By Davin White
The Charleston Gazette
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Just like West Virginia University’s Final Four-bound men’s basketball team, Morgantown firefighters are making preparations of their own.
Firefighters have prepared for Saturday night with five engine companies, one ladder company and seven fire marshal teams, said Acting Fire Chief Bill Graham.
As the men’s basketball team gets ready for its historic game against Duke, Graham hopes students in Morgantown celebrate the “excellent opportunity” in a responsible way.
WVU officials agree, and warn students that serious discipline is taken against those who commit crimes on or off campus.
“We’re going to be reminding students and fans to celebrate responsibly and just to be mindful that they’re representing our university and they should be doing so with sportsmanship and class,” said WVU spokeswoman Becky Lofstead. “It only takes a few to overshadow the attention that our team and coaches deserve.”
The limelight should stay focused on the team’s outstanding accomplishments, said Ken Gray, vice president for student affairs at WVU.
“We really need the focus on what’s happening on them and not on what’s happening outside of the basketball arena,” he said.
Still, WVU students are on spring break this week, which some believe helped to limit the celebration after last Saturday’s win over Kentucky.
Between 2002 and 2005, raucous off-campus celebrations followed big victories over teams like Virginia Tech in football and Texas Tech in basketball. Students burned couches, furniture and garbage in the Sunnyside neighborhood - made up mostly of students - and lit blazes elsewhere around the city.
In the past, ESPN broadcasters have made light of the couch fires, and a popular WVU fan site is named “We Must Ignite This Couch.”
“I think the [recent] conduct has not been the way it was back then,” Gray said.
Students know that if they are charged with a crime, they face severe punishment including expulsion, he said.
WVU expelled 11 students after the 2005 basketball team defeated Bob Knight’s Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Sweet 16, Lofstead said.
Several students still face discipline for behavior following the Big East tournament championship game against Georgetown, she said.
“It only takes a few, but we’re hoping we don’t even have a few,” she said, adding that most fans enjoy the games responsibly.
“It’s just the select few who get out of hand and do things that are irresponsible,” Gray added.
Morgantown emergency responders received 12 fire calls after the Kentucky game, Graham said. He believed firefighters dodged a bullet with the timing.
“Spring Break helped us out immensely,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that.”
Students return to classes on Monday.
Graham hopes fans do not take away from the “great history” the team is making by drawing as much or even more national attention for bad behavior.
Setting fires is not only dangerous near yards and porches, but “there’s a cost the city bears because of this.”
“The firefighters and police officers are pelted with beer bottles and cans at times,” he said. “That is no way to celebrate any kind of a win.”
Undercover and uniformed fire marshals, acting as a deterrent, will keep an eye out in student neighborhoods in case of fires Saturday, Graham said.
Last weekend’s celebration was more favorable than in years past, as many students and fans slapped high fives on High Street and cheered with other fans they just met, Lofstead said.
“That’s the way we like to celebrate,” she said.
Jason Parsons, a former president of student government at WVU, agrees.
“We’ve got to be proud and we’ve got to celebrate, and you’ve got to do it the right way,” he said. “It’s a wonderful time for the state and for the university, and we’ve just got to rise to the occasion.”
Copyright 2010 Charleston Newspapers