As Mountaineer faithful prepare to travel south to ring in the New Year in Atlanta and cheer the football team to a Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, West Virginia University officials have announced official fan activities.
The popular Mountaineer Fan Center, sponsored by WVU ’s Office of Institutional Advancement, will be set up Sunday and Monday, Jan. 1-2, in the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Imperial Ballroom in downtown Atlanta (265 Peachtree Center).
The Fan Center will operate from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 1 and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Jan. 2, game day. Admittance is free, and all Mountaineer fans are welcome.
Mountaineer faithful should also plan to stop by the Marriott Marquis Saturday, Dec. 31, from 4-6 p.m. for a pre-Sugar Bowl Mardi Gras Parade sendoff. A premiere giveawaylight-up pom-pomsare being provided courtesy of WVU , while supplies last.
In addition, the WVU Mountaineer Marching Band is expected to be on hand to lead fans to the parade route that begins on nearby McGill Street at 7 p.m. and winds its way through the downtown.
WVU ’s Fan Center will once again be a first-rate event, said Robin Yorty, director of University events and ceremonies. It will include interactive exhibits and activities, video highlights of sports and academic accomplishments, exclusive WVU giveaways each day, photo ops, aMountaineer Marketto purchase official WVU bowl merchandise and more.
Back this year for sale at the market will be a commemorative bowl pin. WVU ’s first commemorative bowl pin was designed in 1989 for WVU ’s perfect 11-0 regular season and participation in the Fiesta Bowl. The University has continued the tradition for each of the bowl appearances since, except for the two recent Gator Bowl appearances where exclusive pins were not allowed.
Fans can also sign message banners to the team at the Center, enjoy drop-in visits by the cheerleaders, Mountaineer mascot and Mountaineer Marching Band, and be entertained with festive music.
Get a Clue
But, perhaps, the Fan Center’s most unique feature, Yorty said, will bring attention to WVU ’s renowned forensic and investigative sciences program by providing fans with hands-on experiences from a staged crime scene investigation.
WVU students, along with Max Houck, former FBI forensic investigator turned university professor, will be on hand to help visitors measure blood spatter, have their fingerprint lifted from a football and identify their telltale footprint from the spilled contents of a sugar bowl. (See related story.)
WVU ’s forensic identification program is one of only 9 in the U.S. to be accredited by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. As a world leader in forensic education, WVU students take classes and practice the craft in three specially outfittedcrime scenehouses and a forensic garage, where they work through various scenarios from domestic disputes turned deadly to drive-by shootings.
WVU ’s forensic identification program, housed in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and directed by Dr. Clifton Bishop, began in 1997 in partnership with the FBI . Today, some 400 students can also choose from a full range of majors related to forensics and national security, including biometrics, computer forensic investigation, criminology and investigations, forensic accountingand a new concentration in intelligence and national security in the Eberly College’s international studies program.
A complimentary program in the College of Engineering focuses on biometricsthe use of unique identifying characteristics such as fingerprints, retina and voice scans to distinguish individuals from one another. Another program in WVU ’s College of Business and Economics is dedicated to forensic accounting.
Game Day
On game day, Monday, Jan. 2, fans are encouraged to visit the Fan Jam from 5 p.m. to kickoff at the International Plazajust outside the Georgia Dome. Activities include interactive games, contests, sports memorabilia and more.
Kickoff for the Mountaineers’nationally televised match-up with the Bulldogs is 8:30 p.m.
Travel Packages
WVU ’s Alumni Association in partnership with National Travel still has land and air travel packages available, but reservations are filling up fast.
The air packages leave from Clarksburg and Charleston and include round-trip air transportation, appropriate in-flight services, round-trip airport/hotel transfers and baggage handling, hotel accommodations at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and/or Hyatt Regency Atlanta, pre-registration of hotel rooms, baggage handling at the hotel, round-trip game transfers, reserved-seat game ticket, souvenir gifts and more.
Two-night and three-night hotel land-only packages as well as a three-night motor coach package are also available.
Alumni and friends can go online athttp://westvirginia.athletictravel.com/or call 1-800-642-3603 to make reservations.
More Bowl News
WVU team headquarters will be the Hyatt Regency; the band will stay at the Hilton. Both hotels are on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta .
WVU’s matchup in the 72nd Nokia Sugar Bowl in Atlanta against the University of Georgia should be a terrific game between two strong nationally ranked programs,said WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr.WVU, with a record of 10-1 and ranked No. 11 in the polls, and Georgia with a record of 10-2 and ranked 8 th , both finished as their conference champions. You can’t ask for a much better game than that.
Along with a premier game, WVU always offers its fanstraditional West Virginia hospitalityin the form of a Fan Center and other activities, he added.
In fact, Hardesty said, fans may see the University’s official blue-and-gold tour bus while in Atlanta . The traveling billboard will make stops at area schools and attractions, bringing greetings from WVU to Atlanta residents.
Over 50 students from Georgia are enrolled at WVU , and approximately 2,000 alumni live in the Peach Statesome 350 in Atlanta ,Hardesty said,so we have a real connection there.
Further information regarding Sugar Bowl activities can be obtained online athttp://www.nokiasugarbowl.com/.