West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball
The West Virginia Mountaineers finished the regular season with a record of 20–11 overall and 11–7 in the Big East, good for sixth place in the conference. They earned a 5th seed in East region of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, one of the record eleven Big East Conference teams selected. They defeated the Clemson Tigers in the second round, 84–76, to advance to the Round of 32. In a rematch of last season's Elite Eight match-up, the Mountaineers played the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite holding a 41–33 halftime lead, the Mountaineers lost, 71–63. WVU finished their season with a record of 21–12.With 184 games played between 1906 and 2012, West Virginia's rivalry against Pittsburgh, whose campus is roughly 80 miles north of WVU, is West Virginia's most-played men's basketball rivalry. This was an in-conference rivalry for many years: 1976 to 1982 in the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League and Eastern Athletic Association (predecessors to the Atlantic 10 Conference) and 1995 to 2012 in the Big East Conference. Following the conference realignment, West Virginia moved to the Big 12 Conference in 2012, and Pittsburgh moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013 and the series was put on hold until the 2017-2018 season. West Virginia has a 97–88 series lead.
West Virginia Mountaineers football
After four consecutive seasons of bowl berths and finishes in at least one of the polls, West Virginia went on a two-year drought in 1985 and 1986, finishing those seasons with records of 7–3–1 and 4–7 (Nehlen's first of only four losing seasons) respectively. The shortcomings of those seasons came to a head in 1987, where the Mountaineers endured a season of growing pains and near-misses. Despite a 1–3 start, West Virginia rallied to finish the regular season at 6–5 with four of its five losses coming by deficits of 5 points or less. Freshman quarterback Major Harris led the way for the Mountaineers, compiling 16 total touchdowns and providing glimpses of what was to come in his illustrious collegiate career. The season culminated in a 35–33 loss to No. 11 Oklahoma State in the Sun Bowl, a game in which the Mountaineers led 24–14 at halftime and lost on a failed two-point conversion attempt with 1:13 remaining.
The 1988 edition of the Mountaineers achieved an undefeated regular season, compiling 11 wins for the first time in its history. The success of the regular season culminated in West Virginia's first and only trip to a National Championship Game in its history, where the No. 3 Mountaineers met No. 1 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame went on to win 34–21 and claimed the national championship. West Virginia finished the 1988 campaign ranked No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. Major Harris compiled 610 yards rushing, 1,915 yards passing, and 20 total touchdowns on the season.