufactured by Taurus Systems and used by Germany, Spain, and South Korea. Taurus Systems GmbH is a partnership between MBDA Deutschland GmbH (formerly LFK) and Saab Bofors Dynamics.


title: KEPD 350

text: The missile incorporates stealth technology and has an official range in excess of . Taurus is powered by a turbofan engine at Mach 0.95 and can be carried by Tornado, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen, F/A-18, and F-15K jets.


title: KEPD 350

text: The double warhead, called Mephisto (Multi-Effect Penetrator HIghly Sophisticated and Target Optimised), features a precharge and initial penetrating charge to clear soil or enter HDBT (Hard and Deeply Buried Targets) hardened underground bunker, then a variable delay fuze to control detonation of the main warhead. The missile weighs about and has a maximum body diameter of . Intended targets are hardened bunkers; command, control, and communications facilities; airfield and port facilities; AMS and ammunition storage; ships in port or at sea; area target attack and bridges.


title: KEPD 350

text: The missile also includes counter measures as a self-defence mechanism and electronic counter measures.


title: KEPD 350

text: Mission planners program the missile with the target, air defence locations and planned ground path, then the missile uses a low terrain-hugging flight path guided by INS, IBN, TRN, and GPS to the proximity of the target, although it is capable of navigating over very long distances without GPS support. Once there the missile commences a bunt (climb) manoeuvre to an altitude intended to achieve the best probability of target acquisition and penetration. During the cruise flight a high resolution thermographic camera (infrared homing) can support the navigation by using IBN and is also used for GPS-free target attack. The missile attempts to match a camera image with the planned 3D target model (DSMAC). If it cannot, it defaults to the other navigation systems, or, if there is a high risk of collateral damage, it will steer to a pre-designated crash point instead of risking an inaccurate attack with undesired consequences.


title: KEPD 350

text: Spain's military bought 45 missiles. The integration of the Taurus in the Spanish Air Force service line has been certified by the successful completion of a dedicated test campaign in South Africa, carried out in May 2009.


title: KEPD 350

text: South Korea planned to order 200 missiles to integrate with their F-15K Slam Eagles after being refused Lockheed Martin's AGM-158 JASSM by Washington. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed the deal in November 2013. Taurus Systems will open an office in Seoul to handle various acquisition tasks and support technology-transfer and joint development of the next cruise missile. The office was the company's first outside of Germany, and the KEPD 350 is the first European missile to be integrated onto a South Korean fighter aircraft. In October 2016, South Korea announced it would acquire a further 90 Taurus missiles, in addition to the 170 previously ordered, in response to North Korean nuclear and missile provocations. On 12 December 2016, the first 40 Taurus KEPD 350K missiles were delivered to the ROKAF, which began deployment for combat use on 22 December 2016.


title: KEPD 350

text: The Taurus KEPD 350K variant for the ROKAF differs from the baseline model by being equipped with a Rockwell Collins GPS receiver with a Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) to prevent jamming.


title: KEPD 350

text: In October 2015, Taurus Systems revealed it was developing a smaller version of the Taurus missile, called the 350K-2, for use on light fighters, particularly the South Korean FA-50. Range would be reduced to and it would have a cruise speed of Mach 0.6–0.9.


title: KEPD 350

text: In December 2016, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) revealed it plans to start development on its own indigenous long-range air-to-ground missile in 2018, based on the Taurus cruise missile. The weapon will be mounted on the KAI KF-21 Boramae fighter, to be developed by the mid-2020s.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: Joseph Aaron Carnahan (born May 9, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor whose films include "Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane"; "Narc"; "Smokin' Aces"; "The A-Team"; "The Grey"; and "Boss Level". He also wrote and directed several episodes for the NBC television series "The Blacklist". He is the brother of screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan and producer Leah Carnahan.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: Carnahan was raised in Michigan and Northern California. Carnahan graduated from Fairfield High School in 1987 where he also played football. He attended college at San Francisco State University but later transferred to California State University, Sacramento, and earned his B.A. in Filmography there. Carnahan eventually became employed in the Promotional Department of Sacramento's KMAX-TV, producing short films and television spots.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: In 1998 he won some cult and critical acclaim for his film "Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane" which premiered in September 1997 at the New York Independent Feature Film Market and later at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: He directed the 2002 Detroit-set thriller "Narc", starring Ray Liotta and Jason Patric. Following "Narc", he directed an entry in the BMW Films titled "Ticker" starring Clive Owen and Don Cheadle. At one point he was solicited to direct "", produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner (who also executive produced "Narc"), however he subsequently left the production due to conflicting views on the tone of the film. It was also announced in October 2005 Carnahan would be directing a film based on the life of convicted drug dealer Will Wright, but the project seems to be abandoned.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: His next film, "Smokin' Aces", was produced in 2006 and released in January 2007. He also co-wrote the screenplay of "Pride and Glory", released in 2008 nearly a year behind schedule.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: He was attached to direct an adaptation of James Ellroy's novel "White Jazz" with George Clooney producing and starring, but Clooney later pulled out from the production and in 2009, Ellroy stated that all adaptations of the film were dead.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: In 2007, Carnahan penned "Remarkable Fellows" for Universal with Jason Bateman set to star, but the film never went into production.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: In 2010, Brian Bloom and Carnahan were then hired by Fox for the revamping of their long-gestating "A-Team" project, based on the hit '80's television series. He also showed interest in directing film adaptations for Garth Ennis' graphic novel "Preacher" and David Michelinie's "Taskmaster".


title: Joe Carnahan

text: Carnahan was one of the executive producers for NBC's "The Blacklist", starring James Spader and Megan Boone, during its first season. He directed the pilot, and went on to co-write and direct the ninth episode, "Anslo Garrick". Carnahan also wrote the story for episode 16, "Mako Tanida".


title: Joe Carnahan

text: He is currently writing the script for the film adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book series "Nemesis" with his brother Matthew and will be directing. He is also set to direct Mark Bowden's book "Killing Pablo".


title: Joe Carnahan

text: Carnahan executive produced the NBC political thriller "State of Affairs", starring Katherine Heigl and Alfre Woodard, which premiered November 17, 2014. He directed and co-wrote the pilot.


title: Joe Carnahan

text: In April 2022, Lionsgate Films revealed that Carnahan will direct "Shadow Force", starring Kerry Washington and Omar Sy.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Her character is first explored in the film "" (2015), where she has become a low-ranking ninja (Genin) from the village of Konohagakure and dreams of becoming its leader, the Hokage. Sarada also appears as a main character in Ukyō Kodachi's manga series "" (2016) and its anime adaptation, which show her interactions with her family and with her future teammates, Boruto Uzumaki and Mitsuki, along with whom she is led by Konohamaru Sarutobi.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Kishimoto felt pressure when he created Sarada because he thought he lacked experience in drawing female characters. Kishimoto also wanted to convey Sarada's relationship with her parents across her spin-off manga. Critical reception to Sarada has been positive. Her interactions with Boruto and Sasuke as well as how she aims to become the Hokage based on her character arc have been praised.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Masashi Kishimoto conceived Sarada Uchiha as a character who would not initially be perceived as feminine. He felt pressured when developing Sarada for the "Naruto" spin-off manga, "" (2015), as he was worried about how the franchise's primarily male audience would respond to a female lead character. Masashi Kishimoto's brother, Seishi Kishimoto, shared similar concerns. Kishimoto read several unspecified books about women's traits to select the right characteristics for Sarada's personality. In the end, he gave these characteristics instead to another character appearing in the spin-off — Chocho Akimichi. He did this because Sarada's story was dark, and he aimed to balance it with Chocho, who would help keep the story comical and entertaining for readers due to the contrast to Sarada's arc. Another aspect Kishimoto wanted to develop in the series was the bond between Sarada and her mother, Sakura Uchiha. For the finale of the "Naruto" spin-off, Kishimoto wanted it to end with the focus on Sarada's family.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Kishimoto chose to portray Sarada as slightly dark but strong-hearted rather than cute. He imagined the character as a female version of her father, Sasuke Uchiha. He also incorporated elements from Sakura into Sarada's characterisation and had both female characters wear similar clothing. Kishimoto also said that he aimed to make Sarada cute even while wearing glasses. Sarada was originally going to have long swept hair, but Kishimoto felt it would not fit into her look as a ninja and modified her hairstyle. The author also felt the glasses would make the character look more appealing. Her ninja outfit was based on one of Sakura's from "Naruto"s first part, but Kishimoto additionally decided to cover Sarada's arms. During the finishing touches in the making of Sarada, Kishimoto made her eyes look like Sasuke's, and her glasses were also meant to hide this resemblance. Japanese rock band Scenarioart in charge of performing the ending theme song of this story arc were given directions by Pierrot to give make song show the distant but caring relationship between Sasuke and Sarada. As a result, although the lyrics often mentions the farewells Sasuke and Sarada had, the intention was meant to make it look optimistic as they are destined to meet once again.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: In the "Boruto" film and anime series, "" (2017), Kokoro Kikuchi voices Sarada in Japanese. When the new story arc about Sarada's family was announced for "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations", Kikuchi said that she expected fans to "feel the strength and energy of the Uchiha family" throughout it, despite feeling nervous about voicing Sarada; she also looked forward to the interactions between Sarada and Chocho, who have completely different personalities. In the English version, Laura Bailey plays her in the video game "" (2016), and Cherami Leigh voices her in all subsequent appearances. Leigh stated that she is grateful to voice Sarada. She also said that, while it is exciting to play her, she feels a lot of pressure because of how "legendary" the series is; nonetheless, Leigh and the other "Boruto" English voice actors felt honoured to play the characters based on the importance of the franchise.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Sarada makes her first appearance in the last chapter of "Naruto". She is the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha. As the central character of "Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring", Sarada searches for her estranged father. She mistakenly feels that Sakura is not her biological mother; after noticing that Karin, a woman who used to be one of Sasuke's allies, wears similar glasses to hers, Sarada believes that she is her real mother. Excited about seeing Sasuke after many years, Sarada gains the bloodline eye technique known as the jutsu, which she has inherited from him. However, she does not have a good first impression of her father, wrongly believing he does not care about his family. When Naruto Uzumaki, the leader of Konohagakure, helps her understand that family is not a matter of blood, Sarada realises that she would love Sakura regardless of their blood relation, and she wishes to save and protect her at any cost. It is eventually shown that Sarada has inherited Sakura's natural control over chakra, and thus she is able to gather it in her fists and cause a devastating effect on a target because of her superhuman strength. At the same time, it is highlighted that Sarada has also inherited her mother's "Cha!" (しゃーんなろー! Shānnarō!) verbal tic. Sarada eventually learns from Sakura that she is her biological mother. After she confirms this, Sasuke says that Sarada's existence shows the connection between him and Sakura. Karin later explains that she was Sakura's midwife when Sasuke and Sakura were travelling together. Before leaving again, Sasuke shows Sarada how much he loves her by giving her the same gesture he once gave Sakura, the forehead poke, and promises to come home soon. Having admired Naruto and his dedication to his village, Sarada makes it her goal to become the next Hokage one day.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Sarada is also a supporting character in the film "" (2015), where she appears as a low-ranking ninja (Genin) and forms a team with Boruto Uzumaki, Mitsuki, and their teacher Konohamaru Sarutobi. Sarada, Mitsuki and Boruto participate in the ninja examination to become mid-ranking ninjas, Chunin. After passing the first round, Sarada helps her team win the second round by breaking through a genjutsu with her Sharingan and managing to obtain the flag she has been looking for. In the third round, Sarada uses her Sharingan again but this time combines it with her naturally good chakra control, and she is able to quickly defeat her adversary, Tarui. Despite this, the team fails to pass the final exam. Once the exam is interrupted by two figures known as Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki, Sarada tries to help clear the area, and her father protects her after she is almost crushed by a falling wall. Naruto is captured by the two villains, and Boruto asks Sarada and Mitsuki to protect Konohagakure while he goes with Sasuke to save the missing Hokage. After the mission ends, Sarada asks Boruto if he wants to become the next Hokage, to which he answers that he has decided to follow Sasuke's footsteps instead and protect her once she becomes the Hokage in the future. Sarada also appears in the novelisation of the film by Ukyō Kodachi. During the making of the film "Boruto: Naruto the Movie", some scenes involving Sarada's interactions with Boruto were removed because of time constraints. Nevertheless, Kishimoto's most important scene between these two was kept: Boruto motivating Sarada to become the Hokage in the future.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Sarada also appears in Kodachi's manga sequel to "Naruto", "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" (2016). While the manga of "Boruto" starts with a retelling of the film, the following chapters contain new stories. Konohamaru Team is given a ninja mission, but all three members reject it when Sarada learns that Boruto is protecting somebody from an assassin and saves him along with Mitsuki. The anime adaptation shows Sarada and her friends before becoming ninjas. While being childhood friends, Sarada and Boruto do not get along well but end up becoming closer once Boruto saves Chocho during a competition between students from the ninja academy. The anime also retells the events of Sarada's spin-off manga, where she manages to bond with her father. Similarly, the "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" light novels by Kodachi include Sarada's role in the anime. In a later arc, Sarada's group goes on a trip to the Mist Village but ends up trying to stop a rebellion, with Sarada defeating one of the swordsmen leading it. Following this arc, Sarada and her friends become ninjas after passing a test, and she, Boruto, and Mitsuki form the new "Team 7" under the leadership of Konohamaru. In the anime, Mitsuki disappears from the Leaf Village, prompting Sarada and her friends to search for him. Once facing Mitsuki's new allies from the Stone Village, Mitsuki interrupts the battle and takes down Boruto. Sarada is also present in an original video animation where Team Konohamaru is sent to stop an apparent thief.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Outside the manga and anime series, Sarada appears in an "omake" from the manga "Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan Legend" (2014), where she spies Boruto's training with Sasuke. She also appears in the ending of the video game "Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4" and becomes a playable character in the updated version "Road to Boruto" (2017). Besides reenacting scenes from the "Boruto" film, Sarada also appears in the game training with her father at her request. She is also playable in the video game "Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker" (2018).


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Critical response to Sarada's character has been positive. In a review of the "Boruto" manga, Amy McNulty of "Anime News Network" found Sarada's role in "Boruto" interesting due to her dream of becoming the Hokage, to the point of enjoying her more than her mother, Sakura. Christian Chiok of "Japanator" agreed, stating that Sarada's dream improved her characterisation. McNulty said both Sarada and Mitsuki helped maintain a good dynamic with Boruto. Writing about her introduction in the "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" anime, Sam Stewart of "IGN" was disappointed that Sarada did not have much screentime in her debut as her conflict with Boruto was overshadowed by most of the other students from the ninja academy. Stewart expected that Sarada and Boruto's relationship would be expanded in future since both are the children of the earlier series' protagonists. Once a "Boruto" episode focused on Sarada and Boruto's interactions, Stewart was happier with their relationship. He said that Sarada had "become a mix of both Sasuke and Naruto" based on her personality and dreams to the point of finding her more appealing than her friends. Stewart found Sarada's arc one of the best parts of the "Boruto" anime because of her realistic interactions with her father, Sasuke, which he felt were more realistic than Boruto or Sumire Kakehi's stories. "Toon Zone" liked the dynamic between Sarada and Boruto because both characters are different from their parents. Chris Homer of "The Fandom Post" also commented that Sarada is more of a "reserved" character based on her personality. Cherami Leigh's role as Sarada's English voice also represented a reason for positive responses due to how suitable she was for her.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Multiple writers have commented about Sarada's relationship with Sasuke. McNulty found Sarada's characterisation an interesting contrast to Boruto's due to how both dealt with parenting issues across their arcs. While McNulty disliked the romance between Sasuke and Sakura in the original series because she felt it initially was a one-sided crush on Sakura's part, she thought Sarada's story offered insight into the bond between the two and their relationship with their daughter, which also helped develop Sarada. Chris Zimmerman of "DVD Talk" stated that Sarada's family issues with Sasuke fitted the main theme of the "Boruto" film: the misrelationship between parents and their children. Zimmerman felt that Sarada's relationship with her father paralleled Naruto's issues with his son in the film. McNulty mentioned that, while Sarada did not detest her father the way Boruto hated his, she still had more admiration for Naruto due to her dream of being the next Hokage. Christian Chiok found Sarada's character arc one of the best parts of the "Naruto" spin-off because she formed a bond with Sasuke. Chris Homer was also one of the reviewers who felt there was a contrast between Sarada and Boruto's arcs, stating that both of them wanted to be like each other's parents. On the other hand, Alexandria Hill of "Otaku USA" found Sarada's spin-off series disappointing because of her lack of interaction with her father. Before the end of Sarada's arc, McNulty thought that while Sarada still wished to confirm her parentage, seeing her parents interact and show their love for her seemed to have lowered her need for answers. McNulty also pointed out that Sarada's journey fitted the themes of identity and family often seen in the series. Ken Iikura of "Anime Now" praised Sarada's role in the "Boruto" anime. He said that cold-hearted Sasuke clearly cares deeply for Sarada and that both characters were greatly expanded in the process. "Anime Now" writer Sarah Nelkin agreed with McNulty, stating that Sarada expands the bond between Sasuke and Sakura, despite him being absent often because of his mission.


title: Sarada Uchiha

text: Various types of merchandise based on Sarada's image have also been released. Theatergoers of the "Boruto" film were given two different types of fans, one of which used Sarada and Sasuke's images. In poll from 2021, Sarada was voted as the third best character from "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations".


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The West Virginia Mountaineers football team represents West Virginia University (also referred to as "WVU" or "West Virginia") in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. West Virginia plays its home games at Milan Puskar Stadium on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The Mountaineers have won or shared a total of 15 conference championships, including eight Southern Conference titles and seven Big East Conference titles. The Mountaineers compete in the Big 12 Conference and are led by head coach Neal Brown.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The West Virginia University football program traces its origin back to November 28, 1891 when its first team fell to Washington & Jefferson 72–0 on a converted cow pasture. Despite its humble beginning, West Virginia enjoyed a 25–23–3 overall record prior to 1900, which proved to be a fruitful century of Mountaineer football. The early 1900s brought about early successes for the program, namely during the 1903 and 1905 seasons when WVU posted records of 7–1 and 8–1 respectively. WVU produced a 6–3 record in the 1904 season, despite losing to Penn State, Pitt, and Michigan by a combined score of 217–0. The 1908–20 period produced the four-year head coaching tenures of C.A. Lueder (1908–11) and Mont McIntire (1916–17, 1919–20), representing the longest coaching tenures during this early period of Mountaineer football. Lueder's Mountaineers produced a 17–13–3 record, while McIntire's teams produced the most success of any Mountaineer team prior to 1921, compiling a 24–11–4 record including an 8–2 finish in 1919. That same Mountaineer team also produced West Virginia's first ever Consensus All-American and potential College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ira Errett Rodgers. Rodgers scored 19 touchdowns and kicked 33 extra points for WVU in 1919 season, leading the nation with 147 total points. Rodgers also threw 11 touchdown passes that season, an unheard of feat at the time and a Mountaineer record until 1949. The Mountaineers enjoyed their first period of success during the 1920s, coinciding with the successful coaching tenures of Clarence Spears (1921–24) and Ira Errett Rodgers (1925–30, 1943–45). Under the tutelage of Spears, West Virginia compiled a 30–6–3 record with its best performance coming in the 1922 season. The 1922 edition of the Mountaineers remains the only team in West Virginia history to produce an unbeaten season, finishing with a 10–0–1 mark. Spears's Mountaineers surrendered only 34 total points in 1922, posting six consecutive shutouts to finish the regular season. The 1922 season also produced notable victories against rival Pitt and against Gonzaga in the East-West Bowl, the program's first bowl game appearance. Offensive tackle Russell Meredith garnered First-Team All-American honors. In homage to the successes of the 1922 season, West Virginia University undertook construction of what became the first incarnation of Mountaineer Field.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers continued their success under Spears in posting subsequent one-loss seasons in 1923 (7–1–1) and in 1924 (8–1), with Spears departing the program for Minnesota thereafter. Ira Errett Rodgers replaced Spears and the Mountaineers posted an 8–1 record in 1925. After a 6–4 finish in 1926 and a 2–4–3 record in 1927, the program produced an 8–2 finish in 1928. Rodgers's first tenure as West Virginia coach ended with records of 4–3–3 in 1929 and 5–5 in 1930. Taking over for Rodgers in 1931 was Earle "Greasy" Neale, but his tenure was short-lived as the Mountaineers failed to produce a single winning season under his guise, going a combined 12–16–3 over Neale's three years as coach. Charles Tallman, an End who achieved All-American status with the Mountaineers in 1923 with the Mountaineers, replaced Neale in 1934 and produced immediate results as the program posted 6–4 records in 1934 and 1936. Although West Virginia posted a 3–4–2 record in 1935, the program produced an All-American in Joe Stydahar, an offensive tackle. "Jumbo Joe" later became both a College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. Despite his winning record, Tallman resigned after the 1936 season to pursue his career in law enforcement as Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police. Marshall Glenn picked up right where Tallman left off, leading West Virginia to an 8–1–1 record in 1937. The season concluded with an upset of Texas Tech in the 1938 Sun Bowl. Running back Harry Clarke led the way for the Mountaineers that season, rushing for a then school record 921 yards and 10 touchdowns. Glenn's success was short-lived, however, as subsequent WVU teams posted losing records of 4–5–1 in 1938 and 2–6–1 in 1939, leading to his ouster. West Virginia experienced a lag in success during much of the 1940s, producing only three winning seasons while witnessing the split coaching tenures of Bill Kern (1940–42, 1946–47) and the second appearance of Ira Errett Rodgers (1943–45). Under the direction of head coach Dudley DeGroot in the 1948 season, the Mountaineers returned to prominence with a 9–3 finish, adding another Sun Bowl victory to its resume with a 21–12 defeat of Texas Western (now known as UTEP). Despite that successful first season at the program's helm, DeGroot resigned after a disappointing 4–6–1 finish in 1949.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: When Art "Pappy" Lewis became West Virginia's head coach in 1950, he remarked that it was the job that he had always wanted. Known by his peers as an exceptional recruiter and by his players as a father figure, Lewis established a family-like atmosphere within the Mountaineer football program. Lewis's Mountaineer teams held true to form, experiencing their most consistent success during the 1950s as it ever had previously. After forgettable campaigns in 1950 and '1951, the 1952 season brought WVU its first winning season since 1948. The Mountaineers finished with a 7–2 record, highlighted by a 16–0 upset victory of No. 18 Pitt in Pittsburgh.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Beginning with the 1953 season, the Mountaineers would reel off three consecutive eight-win seasons and five Southern Conference (SoCon) championships in six seasons. In 1953, the Mountaineers finished with an 8–2 record, their first SoCon championship, a No. 10 ranking in the Associated Press (AP) Poll, and a berth in the Sugar Bowl with Georgia Tech. The 1954 edition of the Mountaineers also finished the regular season with an 8–1 mark, losing their only game to Pitt by a 13–10 score. The Mountaineers did not earn a bowl bid, however, despite winning their second consecutive SoCon title and earning a No. 12 ranking in the AP Poll. In 1955, the Mountaineers engineered yet another eight-win season and SoCon championship, but upset losses to Pitt and Syracuse doomed West Virginia's shot at a bowl bid. Despite its disappointing finish, WVU produced two All-American offensive linemen and future College Football Hall of Fame inductees in Bruce Bosley and Sam Huff. Bosley earned Consensus All-American status that season, becoming the first Mountaineer to do so since Ira Errett Rodgers in 1919.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Despite finishing with a modest 6–4 record in 1956, West Virginia won its fourth consecutive SoCon title with a 5–0 record in conference play. The 1957 season resulted in a 7–2–1 record and a 3–0 mark in Southern Conference play. Although the Mountaineers once again compiled an undefeated SoCon record, they were not awarded the conference championship, as VMI earned the title with a 9–0–1 overall record and 6–0 record in SoCon play. In 1958, the Mountaineers had their first losing season in eight years, but their 4–0 record in SoCon play earned them a 5th conference title in six seasons. The 1958 season was the final season that West Virginia would win a conference championship under Lewis's tenure. The Mountaineers finished 3–7 in 1959, losing the final five games of the season by a combined score of 24–140. Lewis resigned as head coach afterward. Despite the program's drop off in success in his final two seasons as coach, Lewis produced 58 victories overall during his tenure at West Virginia, placing him fourth overall in the program's history.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: After Lewis's departure, the program hit an all-time low in 1960 under first-year head coach Gene Corum, posting its worst season to date: 0–8–2. The Mountaineers were simply outclassed by their opponents, being outscored 40–259 on the season. The Mountaineers rebounded, however, and by 1962 were back to their winning ways, posting an 8–2 record and 4–0 conference record. Despite their undefeated conference record, once again the SoCon crown eluded the Mountaineers in favor of the VMI Keydets and their 6–0 record in conference play. West Virginia did not have to wait long for its next SoCon title, however, as the program won the title in the 1964 and 1965 seasons consecutively. The Mountaineers finished 7–4 in 1964 and participated in the Liberty Bowl against Utah, West Virginia's first bowl game in 11 years as well as the first major college football bowl game ever played indoors and to be broadcast nationwide in the United States. Corum's tenure ended thereafter, posting a 29–30–2 record over his six seasons as head coach. Corum's legacy went well beyond wins and losses, however, as he integrated WVU football in 1963 with the program's first African-American recruits in Roger Alford and Dick Leftridge.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Following the 1965 season, Jim Carlen took over for Corum as head coach. After a 3–5–2 finish in 1966, Carlen guided the Mountaineers to their 8th and final SoCon championship in 1967. West Virginia left the Southern Conference thereafter, participating as an independent until 1991. Carlen's Mountaineers would produce subsequent winning seasons in 1968 and 1969, posting records of 7–3 and 10–1, respectively. The 1969 edition of the Mountaineers was the most successful West Virginia team since the 1922 season. Not only did the Mountaineers win 10 games, but they earned their first bowl game victory since 1948 with a Peach Bowl victory over No. 19 South Carolina, as well as a No. 18 final ranking in the Coaches Poll. The dynamic rushing tandem of running back Bob Gresham (1,155 yards and 9 touchdowns) and fullback Jim Braxton (843 yards, 12 touchdowns) led the Mountaineers. Gresham became the second Mountaineer to ever rush for more than 1,000 yards (Garrett Ford, Sr. was the first with 1,068 yards in 1966). At the conclusion of the 1969 season, Carlen departed West Virginia for Texas Tech. The Mountaineers responded by hiring Bobby Bowden.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: It appeared that the Bobby Bowden era of Mountaineer football could not have begun more smoothly early in the 1970 season, or so it seemed. The Mountaineers were 4–1 to start the season and led arch rival Pitt 35–8 at halftime in week six. What transpired was one of the most infamous collapses in Backyard Brawl and West Virginia football history. The Mountaineers surrendered 28 unanswered points, losing to the Panthers 36–35 and leading Bowden to remark that he had "embarrassed the whole state of West Virginia" in the process. Despite the disappointment of the Pitt defeat, West Virginia went on to finish the 1970 season with an 8–3 record. Fullback Jim Braxton and linebacker Dale Farley earned All-American honors.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers continued their winning ways under Bowden in 1971 and 1972, posting records of 7–4 and 8–4 respectively. The 1972 West Virginia team earned the program's first trip back to a bowl game in three years, participating once again in the Peach Bowl against North Carolina State. The season also witnessed the offensive prowess of running back Kerry Marbury and wide receiver Danny Buggs. Marbury ran for 16 touchdowns in 1972, a record that remained unbroken until 2002. Buggs recorded 35 receptions for 791 yards and eight touchdowns, ran for four touchdowns, and returned two punts for touchdowns to amass 14 total touchdowns.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 1973 and 1974 seasons, however, were not successful campaigns for the Mountaineers, as they finished with records of 6–5 and 4–7. Despite the disappointment of those seasons, Danny Buggs earned All-American status for his contributions in both campaigns. The 1975 season was successful as the Mountaineers compiled a 9–3 record, a 13–10 Peach Bowl victory over North Carolina State, and a final ranking of No. 17 in the Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the AP Poll. Additionally, the Mountaineers upset the No. 20 Pitt Panthers 17–14 on a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds in yet another memorable chapter of the Backyard Brawl. Bowden later described the victory as one of the most exciting ones of his coaching career. Following the 1975 season, Bowden left WVU to become the head coach at Florida State, where he would become the second winningest coach in NCAA Division I-A/FBS history. In just six seasons with the Mountaineers, Bowden produced a 42–26 record, good for fifth all-time in the program. Bowden's departure not only signaled the end of his tenure at West Virginia, but to the end of WVU's winning ways in the 1970s.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Under the direction of Frank Cignetti, the Mountaineers endured four consecutive losing seasons. West Virginia completed the 1976 season with a 5–6 record, losing four of its final six games. The disappointment of 1976 was realized again the following season, as the Mountaineers posted another 5–6 finish in 1977. After a promising 4–1 start to the season, including an upset road victory over No. 11 Maryland, WVU lost five of its final six games. The Mountaineers finished 2–9 in 1978, being outscored 364–167. It was later revealed that Cignetti had suffered from a rare form of cancer during the season, nearly losing his life on the operating table during a procedure to remove his spleen in the winter of 1978. The 1979 season was Cignetti's final with the program. The Mountaineers produced another 5–6 finish, losing their first three games and later dropping three out of their final four games.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Despite the program's losing seasons during Cignetti's tenure, Cignetti managed to land prized recruit and future Consensus All-American linebacker Darryl Talley, as well as standout quarterback and future Athletic Director Oliver Luck and running back Robert Alexander. Cignetti's coaching staffs also consisted of some of the best coaches in college football, including Nick Saban, Joe Pendry and Rick Trickett (who, along with Rich Rodriguez, was later credited as an innovator in utilizing the zone blocking scheme in conjunction with the run-based spread offense at WVU). However, with a 17–27 record during his four years with the program, and in having to follow in the footsteps of the great Bobby Bowden (who later became the second all-time leader in victories amongst NCAA FBS coaches), Cignetti's legacy is one of the most conflicted in the program's history.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: In the wake of Frank Cignetti's firing, the West Virginia Athletic Department determined that a full rebuild was in order. On December 10, 1979, West Virginia introduced Don Nehlen as its new head coach, the 30th coach in the program's history. Coinciding with Nehlen's hire was the construction of the second incarnation of Mountaineer Field, the program's current home stadium. Nehlen brought several changes to the Mountaineer football program, including a new logo and color scheme that remains in use to this day. The result was consistency and success for the program during his two-decade tenure at West Virginia. After a 6–6 campaign in 1980, Nehlen's 1981 Mountaineer team produced the first of 15 winning seasons under his direction. It also marked the first of three consecutive nine-win seasons and four consecutive bowl game appearances for the Mountaineers. Led by senior quarterback Oliver Luck's 2,448 yards passing and 16 touchdowns, the 1981 team posted a 9–3 record and earned a trip back to the Peach Bowl, where they defeated the Florida Gators 26–6. WVU also finished ranked in the polls for the first time since 1975, coming in at No. 17 and No. 18 in the AP and Coaches Polls, respectively.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 1982 Mountaineers experienced similar success. Sparked by their come-from-behind upset victory over No. 9 Oklahoma to open the season, the Mountaineers finished with a 9–2 record, remaining ranked in the AP poll throughout the season en route to a Gator Bowl berth with Bobby Bowden and Florida State. Despite its Gator Bowl loss, West Virginia once again finished the season 9–3 and ranked 19th in both final polls. The team also produced the program's first Consensus All-American since 1955 in senior linebacker Darryl Talley. The Mountaineers won their first six games at the outset of the 1983 season, attaining a No. 4 ranking in the AP Poll. With a 41–23 upset loss to 1983 in week 8, however, West Virginia's hopes of an undefeated season collapsed. WVU lost three of its final five regular season games before defeating Kentucky in the Hall of Fame Classic to finish the season at 9–3. It was the third consecutive season for WVU to finish ranked, coming in at No. 16 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. Quarterback Jeff Hostetler led the offensive attack with 2,345 yards passing and 16 touchdowns, while Kicker Paul Woodside received All-American honors in converting 21 of 25 field goal attempts and all 37 of his extra point attempts en route to a team-leading 100 points.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Although the 1984 season had all off the makings of a memorable one for West Virginia, the Mountaineers experienced another letdown. WVU started the season with a 7–1 record, posting an upset victory over No. 4 Boston College and its first victory over Penn State in 25 meetings along the way. The Mountaineers were upset in each of their final three regular season games, however, losing to Virginia, Rutgers and Temple. WVU rebounded to defeat Texas Christian in the Bluebonnet Bowl, finishing the season at 8–4 with a No. 21 ranking in the final Coaches poll. The Mountaineers also produced three All-Americans in return specialist Willie Drewrey, kicker Paul Woodside, and tight end Rob Bennett. After four consecutive seasons of bowl berths and finishes in at least one of the polls, West Virginia went on a two-year drought in 1985 and 1986, finishing those seasons with records of 7–3–1 and 4–7 (Nehlen's first of only four losing seasons) respectively. The shortcomings of those seasons came to a head in 1987, where the Mountaineers endured a season of growing pains and near-misses. Despite a 1–3 start, West Virginia rallied to finish the regular season at 6–5 with four of its five losses coming by deficits of 5 points or less. Freshman quarterback Major Harris led the way for the Mountaineers, compiling 16 total touchdowns and providing glimpses of what was to come in his illustrious collegiate career. The season culminated in a 35–33 loss to No. 11 Oklahoma State in the Sun Bowl, a game in which the Mountaineers led 24–14 at halftime and lost on a failed two-point conversion attempt with 1:13 remaining.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 1988 edition of the Mountaineers achieved an undefeated regular season, compiling 11 wins for the first time in its history. The success of the regular season culminated in West Virginia's first and only trip to a National Championship Game in its history, where the No. 3 Mountaineers met No. 1 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame went on to win 34–21 and claimed the national championship. West Virginia finished the 1988 campaign ranked No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. Major Harris compiled 610 yards rushing, 1,915 yards passing, and 20 total touchdowns on the season. Coming off of its first ever 11-win season and with junior Major Harris returning to lead a potent offense, West Virginia entered the 1989 season with high expectations and a No. 17 ranking in the AP Poll. The Mountaineers raced to a 4–0 record and to No. 9 in the AP Poll. In Week 5 against No. 10 Pitt, however, West Virginia fell victim to another memorable collapse in the Backyard Brawl. Trailing 31–9 in the 4th quarter, Pitt scored 22 unanswered points and kicked a game-tying field goal as time expired to force a 31–31 tie. The Mountaineers suffered another defeat the following week with a 12–10 home loss to Virginia Tech, followed by a 19–9 loss to No. 16 Penn State in State College. Despite those defeats, WVU finished the regular season at 8–2–1, a No. 17 ranking in the AP Poll, and a trip to the Gator Bowl to face No. 14 Clemson. The Mountaineers lost 27–7 and finished the season at 8–3–1 with a No. 21 ranking in the final AP Poll. The 1990 season, West Virginia's final as an NCAA Division I-A Independent, coincided with a 4–7 finish.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: West Virginia entered the 1991 season as new members of the Big East in what became a 20-year affiliation with the conference. After finishes of 6–5 in 1991 and 5–4–2 in 1992, the Mountaineers returned to ranks of the college football elite in the 1993 season. For the second time in six seasons, West Virginia produced an undefeated, 11-win regular season in 1993. The Mountaineers engineered several close victories, beginning with a 36–34 upset of No. 17 Louisville at home in Morgantown. In its final two regular season games, WVU twice erased 4th quarter deficits to defeat No. 4 Miami and No. 11 Boston College. Despite finishing the regular season undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the AP Poll, West Virginia was not selected to play in the Orange Bowl for a possible national championship. The Bowl Coalition system, designed to place the top two ranked teams in a bowl to determine the National Champion, slotted the Mountaineers at No. 3 behind 11–1 Florida State. The Seminoles were selected to play No. 1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the national championship, while West Virginia settled for a Sugar Bowl berth against SEC Champion Florida. The Gators routed the Mountaineers 41–7, denying West Virginia its perfect season. WVU finished the season at 11–1, ranked No. 6 in the Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the AP Poll. Robert Walker amassed a then-school record 1,250 rushing yards, along with 11 touchdowns on the season.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 1993 season was WVU's final season with double-digit victories during Nehlen's tenure as subsequent Mountaineer teams failed to recapture that level of success. After posting a 7–6 record in 1994 and a 5–6 mark in 1995, the 1996 Mountaineers showed promise of returning the program to national prominence. West Virginia began the 1996 season with a 7–0 record, only to lose three of its final four regular season games en route to an 8–3 record and a 20–13 defeat in the Gator Bowl at the hands of No. 12 North Carolina to finish 8–4. The Mountaineers put together another strong start in 1997, taking a 7–2 record into the final two weeks of the season. Once again, the Mountaineers faltered as they lost 21–14 at Notre Dame and 41–38 in triple overtime to a 5–5 Pitt team to finish the regular season at 7–4. The late season collapse culminated in another bowl game defeat, this time to Georgia Tech in the Carquest Bowl. Despite the disappointing conclusion to the season, quarterback Marc Bulger emerged as a capable leader throwing for 2,465 yards and 14 touchdowns. Running back Amos Zereoué shattered Robert Walker's rushing record with 1,589 yards, and his 18 rushing touchdowns are the second most in a single season at WVU.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 1998 season brought high expectations for the Mountaineers, as WVU entered the season ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. Despite dropping its opening game to No. 1 Ohio State, West Virginia rebounded to win its next four games and went on to finish the season with an 8–3 record and 5–2 mark in Big East conference play. The Mountaineers failed to attain nine wins, however, as they lost their 8th consecutive bowl game in the Insight.com Bowl to Missouri. Bulger set two WVU records with 3,607 yards passing and 31 touchdown passes, while Zereoué amassed 1,462 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns in his final season as a Mountaineer. Receivers Shawn Foreman and David Saunders finished with eight touchdown receptions each. After a 4–7 finish in 1999, Don Nehlen's final season with the Mountaineers in 2000 culminated in a 7–5 record with a victory in the Music City Bowl over Ole Miss, ending West Virginia's streak of futility in bowl games. Overall, Nehlen posted a 149–93–4 record during his tenure at West Virginia, making him both the longest-serving and most successful head coach in Mountaineer history. While his coaching tenure contained numerous successes, Nehlen's time at WVU also included its share of shortcomings as his Mountaineer teams often struggled against ranked opponents and in bowl games. However, as the man responsible for shaping the Mountaineer football program and bringing it to national relevancy in his 21 seasons in Morgantown, Nehlen was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Most importantly, his tenure laid the foundation for the program's most successful and prominent era.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: After Nehlen's retirement, WVU named then-Clemson offensive coordinator and West Virginia native Rich Rodriguez as its first new head coach in 20 years. Rodriguez's tenure began ignominiously, as the 2001 edition of the Mountaineers finished 3–8, its worst record since 1978. The failures of 2001, however, set the stage for the emergence of the most successful era in Mountaineer football history. The 2002 season represented the biggest single-season turnaround in program history. Despite a 5–3 record through the season's first eight games, the Mountaineers reeled off four consecutive victories, including upset road wins over then-ranked rivals Virginia Tech (No. 13) and Pitt (No. 17). West Virginia finished the regular season at 9–3 overall, with a 6–1 conference record for second place in the Big East, and a berth in the Continental Tire Bowl with Virginia. Despite losing its bowl game, West Virginia finished with a 9–4 record and was ranked in both the final Coaches (No. 20) and AP (No. 25) polls for the first time since 1993. The momentum generated from the 2002 campaign was short-lived as the Mountaineers stumbled to a 1–4 record early in the 2003 season. In similar fashion to the previous season, West Virginia rebounded and recorded seven wins in a row, including upsets of No. 3 Virginia Tech and No. 16 Pitt. The Mountaineers ended the regular season at 8–4 with a 6–1 conference mark, earning them a share of their first Big East title since 1993. West Virginia earned a trip to the Gator Bowl for a rematch with rival Maryland. The result for the Mountaineers was a near duplicate of their 34–7 defeat to the Terrapins earlier in the season, as they fell 41–7 and finished the season 8–5. In contrast to 2002 and 2003, the 2004 season may best be remembered for what the Mountaineers failed to accomplish. West Virginia, ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll to begin the season, carried an 8–1 record through its first nine games. The Mountaineers collapsed in the final two games of the regular season, however, losing to No. 21 Boston College and to Pitt. West Virginia squandered its opportunity to win the Big East outright, leading to a four-way tie for first place and the BCS Fiesta Bowl nomination going to Pitt by tiebreaker. The disappointing season drew to a close with 30–18 loss to Florida State in the Gator Bowl, giving WVU an 8–4 record.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 2005 season was a noteworthy one for the Mountaineers. After a 5–1 (albeit offensively sluggish) start to the season, the Mountaineers came alive in Week 7 against No. 19 Louisville. Quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton helped to erase a 24–7 4th quarter deficit en route to a thrilling 46–44 triple overtime victory. From that point forward, the Mountaineers outscored their opponents 156–39 en route to a 10–1 finish and a 7–0 record in conference play for their second outright Big East championship. The Mountaineers also earned their first ever BCS bowl game berth, facing No. 8 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. West Virginia scored 21 points in the 1st quarter, holding on for a 38–35 upset victory. The Mountaineers finished the 2005 season with their third 11-win season and achieved rankings of No. 5 and No. 6 in the AP and Coaches Polls, respectively. The Mountaineers once again posted 11 wins in the 2006 season, narrowly missing out on another Big East championship after losses to Louisville and South Florida. West Virginia remained ranked in the top 15 in both polls throughout the season, earning another New Year's Day bowl game as they met Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl. The Mountaineers came away with another 38–35 victory, winning consecutive bowl games for the first time since the 1983 and 1984 seasons. Additionally, center Dan Mozes and running back Steve Slaton earned Consensus All-American honors. Slaton's 1,744 yards rushing set the WVU single-season rushing record.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 2007 season may well be regarded as the most infamous season in West Virginia football history. The Mountaineers attained a preseason ranking of No. 3 and had national championship aspirations. WVU raced to a 10–1 record, including a 66–21 victory over UConn to secure its fifth Big East title and its second BCS bowl appearance. The Mountaineers rose to as high as No. 2 in the AP Poll and No. 1 in the Coaches Poll, needing only a victory at home over a 4–7, 28-point underdog Pitt team in the 100th installment of the Backyard Brawl to secure its second ever National Championship Game appearance. That victory did not come, as the Mountaineers suffered a devastating 13–9 defeat. The fallout of the Pitt defeat reached beyond national championship implications for the program, as it culminated in the departure of Rich Rodriguez to Michigan. Rodriguez left prior to West Virginia's meeting with No. 3 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. The Mountaineers rebounded, posting a 48–28 victory over the heavily favored Sooners.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Long-time assistant coach Bill Stewart, named as interim head coach for the game, received a five-year contract to become West Virginia's 32nd head coach. The Mountaineers concluded the 2007 season with an 11–2 record and were ranked at No. 6 in both of the final AP and Coaches Polls. The Mountaineers transitioned into the Bill Stewart era in the 2008 season. WVU amassed a 9–4 record and a second-place finish in the Big East, closing the season Meineke Car Care Bowl victory over North Carolina and a No. 23 ranking in the AP Poll. The bowl victory was West Virginia's fourth in a row, giving Pat White a postseason record of 4–0 as a starting quarterback. During Week 13 of the 2008 season, White set the NCAA rushing yardage record for quarterbacks with a 200-yard performance in a 35–21 win over Louisville.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The 2009 season culminated in another nine-win campaign and second-place finish in the Big East for the Mountaineers. WVU ended its two-year losing streak in the Backyard Brawl with an upset victory over No. 8 Pitt. West Virginia's season concluded with a loss in the Gator Bowl to Florida State in Bobby Bowden's final game as a head coach. The 2010 season brought the program its third consecutive nine-win season. Nonetheless, the season was ultimately a disappointment for the Mountaineers. Despite assembling arguably the strongest defense in program history (surrendering only 176 total points, an average of 13.5 per game) and having a talented offense, West Virginia struggled with consistency all season. The Mountaineers lost to No. 15 LSU, Syracuse and UConn by a combined 14 points, while the Mountaineer defense did not surrender more than 23 points scored against in a single game throughout the season. WVU's loss to Connecticut in Week 9 came back to haunt the Mountaineers as they lost out on a BCS Bowl bid by virtue of a tiebreaker to the Huskies.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Prior to West Virginia's Champs Sports Bowl match up with North Carolina State, Dana Holgorsen was hired as the "coach-in-waiting," serving as offensive coordinator during the 2011 season and replacing Stewart as head coach in 2012. Luck didn't believe Stewart was capable of leading the Mountaineers to a national championship, and was also concerned about declining season ticket sales. The relationship between Stewart and Holgorsen imploded just months later. Colin Dunlap of KDKA-FM in Pittsburgh claimed that Stewart had asked him to dig up dirt on Holgorsen while Dunlap was a reporter at the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette." While athletic director Luck was unable to substantiate the claims, he decided that the coach-in-waiting arrangement was untenable, leading to Stewart's resignation and Holgorsen becoming head coach.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers finished the 2011 regular season with a 9–3 record (5–2 in Big East play) and a share of its 7th Big East title. The Mountaineers were the only Big East team ranked in the final BCS standings (No. 23), earning the BCS bid by tiebreaker and an Orange Bowl berth against ACC champion No. 14 Clemson. In its first Orange Bowl appearance, the Mountaineers soundly defeated Clemson 70–33 and set an NCAA record for points scored in a bowl game. The Mountaineers finished the season at 10–3 and ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll. From 2002–2011, the Mountaineer football program yielded its most prolific era to date, producing a 95–33 record. During that span WVU participated in ten bowl games, finished ranked in at least one of the AP or Coaches Polls on seven occasions, won six Big East Conference titles, and produced three BCS bowl game victories.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: In the midst of continued college football conference realignment, WVU joined the Big 12 Conference as of July 1, 2012. Despite starting the 2012 season at 5–0 and climbing into the top 5 in the AP and Coaches Polls, WVU lost six of its final eight games en route to a 7–6 finish. The season culminated in a loss to rival Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl. The 2013 season brought WVU's first losing campaign since 2001. After a 4–5 start and an opportunity to secure bowl eligibility with two victories, WVU faltered in its final three games to finish 4–8. The Mountaineers rebounded in the 2014 season, posting a 7–6 record against a schedule featuring five opponents ranked in the top 15. WVU raced to a 6–2 start, only to lose four of its final five games. The Mountaineers returned to a bowl game in 2014, losing in the Liberty Bowl. WVU returned to the eight-win plateau in 2015 season, posting a 7–5 record during the regular season and winning the Cactus Bowl. In the 2016 season, the Mountaineers finished in second place in the Big 12 and finished the season with a 10–3 record, the ninth season in the program's history with at least ten victories. The season culminated in a loss to Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Prior to the conclusion of the regular season, Holgorsen and WVU agreed to a five-year contract extension. In 2017, WVU finished 7–6. The season concluded with a loss in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Mountaineers started the season 7–3, only to lose their final three games after a season-ending hand injury to quarterback Will Grier. The 2018 season saw the Mountaineers start with an 8–1 record, earning top 10 rankings in the polls and in the College Football Playoff. WVU faltered in its final two regular season games, however, and failed to earn a berth in the Big 12 Championship Game. WVU finished 8–4 with a loss in the Camping World Bowl. Soon thereafter, Dana Holgorsen left the program to take the head coaching position at Houston.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: On January 5, 2019, Troy head coach Neal Brown was named the 34th head coach of the program. Brown brought with him an exciting, up-tempo- pass-oriented offense known as the Air raid. WVU finished the 2019 season with a 5–7 record, failing to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2013. The Mountaineers rebounded in 2020, posting 6–4 record culminating in a Liberty Bowl victory against Army in their first meeting since the 1961 season. In 2021, the Mountaineers were looking for improvement, but were met with more of the same, finishing with a 6-6 record through the regular season. They began the season with a rivalry loss to Maryland, and then defeated LIU and won back the Black Diamond Trophy from Virginia Tech. They lost their first 3 conference matchups, against Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Baylor, leading in the second half over the then #4 Oklahoma team. They got their first conference wins against TCU and a ranked Iowa State team, but lost to Oklahoma State and Kansas State afterwards. Despite being 4-6, they became bowl eligible by defeating the Texas Longhorns and Kansas Jayhawks to close out the season. They wrapped up the year in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix, resulting in an 18-6 loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: West Virginia has won or shared a conference championship on 15 occasions, ten outright and five shared, including eight Southern Conference (SoCon) titles and seven Big East Conference titles.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The ECAC Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy is an annual award given to the best team in the Eastern Region of FBS-level college football. West Virginia has received the award as Eastern Champion on four occasions.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: West Virginia has participated in 39 bowl games throughout its history, compiling a 16–23 record through the 2021 season. The Mountaineers endured a dubious string of post-season futility from 1987 to 2004, losing 11 of 12 bowl games including eight consecutive losses between 1987 and 1998. However, West Virginia won four straight bowl games from 2005 to 2008 with Pat White, who became the first ever quarterback to win all four bowl games as a starter in Division I college football. These are West Virginia's last ten bowl games.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The West Virginia Mountaineers have had 34 head coaches throughout the program's history. With 149 victories, Don Nehlen is first overall in the program's history, followed by Dana Holgorsen (61 wins) and Rich Rodriguez (60).


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: West Virginia has finished a season ranked in at least one of the Associated Press (AP) or Coaches polls on 21 occasions. The Mountaineers have finished ranked amongst the top 10 in college football on five occasions. West Virginia attained its highest-ever ranking in the polls during week 14 of the 2007 season, when they were ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the AP Poll.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers have concluded the regular season ranked in the final rankings of the College Football Playoff (CFP) on two occasions. West Virginia finished the regular season ranked seven times in the final rankings of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), a predecessor to the CFP. The Bowl Coalition, a predecessor to the CFP and BCS systems, ranked WVU 3rd in its final standings at the conclusion of the 1993 regular season. As of the end of the 2020 season, the Mountaineers were 49–122–2 against opponents ranked in the AP Poll.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Since 1891, the Mountaineers have played their home games in Morgantown, West Virginia along with neutral-site games at numerous locations throughout West Virginia, most notably in Charleston, Clarksburg, Fairmont, Parkersburg and Wheeling. The construction of Old Mountaineer Field in 1924 gave WVU its first permanent home facility. Located next to Woodburn Hall in what is now considered the Downtown portion of the WVU campus, the first incarnation of Mountaineer Field consisted of a horseshoe-type seating arrangement. The stadium eventually grew in capacity to its peak of 38,000 by 1979. The physical location of the stadium made it impossible for further expansion to take place, however, and led to the relocation of the football program to the new Mountaineer Field in 1980. The old stadium was razed in 1987. At the southwest corner where the stadium once stood, there is a horseshoe-shaped monument commemorating the stadium. From 1924–1979 the Mountaineers played 267 games at Old Mountaineer Field, compiling a 171–82–14 record.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers have played their home games at the second incarnation of Mountaineer Field since 1980. The bowl-shaped stadium is located on the Evansdale section of the WVU campus. Originally constructed with an east–west configuration of the seating areas and a capacity of 50,000, subsequent seating additions at the north and south ends of the facility increased the capacity to over 63,000 by 1986 through the 2003 season. Suites were first introduced to Mountaineer Field in 1994, with 12 suites being constructed in the first row of the press box on the stadium's west end. General admission seating in the north end zone was replaced with 18 suites in 2004 to create the "Touchdown Terrace" section, while four additional suites were added in the south end zone in 2007. The construction of Touchdown Terrace in 2004 brought the stadium's capacity to 60,000.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: As of November 29, 2003, the stadium has been named "Milan Puskar Stadium" in honor of Milan Puskar, the founder of Morgantown-based Mylan Pharmaceuticals, in recognition of his $20 million donation to the University.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Due to Mountaineer Field's capacity and the relatively smaller populations of West Virginia's largest cities, it has been suggested that Morgantown becomes the largest "city" in the state on game days due to the influx of spectators at the stadium. Crowds at Mountaineer Field have earned the reputation of being loud and boisterous, creating a hostile atmosphere for opposing teams.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Also constructed in 1980 was the "Facilities Building" (now the Milan Puskar Center) to house the program's football offices. Originally located south of Mountaineer Field, in 1985 the facility was connected to the stadium when an 11,000-seat expansion enclosed the South end zone bowl. The 39,000-square-foot facility houses the team's locker room and training facilities, including a 23,000-square-foot weight training facility on the first floor of the complex. The second floor of the Puskar Center houses the offensive and defensive wings for the coaching staffs, the team meeting room, player position rooms, the football staff conference room, and the Reynolds Family Academic Performance Center. Also located on the second floor of the Puskar Center is the Donald J. Brohard Hall of Traditions. Made possible through a gift by WVU alumnus and Datatel, Inc. founder Ken Kendrick, the Hall of Traditions opened in 2006 to honor the history of the WVU football program. The Hall of Traditions houses interactive displays, videos, photos, records and information on the program. The Hall is open to the public on weekdays throughout the year.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Puskar Center underwent significant renovations in 2012 and 2013, aimed specifically at improving the weight room, the aesthetics of the facility's interior, lounge space for the football players and upgrading the coaches' meeting areas. Further renovation of the Puskar Center in 2015 culminated with the construction of a new team meeting room for the players and coaches.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The structure has 162 theater-style chairs to seat an entire football team, as well as support staff and personnel. The room is also utilized for the head coach's weekly news conferences during the season, as well as media interviews with players and other coaches.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Further renovations to the Puskar Center are planned for the future as part of WVU's master plan for athletic facilities.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers utilize two facilities for indoor and outdoor football practices, the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility and the Steve Antoline Family Football Practice Field.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Caperton facility opened in August 1998. The indoor space is equipped with a 90-yard FieldTurf playing surface with seven yards of safety zone surrounding the entire field. Total length from wall to wall is 105 yards, with more than 75,000 square feet of practice room. Located behind the Caperton facility is the Steve Antoline Family Practice Field, a FieldTurf facility previously consisting of two grass fields. The Antoline facility consists of a full-length 120-yard field along with an adjacent 60-yard field.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The theme song of West Virginia University, John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" has been performed at every home football game pregame show since 1972. In 1980, John Denver performed his hit song during pregame festivities to a sold-out crowd at Mountaineer Field. His performance marked the dedication of the second incarnation of Mountaineer Field and the first game for head coach Don Nehlen. After every home win, WVU players and fans link arm-in-arm and sing along to a recording of the song.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Performed by the Pride of West Virginia marching band, the pregame show includes such traditions as the 220-beat per minute run-on introductory drum cadence, the formation of the "Flying WV" logo to the tune of "Fight Mountaineers," and the forming of the state of West Virginia while playing the university fight song "Hail, West Virginia." The band also performs "Take Me Home, Country Roads" as well as Aaron Copland's "Simple Gifts." The fans participate in several cheers during the pregame show, notably chanting "W-V-U" to the roll of the band's drum line prior to the playing of "Fight Mountaineers," as well as chanting "Let's Go Mountaineers" in between playings of "Hail, West Virginia."


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: WVU students encompassing the "Mountaineer Maniacs" section and fans alike participate in several chants during WVU home games. The "Let's Go...Mountaineers" chant, with the east end of the stadium shouting "Let's Go..." and the west end responding with "Mountaineers," is the most popular amongst those in attendance. West Virginia fans also participate in the "1st Down" and "3rd Down" cheers. The "1st Down" cheer can be heard at both home and away games prior to the announcement of a Mountaineer first down. Mountaineer fans raise their hands and hold a cheer of "OH!" in unison until the first down call is made by the public address announcer. Following the call, the fans lift their arms up and down three times to a chant of "W-V-U," clap and then signal to the end zone chanting "first down!" The "3rd Down" cheer is similar, with Mountaineer fans raising their arms and waving three fingers upon the announcement of "third down" by the public address.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: WVU incorporated the Mountaineers nickname in 1905 after the coining of West Virginia's state motto, "Mountaineers are Always Free." Prior to 1905, the team was referred to as the "Snakes." The Mountaineer mascot first appeared at WVU sporting events during the 1934–35 school year and has been a fixture ever since. The Mountaineer is selected each year by the Mountain Honorary, composed of members of West Virginia University's senior class. 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. The mascot is modeled after the Mountaineer bronze statue located in front of the Mountainlair student union building on the WVU campus. During football games, the Mountaineer mascot will fire his musket upon the team's entrance prior to kickoff, at the conclusion of each quarter and following every score.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Introduced by head coach Rich Rodriguez during the 2007 season, the "Gold Rush" is an ongoing tradition with WVU fans at Mountaineer Field. Partially inspired by the Penn State "White Out" tradition, as well as the "black-out" effect created by Louisville Cardinals fans dressed in black during their game against WVU in 2006, Rodriguez encouraged Mountaineer fans to dress entirely in gold for the rematch between WVU and Louisville in 2007. WVU's home schedule has featured a Gold Rush home game in each of its subsequent seasons. Since 2008, West Virginia University has worked in conjunction with the United Way to promote the event, selling gold T-shirts to fans with the proceeds benefiting the WVU United Way Campaign.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: In contrast, WVU designates one home game per season as a "True Blue" game where the fans in attendance are encouraged to wear blue throughout the stadium. The Mountaineer players wear their all-blue uniform sets for these particular games.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The fan tradition of "Stripe the Stadium" has been in place since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012. Fans are encouraged to wear a designated color for their respective seating section. Fans in even sections of the stadium and students in the lower section of the student section are asked to wear blue. Fans in odd sections and students in the upper section of the student section are asked to wear gold. The result is the stadium appearing to be "striped" in blue and gold".


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Instituted during the 2011 season by head coach Dana Holgorsen, the Mountaineer Mantrip is a part of West Virginia's gameday traditions and a recognition of the significance of West Virginia's coal industry. The event is named for the shuttle that transports coalminers into and out of an underground mine at the start and end of their shift and takes place at every home game.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The walk begins when the team is dropped off at the corner of the WVU Medical Center and Don Nehlen Drive prior to game time. They are accompanied by the Mountaineer mascot, the Pride of West Virginia Marching Band, and the Mountaineer cheerleaders. WVU students and fans line the path to create a tunnel-like effect for the passing team members. When the team reaches the east end of Mountaineer Field, they stop to rub a 350-pound mounted chunk of coal donated by Alpha Natural Resources from the Upper Big Branch coal mine.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: A new feature at the completion of the Mantrip was introduced during the 2018 season. After players and coaches have reached Mountaineer Field and touched the mounted piece of coal, they turn and wave toward the parents and patients inside WVU Medicine Children's Hospital adjacent to Mountaineer Field. Dana Holgorsen added this portion of the festivity having drawn inspiration from the Kinnick Stadium "Wave".


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Beginning in 1970, the Mountaineers donned the program's first official logo—the WVU "state outline"—on their helmets through the 1979 season and have reintroduced the logo as part of a "throwback" helmet since 2013. West Virginia used a white helmet with the state outline logo from 1970–72, a gold helmet with the same logo from 1973–78, and reverted to the white helmet and state outline logo in 1979 and again in 2013.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The "Flying WV" is the trademark logo for West Virginia Mountaineer football, adorning the team's helmet and uniform. It debuted in 1980 along with the current gold and blue color scheme as a part of a football uniform redesign by head coach Don Nehlen, and has since become one of the most widely recognized logos in collegiate athletics. In adopting the Flying WV logo on the team's helmets, Nehlen wanted to create a distinct image for the football program that could be easily identified. When Nehlen began his tenure as head coach in 1980, he initially had difficulty in distinguishing between WVU and its opponents while watching game film. The logo itself was created by sports artist John Martin, brother of then-Athletic Director Dick Martin. John Martin's primary inspiration for the logo was the depiction of mountains created with the combination of the state initials 'W' and 'V'. The surge in the logo's popularity led to its adoption as the official logo of West Virginia University in 1985.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: Since 1980, West Virginia's standard uniform has consisted of a dark blue jersey (home) or a white jersey (away) with gold pants and a dark blue helmet adorned by the gold "Flying WV" logo on both sides. West Virginia's uniform scheme has also included a gold helmet, white helmet, gold jersey, dark blue pants, and white pants at various stages throughout its history. WVU also added a gray uniform and helmet combination to its rotation for the 2012 season.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers wore a Nike Pro Combat uniform or the 2010 season edition of the Backyard Brawl. The uniform was specifically designed to pay tribute to West Virginia's coal mining industry. The jersey and pants consisted of a shade of white accented by a layer of coal dust, along with accents of university gold that referenced canaries utilized in coal mining. The helmet also implemented the coal dust accent, along with a yellow line down the center designed to embody the beam of light emitted by a miner's headlamp. West Virginia also donned the Pro Combat uniforms later that season for the Champs Sports Bowl.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: WVU introduced new uniforms for the 2013 season. The helmets, jerseys, and pants featured blue, gold, and white primary color sets, creating 27 different possible uniform combinations. The reintroduction of the gold and white helmets to the uniform scheme marked the first time each have been used since the late 1970s.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: All of the helmets featured a matte, non-glossy paint finish and the "Flying WV" logo adorned on each side. WVU introduced a white "throwback" helmet during the 2013 season, utilizing the 1970s "state outline" logo. The West Virginia state motto, Montani Semper Liberi, (“Mountaineers are Always Free”), was stitched inside the back collar of all three jerseys. A canary image was stitched inside the front collar, representative of West Virginia's coal mining heritage for their use in testing toxicity levels in the mines. The jerseys had a unique number style exclusive to WVU, featuring sharp points and edges inspired by a miner's pickaxe.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: As of the 2019 season and as part of a larger re-branding of all WVU sports teams, the Mountaineers incorporated new Nike Vapor Untouchable football uniforms. The all-gray alternate uniform also returned to the rotation. West Virginia debuted "Country Roads" uniforms on September 1, 2022 against longtime rival Pitt. The uniforms are inspired by West Virginia's roadways, with interstate maps on the shoulders and yellow striping that resembles center line markings on the helmet.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: In terms of competitiveness, intensity and longevity, the Backyard Brawl with the Pittsburgh Panthers is West Virginia's most fierce and storied rivalry. Separated by only 70 miles, the two universities have competed on a mostly annual basis since 1895 (beginning in 1920 and resuming again in 1943 after World War II). Although Pitt holds a 62–40–3 series lead, more than half of its victories in the Backyard Brawl came prior to 1952 when the Panthers dominated the series 34–9–1. The Mountaineers hold a 26–22–2 edge over the Panthers since 1962 when the series began to interchange annually between Morgantown and Pittsburgh. West Virginia has also won seven of the last ten meetings. After being put on hiatus following the 2011 season due to conference realignment, the series was renewed with four games running from 2022–2025 and 2029-2032.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: In the first game of the restored Brawl, the Mountaineers lost to the Pittsburgh Panthers by a final score of 38 to 31.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers also enjoy a fierce rivalry with their Appalachia counterparts, the Virginia Tech Hokies. The schools once competed on an annual basis from 1973 to 2005, doing so as Big East Conference rivals starting in 1991. Beginning in 1997, West Virginia and Virginia Tech competed for the Black Diamond Trophy, symbolizing the Appalachian region's rich coal heritage. While West Virginia held a 28–22–1 advantage in the series, Virginia Tech won nine of the last 12 meetings between the schools. Since the Hokies departed the Big East for the ACC in 2004 and ended the series in 2006, the rivalry has been dormant. The rivalry was renewed with a neutral-site game in 2017, then was played in Morgantown in 2021 and was played in Blacksburg in the 2022 season. West Virginia leads the series with Virginia Tech 30–23–1 through the 2022 season.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The Mountaineers and Maryland Terrapins have met on a semi-annual basis since 1919, recently rekindling a cross-border rivalry that was once the longest continuous non-conference series for these geographical neighbors. The Mountaineers lead the series 28–23–2 through the 2021 season.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: West Virginia also enjoyed a long-standing rivalry with the Syracuse Orange. The schools competed annually from 1955 to 2012, with the 1993 addition of the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy being awarded to the victor. The significance of the trophy resides in the fact that Ben Schwartzwalder was a West Virginia native, former WVU player, and head coach at Syracuse. While Syracuse holds a 34–27 lead in the series, WVU won eight of the last ten games between the schools. Much like the status of the Backyard Brawl, Syracuse's departure from the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference and WVU's joining of the Big 12 Conference casts doubt over the future of the series.


title: West Virginia Mountaineers football

text: The series between West Virginia and Penn State has been historically one-sided. The teams met annually from 1947–1992. From 1959 to 1983, Penn State had won 25 consecutive meetings between the two. The series ended in 1992 with Penn State commencing Big Ten Conference play in 1993. On September 19, 2013, the schools announced that they would renew the series with two games in 2023 and 2024. Penn State leads the series 48–9–2 through the 2017 season.