Third Straight BIG EAST Football Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appear- ances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Third Straight BIG EAST Football Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Third Straight BIG EAST Football Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Third Straight BIG EAST Football Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Third Straight BIG EAST Football Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Third Straight BIG EAST Football Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back- to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Third • Straight BIG EAST Football Champion- ships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year Third Straight BIG EAST Foot- ball Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans • Three Conference Rookies Of The Year • Third Straight BIG EAST Football Championships • 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl Champions • Sixth Consecutive Women’s Soccer NCAA Appearances • Back-to-Back Men’s Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 Appearances • Three First-Team Academic All-Americans • 118 BIG EAST Academic All-Stars • Nine Teams With Winning Records • Six Teams In NCAA Competition • Two BIG EAST Coaches Of The Year • 10 Individual Conference Champions • Two First Team All-Americans Tableof Contents 1 West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Mission Statement 2 A Message from Director of Athletics Ed Pastilong 3 2005-06 Year in Review 14 Red Brown Cup Winners - Karrie Hutchins and Kevin Pittsnogle 15 Fred Schaus Captain’s Award Winners - J.D. Collins and Susan Davis 16 Winning Championships - Football 17 Sweet Repeat - Men’s Basketball 18 A Magical Ride - Women’s Basketball 19 Success When It Matters Most 20 The Kids Are Alright 21 Making Waves - Mountaineer Swimming 22 Cracking The Books 23 Good Neighbors 24 Honoring Legends - Sam Huff and Jerry West 25 Mountaineer Athletic Club Financial Report 26 Mountaineer Athletic Club Development Council 26 WVU Intercollegiate Athletics Corporate Partners 27 Mountaineer Athletic Club Members IBC West Virginia University Intercollegiate Athletics Staff Listing Mission Statement The WVU Department of The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics: University Department of a: subscribes to high standards of academic quality as well as breadth Intercollegiate Athletics of academic opportunities. fully subscribes to and b: strives in its athletics program for national excellence and will conscientiously prominence. Accordingly, the recruitment of student-athletes and abide by the rules, emphasis on and support of athletics are national in scope. regulations and statutes c: recognizes the dual objective in its athletic program of servicing the University community and the general public. of those organizations and agencies having d: believes in offering extensive opportunities for varsity intercollegiate 1 athletics for men, women and minorities. jurisdiction over the conduct of its athletics e: sponsors football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, women’s gymnastics and women’s soccer at the highest feasible level of program. Specifically, competition. the WVU Department f: believes in scheduling all athletic contests primarily with other of Intercollegiate Division I institutions as a reflection of the goal of maintaining an appropriate competition level in the sports program. Athletics will adhere to the National Collegiate g: is committed to financing the athletics program from private revenues generated by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Athletic Association All revenues supporting athletics shall be controlled by the Principles of Conduct of institution. Intercollegiate Athletics h: considers the physical, mental, social and academic well-being of set forth in the NCAA the student-athletes paramount. Constitution and all The WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics shall conduct regulations thereto in its its program consistent with the letter and spirit of the NCAA. The mission of the Department is and shall always remain compatible with then applicable bylaws. the mission of WVU. f rDirector o m of Messagethe Athletics Dear Friend of West Virginia University Athletics, The 2005-06 athletic season truly was a great year to be a Mountaineer. On and off the court our student-athletes made their marks in what was a spectacular year for Mountaineer intercollegiate athletics. On behalf of the entire Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, I am pleased to present you this Annual Report. This report will highlight a year of outstanding accomplishments by our teams, student-athletes and coaches that led to a 52nd-place finish in the Sports Academy Directors’ Cup, our second-best finish ever, and the second-best finish among all BIG EAST schools. The fall season saw our football team earn its third consecutive BIG EAST football title, win a BCS championship with a victory over SEC champion Georgia and finish the season ranked in the top five nationally; our women’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA tournament for the sixth straight time, while 2 the men’s soccer team made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1992; volleyball posted back-to-back winning season and Susan Davis qualified for the NCAA cross country championships. Winter saw the continued climb of the swimming and diving program under the guidance of Sergio Lopez; the men’s basketball team made its second- straight Sweet 16 appearance; the women’s basketball team made an improbable run to the BIG EAST tournament championship; freshman wrestler Brandon Rader became an All-American in his first NCAA appearance and gymnastics made its 28th postseason appearance in 29 years. In the spring, baseball won 36 games and played in the BIG EAST tournament for the first time since 2003 and women’s tennis had a sixth-place finish in the conference tournament. Success wasn’t limited solely to the fields of play as football’s Jay Henry, basketball’s Johannes Herber and women’s soccer’s Marisa Kanela were named first-team Academic All-Americans. More than 400 Mountaineer student- athletes earned a spot on the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll, while 118 Mountaineers were named BIG EAST academic all stars. In closing, I want to thank our president, David C. Hardesty Jr., and his administration for their commitment and loyalty to our mission, and you for your continued support of the WVU intercollegiate athletic program.