Interesting Week for State of West Virginia Sports Fans (schools, university)

[CTMountaineer]

The Mountaineers will be playing in their 27th. NCAA Tournament starting Thursday. WVU has won 13 conference tournament championships, and has 26 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including two Final Fours, most recently in 2010. The Mountaineers have also appeared in 16 National Invitation Tournaments, and have won two championships, in 1942 and 2007. West Virginia lost to California by one point in the National Championship game when the legendary Jerry West was a member of the team.

Mountaineer fans might not be aware, but there is also another team based in West Virginia that will be playing in the Big Dance. The Marshall Thundering Herd will be making their 6th. tournament appearance, the first time in 31 years, having lost all five previous appearances in the first round game. WVU will be playing Murray State, and the Herd, which coincidentally will also be playing in San Diego, will be facing the Wichita State Shockers in the game immediately preceding the Mountaineers - Racers matchup.

Being in the Tournament removes financial considerations. Who knows? Maybe the Mountaineers and the Herd will meet in the 2nd. round there in San Diego? Then we can see if Elmore is as good as advertised.

Tournament time is always entertaining, and fans can watch their favorite team, if they made the Dance, on television throughout the process.

Game times are included in this release...


NCAA Tournament Game Times, TV Announced - West Virginia Athletics

[WVUmatt]

Read a story elsewhere that six weeks before the plane crash that killed MU’s football team, Wichita State’s football team was also killed in a plane crash. I’m sure ESPn will be talking about this during their game.

[CTMountaineer]

Originally Posted by WVUmatt

Read a story elsewhere that six weeks before the plane crash that killed MU’s football team, Wichita State’s football team was also killed in a plane crash. I’m sure ESPn will be talking about this during their game.

Right. I'm an old guy but I actually remember that. I think it was half the Wichita State football team that was killed.

[WVUmatt]

Originally Posted by CTMountaineer

Right. I'm an old guy but I actually remember that. I think it was half the Wichita State football team that was killed.

Correct, I think the story said 35 members of their team.

[mensaguy]

Regardless of what the story said, 31 people died in the airplane crash on Oct. 2, 1970. It was one of two smaller airplanes carrying the Wichita State team to a game in Utah. There were 14 staff and boosters killed, 14 players died (the starting lineups), and the 3 member crew all dies as well. One pilot and 8 players survived. The airplane was carrying all the starting players, coaches, the AD, the head trainer, other university officials, wives, and big alumni supporters. The other airplane had all the other team members, reserves & subs, assistant coaches, and some support people.

After the airplane crash at Marshall 6 weeks later, there was a large floral arrangement sent to Marshall from Wichita State, with many names of WSU people on it. It was prominently displayed in the building that housed the athletic department offices at Marshall.

The Marshall airplane crash killed everyone on board, including 35 players. The similarities are intriguing. Both schools lost their head coach, AD, and other key staff members, along with the majority of their key players. The differences are also interesting. WSU managed to play out the remainder of the season. Marshall only had one game left and it was forfeited.

In the aftermath, it took Marshall until 1984 to even come up with a winning season. In 1986 WSU dropped football from their athletic program, citing financial reasons.

I recalled the WSU crash as soon as the tournament lineup was announced and mentioned it in a comment on a news feed. Several other old people (like me) recalled it as well. Now it's all over the news, and will probably get some comment time before and during Friday's game.