Stewart 32nd head football coach at WVU
By JIM BUTTA
POSTED: January 4, 2008
PARKERSBURG—Loyalty, it’s become a word almost forgotten in the sports world these days.
That is until West Virginia University named New Martinsville native Bill Stewart as its 32nd head football coach less than 24 hours after the then-interim head coach led the No. 9 Mountaineers to their most shocking victory of the season—a 48-28 win over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
“He (Stewart) obtained this position the old-fashioned way,” said Athletics Director Ed Pastilong. “He earned it.”
Pastilong, WVU president Michael Garrison and a packed house of reporters were on hand for the 11 a.m. (EST) announcement made at the team’s headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“WVU is a very special place and no one knows that better that Bill Stewart,” explained Garrison. “At this university, loyalty and trust are important. We know we have a coach who truly values the opportunity to work as the head football coach at West Virginia University.”
Stewart, who came to WVU in January 2000, from the Canadian Football League where he served as the offensive coordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1999, took over the reigns of the gold and blue following seventh-year head coach Rich Rodriguez’ sudden departure to take over the head coaching duties at the University of Michigan.
With the team still reeling from a heartbreaking, 13-9, loss to arch-rival Pittsburgh in the “Backyard Brawl” and the unexpected loss of its head coach, Stewart became the glue needed to hold together the Mountaineer players and help them regain their focus for the upcoming battle with a heavily-favored Sooners team.
He immediately made his mark on the program by giving the players a much-needed extra day to spend with the families over the Christmas holiday and again when the team arrived for their final bowl preparations in Scottsdale—shorter, more intense practices, but added activities to keep their bodies and minds fresh.
The strategy paid off Wednesday night at the University of Phoenix Stadium as the underdog Mountaineers (11-2) jumped out to a 20-6 halftime lead. Then rallied behind Big East Offensive Player of the Year Patrick White and a determined group of seniors to outscore their hosts by a 28-13 margin over the final quarter and a half when the Sooners sliced the margin to five, 20-15, by scoring the second half’s first nine points.
Before coming to Morgantown the 1977 WVU graduate served as offensive line coach for the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes (1998).
His lengthy resume includes stops in Fairmont, where he served as student assistant before becoming an assistant coach at Sistersville High School in 1975. Two years later he moved to Salem College where he served as an assistant football and track coach.
“It truly is a pleasure to serve as the head football coach at West Virginia University,” said Stewart.
“We have an outstanding group of players already in place and an excellent coaching staff, and I look forward to leading this group of young men and representing the great state of West Virginia.”
The length of the contract is for five years and will pay a reported $800,000 per year with added incentives.
Contact Jim Butta at jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
