HOW IT ALL BEGAN
ALL-TIME SCORES ( 1904-2013 )
In 1903 intercollegiate basketball got its start at West Virginia University, primarily through the efforts of one student, John Alden Purinton, who had transferred to WVU from Denison College in Ohio, where he had played the sport. Purinton was the son of Dr. Daniel Boardman Purinton, who was WVU’s president and for whom the Purinton House of the Downtown Campus was named. Purinton talked it up among some of his interested fellow students and then served as manager/coach of West Virginia University’s first team. WVU had “class” basketball teams for several years prior to 1904 and thus a nucleus of players was available. Those teams played in the basement of the Old Commencement Hall, later called Reynolds Hall, located facing the main campus where the Mountainlair presently sits. The ceilings were low and a couple of posts supporting the upper story were in the middle of the playing floor, but this proved to be no real obstacle. The varsity team began playing in The Armory in 1904. The first team won four and lost three, fittingly enough, the initial victory coming by a score of 15-12 over a team from long-time rival Pitt, then officially known as the Western University of Pennsylvania. Those original four wins laid the foundation that has made WVU one of college basketball’s top 25 all-time winning teams. The mark stands at 1,634-1,024 over the 104 seasons of competition.
COACH ANTHONY CHEZ J13 43-13 W J27 44-13 W F9 45- 0 W F14 20-44 L F15 31-42 L F16 18-37 L F17 25-30 L F28 37-15 W M6 16-13 W
Waynesburg Wilmerding YMCA Independents Mount Union Allegheny Prep. School Wilmerding YMCA W.U.P. (Pitt) East Liberty Penn State
Morgantown Morgantown Morgantown Alliance, Ohio Meadville, Pa. Wilmerding, Pa. Pittsburgh, Pa. Morgantown Morgantown
COACH ANTHONY CHEZ J26 21-46 L F2 20-16 W F9 60- 4 W F14 14-44 L F16 19-43 L F17 21-46 L F19 5-53 L F20 9-20 L F21 27-40 L M2 26-20 W M9 27-13 W M22 14-20 L
Westminster Bethany Wilmerding YMCA W.U.P. (Pitt) Circleville Ohio Wesleyan Smith Skating Rink Ohio Marietta YMCA W.U.P. (Pitt) McKeesport Parkersburg YMCA
Morgantown Morgantown Morgantown Pittsburgh, Pa. Circleville, Ohio Delaware, Ohio Columbus, Ohio Athens, Ohio Marietta, Ohio Morgantown Morgantown Parkersburg
1906-07 (4-8)
-- Buck Martin
JAMES JENKINS
1 SEASON/1908 | RECORD: 3-7
JOHN A. PURINTON
Coming from the WVU student body ranks to assume leadership of the basketball team, Jenkins’ club posted just three wins. Lack of a readily available practice facility and enough funding to continue the program on an intercollegiate level caused basketball to drop to intramural status following the season.
1 SEASON/1904 | RECORD: 4-3 John Purinton, a WVU student, talked about starting basketball with his fellow students and served as a manager-coach on WVU’s first intercollegiate basketball team. He got WVU off to a fast start with four wins in seven tries, including the first victory over Western University of Pennsylvania (Pitt).
1903-04 (4-3)
COACH JOHN A. PURINTON F20 15-12 W W.U.P. (Pitt) Informal F26 32-12 W East Liberty M3 21-20 W East Liberty M4 5-28 L Allegheny M5 11-34 L Butler YMCA M12 50-9 W Nonpariel AC M18 6-16 L All-Stars
Morgantown Morgantown Pittsburgh, Pa. Meadville, Pa. Butler, Pa. Morgantown Butler, Pa.
1907-08 (3-7) COACH JAMES H. JENKINS J15 57- 8 W J18 20-58 L J30 40-25 W F8 27-17 W F14 18-27 L F26 32-50 L F27 11-48 L F28 20-22 L F29 24-28 L M7 19-20 L
ANTHONY CHEZ
Anthony Chez, who was WVU’s football coach, was West Virginia’s first official basketball coach. He had learned the rudiments of the game from James Naismith himself during a stint at Springfield College. Chez played as a graduate student in 1892. Purinton headed the hoop efforts for three seasons. Expanding their schedules to face clubs in neighboring Ohio and Pennsylvania, Chez’s Mountaineers lost only three of 18 games at home during that time span. He was also WVU’s first athletic director.
COACH ANTHONY CHEZ D30 42-15 W J7 62-16 W J14 35- 5 W J25 16-17 L J26 10-39 L J27 5-44 L J28 8-36 L F1 17-27 L F4 80- 1 W F7 16-24 L F8 17-25 L F9 25-31 L F10 22-40 L F24 38- 8 W M4 40- 9 W
Fairmont YMCA Big Eastern Five East Liberty Geneva Westminster Allegheny Grove City Hiram Waynesburg Steubenville AC Mount Union Buchtel (Akron) Hiram All-Stars W.U.P. (Pitt) Informal
2013 - 14 MOUNTAINEER BASKETBALL
Morgantown Morgantown Morgantown Beaver Falls, Pa. Westminster, Pa. Meadville, Pa. New Wilmington, Pa. Morgantown Morgantown Steubenville, Ohio Alliance, Ohio Buchtel, Ohio Hiram, Ohio Morgantown Morgantown
Davis & Elkins W.U.P. (Pitt) Marietta Westminster Allegheny Bethany Marietta Ohio Parkersburg YMCA W.U.P. (Pitt)
Morgantown Pittsburgh, Pa. Morgantown Morgantown Morgantown Bethany Marietta, Ohio Athens, Ohio Parkersburg Morgantown
GEORGE PYLE
3 SEASONS/1905-07 | RECORD: 15-21
1904-05 (6-9)
158
1905-06 (5-4)
3 SEASONS/1915-17 | RECORD: 29-25 Taking over the hoop program when it was reinstated in 1915 with no coach present, athletic director George Pyle, the first nonWVU graduate to tutor the “U” cagers, put together three straight winning seasons, won the 1915 state title, and spurred the construction of the new “Ark” basketball tabernacle in 1915.
1914-15 (10-10)
COACH GEORGE PYLE D19 25-37 L J8 47-18 W J16 33-20 W J23 59-18 W J29 18-42 L J30 21-28 L F6 20-32 L F8 19-24 L F13 26-19 W F20 36- 1 W F22 17-24 L F23 26-12 W F24 50-29 W F25 42-19 W F27 22-19 W
Davis & Elkins Fairmont YMCA Fairmont YMCA Davis & Elkins Pitt Duquesne West Virginia Wesleyan West Virginia Wesleyan Bethany Clarksburg Scholastics Marietta Chas. National Guard Charleston YMCA Huntington Presbyterian Marietta
Elkins Fairmont Morgantown Morgantown Pittsburgh, Pa. Pittsburgh, Pa. Buckhannon Morgantown Morgantown Morgantown Marietta, Ohio Charleston Charleston Huntington Morgantown