Florida won the National Championship in football.  They won the championship in basketball; two years in a row no less.  Ohio State fell to the Gators in both the football and basketball championships.  It seems that these two schools can say they have the two best sports programs in the NCAA at the moment.  However, there is a program on the rise that could take over that title in the coming years.  That school is West Virginia University.

The West Virginia football team finished in the top ten the last two seasons only losing three times.  They have won two straight January bowl games and are likely to begin the season in the top five of the national rankings; a place where they will likely stay for years to come. 

West Virginia’s basketball team has had successful seasons the last few years as well.  They were an overtime win away from advancing to the Final Four in ’05.  The following year they advanced to the sweet sixteen behind the tattooed shooting arms of Kevin Pittsnogle, the athleticism of Mike Gansey, and the three point sharp-shooting of Patrick Beilein and Frank Young.  Not to mention their NIT Championship victory over a Clemson team that started the season 17-0, with a roster rivaling the age range of the little rascals.

But these aren’t the only sports at WVU making noise on the national stage.  The Mountaineer men’s soccer team climbed the polls to a #2 ranking during the regular season, and was seconds away from advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.  The women’s soccer team is a familiar NCAA soccer power and made a splash as well winning fourteen games and also advancing to the NCAA tournament. 

Another women’s team that made noise this season was the women’s basketball team.  Finishing with a 21-11 record was good enough to earn WVU a spot in the NCAA Tournament where the team beat Xavier before losing to LSU.  Many preseason pollsters have WVU ranked in the top 25 as they return all five starters and All-Big East performer Meg Bulger from injury.

Also getting in on the action are some of WVU’s club programs.  The WVU women’s club softball team has been stiff competition for the rest of the country the last few seasons winning the National Championship in 2005 and finishing runner-up in 2006.  They also competed in the 2007 NCSA World Series where they beat #1 ranked Illinois during the tournament. 

Continuing the successful trend of club teams at WVU is the Mountaineer Hockey program which finished ranked #13 in their respective league and made an appearance at the ACHA National Championships.

These are only a few of the successful sports programs at West Virginia University.  However, it seems that these programs and many others are on the rise. 

The Mountaineer football team will be taking the field in September hoping to the end the season with a National Championship.  The men’s basketball team is welcoming a new coach after a record season and will be hoping to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament. 

As well as these two teams, the many other WVU division one and club programs will be adding to their continued success and hoping to make runs at their respective National Championships.