West Virginia will not be going to a bowl game for the first time since 2001, but Dana Holgorsen will return in 2014 according to athletic director Oliver Luck.
Holgorsen's head coaching career started with a bang, leading the Mountaineers to a 10-3 record with a Big East title and a historic 70-33 rout of Clemson in the Orange Bowl. The school moved to the Big 12 before the 2012 season, and that same success has not been replicated in the new league.
The Mountaineers are 6-12 in league play since joining the Big 12, and the struggles of the last two seasons have dropped Holgorsen's record at West Virginia to 21-17. On Tuesday, Oliver Luck issued a lengthy statement in support of Holgorsen and the plans to bounce back after a 4-8 season.
"We have high expectations at West Virginia University for success on and off the field and as Coach Holgorsen has acknowledged to me, we are not meeting those expectations on the field," Luck said in a statement posted on West Virginia's website. "Coach Holgorsen and I met at length and reviewed this past season. We discussed the coaching staff, recruiting, player development, strength and conditioning, academic support, facilities, in short, all the components that make up a successful program. We are working diligently to improve our capabilities in all of these areas.
"I strongly believe in our coaching staff, including the work that our strength and conditioning staff is doing. In my opinion, continuity is the key ingredient that will bring our football program back to the high level that Mountaineer fans expect."
West Virginia's 2014 campaign will open against Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, leaving plenty of work to be done before next August. It will be the first meeting between the two programs.
