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No. 11 seed Syracuse went from a bubble team to a narrow underdog to advance to the Sweet Sixteen this weekend. After defeating No. 6 seed San Diego State, Syracuse will now play No. 3 seed West Virginia, one of the worst teams against the zone in the country.

Here are 10 fun facts about West Virginia University.

1. Dunk on ‘em

West Virginia junior Georgeann Wells became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA basketball game on Dec. 21, 1984. Wells, who is 6-foot-7, spent many hours practicing her dunk in hopes of attempting it in a live-regulation game. After graduating from WVU, Wells toured with the Harlem Globetrotters.

2. Ra-ra ah-ah-ah, roma-roma-Mountaineers

Lady Gaga’s mom, Cynthia Germanotta, is a former WVU cheer captain. She attended WVU in the 1970s, stayed in the area, got married and started a family. Gaga eventually moved on to be one of the most iconic pop stars of this generation, but she is still close to her mom and sticks to her West Virginia roots.

3. Couches ablaze

WVU students have set couches on fire in the streets for years after big wins — it’s one of the oddest traditions in college sports. While students may see this as harmless fun, local officials think otherwise. Burning couches is a felony in Morgantown. It is also illegal to keep upholstered furniture outdoors, and students who burn couches after games may be subject to expulsion.

4. Mountaineer or puppeteer?

West Virginia is one of two schools in the country to offer a puppetry major. If you decide to follow this course of study, you may take courses in Costume Crafts, Puppet Construction and Children’s Theatre. Puppetry graduates have gone on to work at the Walt Disney Company, as well as many puppet manufacturers and several theater companies around the world, according to the West Virginia admissions page.

5. Never too old

In 2015, 94-year-old Anthony Brutto became one of the oldest graduates of West Virginia University. Brutto started school in 1939 but was unable to finish his degree after he was drafted in 1942. He spent nearly 70 years working in factories and as a woodworker before applying to the school. His application fee was more expensive than the $50 tuition when he first started, but Brutto was able to complete his lifelong dream of graduating from college.

6. The kid who ran for office

WVU student Saira Blair became the youngest legislator in U.S. history when she was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2014. She won the Republican primary that May, at age 17, so she was too young to vote in the election she won. Blair took classes in the summer and fall so it would not interfere with legislative sessions in the spring. Ultimately, a job in politics was not her career plan, and she retired from the House in 2018.

7. Roll out the carpet

Before every WVU basketball game, an old gold-and-blue carpet is rolled out onto the court for players to run out on. The tradition started in the 1960s and is considered one of the best traditions in college basketball.

8. Slither on by

Before being called the Mountaineers, West Virginia was known as “the Snakes” over 100 years ago. At games, fans would sing “They rambled, they rambled all around, in and out of town. O’ didn’t they ramble, they rambled ‘til the Snakes cut ‘em down” at visiting opponents.

9. Old gold and blue

West Virginia’s color scheme is very specific — the correct scheme is old gold and blue. Why? Former Big East rival Pitt is blue and gold, and the Mountaineers needed to separate their colors from that of their main rival.

10. Beware the mascot

At the beginning of Mountaineer football games, their mascot leads the football team onto the field, firing a rifle into the air. It is a real rifle, and whoever is the mascot that year is responsible for the care and cleaning of it. And in 2012, Mountaineer Jonathan Kimble received criticism for shooting a bear with his university-sponsored weapon and shouting “Let’s go Mountaineers!” afterward. He later posted a photo of himself posing next to the bear on Twitter.

Published on March 20, 2021 at 11:35 pm

aekaylor@syr.edu | @cincinnallie