It’s no secret that the state of West Virginia isn’t a major market or destination.
According to USnews, West Virginia is No. 49 in national economy and near the bottom in some other similar categories. Population-wise, West Virginia has just over 1.8 million people, according to enchanted learning.
Not everybody in the state watched last week’s thrilling win against Texas Tech. However, nationwide, almost 20 percent of the population of West Virginia saw the WVU football game.
According to Tiffany Doolittle, a West Virginia University journalism graduate and current employee at ESPN, the game drew a total live audience of 875,000 viewers which makes it the second-most watched event on ESPNU in the past two seasons. From last year’s game in the same time slot, the viewership increased 174 percent.
Those numbers are out of this world in the television department. It shows that West Virginia remains an attractive football program with a national footprint. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the comeback was the second-largest in the nearly 40 year history of Milan Puskar Stadium.
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The sold out crowd saw a dandy on a beautiful afternoon in Morgantown. Those watching at home saw an edge-of-your-seat comeback which helped propel the Mountaineers into a tie for second place in the Big 12 Conference.
West Virginia may be on an island in the Big 12 Conference. The other teams are situated in the midwest and have been tied to the league and its opponents for at least two decades. West Virginia is kind of a misfit in some regards, but the state, university and football program are making things work out in the best way possible.
The support shown by the fanbase week in and week out shows that the Mountaineers should be among the nation’s elite in many different facets. Morgantown isn’t a top-flight metropolitan area, but it is one of America’s best college towns. It’s easily the fastest growing city in West Virginia and continues to draw national acclaim for many different reasons.
Location-wise, Morgantown makes for an easy trip to Pittsburgh, as well as Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Students at WVU come from all 50 states and there is a big contingency of alumni living in the east coast’s largest cities. All of this support comes together on gameday and it is seen in the great viewership of last week’s wonderful win.
Next: 30 best games in WVU football history
If the Mountaineers keep winning, all of West Virginia — and beyond — will be watching. The stats are there to prove that the Mountaineers have some of the best support in the country.