College Football: 25 best home-field advantages in the game today
By Brad Weiss
15. West Virginia University: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium
The West Virginia Mountaineers are one of the premier teams in college football. When it comes to home-field advantages, they have one of the best in the nation. Fans pack Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium for every Mountaineers home game, giving the team a leg up on the competition from the start.
The stadium was built in 1980 and is named after Milan Puskar, a Morgantown native who donated $20 million to the school. Originally, the stadium could seat less than 40,000 West Virginia fans. But since then, they have improved capacity in a big way, setting an attendance record when they beat the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes at home in November 1993 with a mark of 70,222.
The atmosphere around the stadium on game day is electric, as the Mountaineers have a tremendous pregame show. Because West Virginia has a small population, game days at the stadium make it the largest city in the state. It is quite the scene, especially when the fans are singing “Take me home, country roads,” or chanting “Let’s Go Mountaineers.”
West Virginia has won only one national title in its program history, all the way back in 1922, but that does not mean that they are a pushover in any sense of the word. Opposing teams know how hard it is to invade Mountaineer Field and get a win, as seen by the team’s stellar winning percentage at home. It can be even more daunting on a Gold Rush night.