Friday afternoon the West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics dedicated a plaque at Milan Puskar Stadium to honor the memory of late Mountaineer football coach Bill Stewart.
The attractive gold and blue plaque reads: “Bill Stewart. A True Mountaineer. Leave No Doubt.”
“We have come together to unveil a plaque designed to commemorate a great man – a great father, a great husband and a man who was extraordinarily proud of his hometown of New Martinsville in the Ohio River Valley,” said WVU Director of Athletics Oliver Luck. “I imagine in my mind grandpas telling their grandkids in front of this plaque about the great Oklahoma victory out in the Fiesta Bowl and what that meant, not just to the football team, but to the University and the entire state as a whole.”
The plaque is located on the stadium concourse underneath the press box.
Athletic department staff personnel, coaches, former players and friends of Coach Stew took part in the brief private ceremony. University First Lady Beth Clements joined Director Luck in making remarks.
“We think it is appropriate to put this plaque next to the only other plaque in the stadium commemorating the opening day of Mountaineer Field,” said Luck. “We hope this stadium will stand for many, many decades to come, and both of these plaques will be here until the very last day.
“I envision many folks will come throughout the course of the season to pay their respects to Coach Stew,” Luck added. “Thousands of our fans knew him personally and because of the placement here in the public area of the concourse, I think folks for generations can appreciate the type of man that Coach Stewart was.”
Stewart, who died on May 21 of an apparent heart attack while playing golf at Stonewall Jackson Resort, was the head coach of the Mountaineers for three seasons from 2008-10.
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