INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State athletics is having a moment during the fall sports season. The Yellow Jackets continue to find their rhythm as the leaves change.
The Yellow Jackets checked in at No. 20 nationally in Division II, which had never done before. They also moved up to No. 2 in the latest Atlantic Region standings.
West Virginia State checks in with a 12-0-1 record atop the Mountain East Conference South Division ahead of this weekend’s match against the Davis & Elkins Senators.
The Yellow Jackets women’s soccer team should be excited about what they have accomplished this season, and the wild thing is that the program is in its fourth year of existence.
“When we hired Lisa [Mann], I felt good about her. I then saw the quality of the student-athletes she brought in the club year,” said WVSU athletic director Nate Burton. “Soccer is excellent in our conference and the state of West Virginia. Lisa has done a tremendous job with them, and I am looking forward to seeing that program continue to grow.”
The women’s soccer program was originally a club program and then started the transition to NCAA soccer, but COVID-19 halted those aspirations. The program held strong rather than folded. WVSU’s women’s soccer has now completed two years at the NCAA level.
Burton continues seeing that program grow into what Mann ultimately wants it to be. He was a guest on the Thursday edition of the Kanawha Valley Sports Report.
“I think it was the foundation she built,” Burton noted. “If you look at the roster she has built, the girls playing for her now are the same ones that played four years ago. Then, we have been able to add a new piece each year. They are gelling. Once you find a team that works well together and plays for the name on the front and not the back, you can find special things.”
The WVSU women’s soccer season will conclude on Saturday, October 29th, against cross-town rival Charleston.
The Yellow Jackets football team currently sits 4-3 this season in a challenging and wide-open MEC football conference. During homecoming week, West Virginia State has won two of its last three games, including a 46-21 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan.
Head coach John Pennington entered his sixth season as the leader for WVSU. Pennington took over the vacant position in 2017. Since then, he has accumulated an overall record of 31-24, including a 7-4 overall season in 2019.
“I don’t think people understand that West Virginia State University football does not have a history of great success,” Burton stated. “I think we have had special seasons here and there, but John and the football team have had four winning seasons for the first time since the 50s. I think he [John] is bringing in quality young men to this university and football program that are buying into what he is doing. John runs a tight ship. He is disciplined and organized. I only see that program getting better and better for years.”
West Virginia State’s volleyball program has come a long way under sixth-year head coach Kris Kern. Kern took over the program in 2016, and the Yellow Jackets finished that season 6-22, then 14-16 the following season.
However, WVSU has posted an overall record of 106-34, including runners-up in last season’s MEC volleyball tournament.
“He [Kern] pointed out to me that we are 60-9 in the last three seasons,” Burton said. “When he came in, we were 6-22. Watching that program grow from what it was to now is fun. Our conference, from top to bottom in volleyball, is tough. I think that is what makes it better for me, as an athletic director watching that program and our head coach becoming one of the top schools in our conference as a good volleyball school.”
Burton and his staff announced early last week the addition of a track & field/cross country team. WVSU will reinstate the track & field program next season following its prior success in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), winning five consecutive conference titles from 1969-73 and 1981-85.
“It is something we heard about for years from our alums,” Burton stated. “It is something I am honored to bring back for the first time in 20 years. Track & Field at West Virginia State University makes sense. I believe it is something we can be good at quickly with the support we have from the university. I have about 15 resumes in my mailbox, so I have to go through those.”