When the West Virginia University football team takes the field on Saturday night against nationally-ranked Iowa State they’ll don the new “Coal Rush” uniform. Our players will be accompanied onto the field by miners from Arch Resources’ Leer Mine Complex in Grafton where the Coal Rush concept was derived.

The Coal Rush uniform was designed to pay tribute to the work ethic and bravery of the West Virginia coal miner and celebrate our state’s coal industry.

In announcing the design back in May, WVU Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said, “If our football team was going to have a black alternate uniform, we wanted it to tell a story and mean something to our fans. Coal mining has a deep history in West Virginia, and the work ethic of coal miners is woven into the fabric of our culture. Our football team looks forward to honoring the rich tradition and history of West Virginia’s coal mining industry…”

Charleston, W.Va. – Twenty-seven states, including West Virginia, today filed motions with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay EPA’s carbon rule that was finalized in early May. Chris Hamilton, President and CEO of the West Virginia Coal Association, offers the following statement:

"We appreciate the West Virginia Republican Party and all the state representatives that attended the convention and proudly wore these hardhats to pay tribute to our state’s foundational industry and hard working miners,” said Chris Hamilton, President of the West Virginia Coal Association.

“Millions of Americans who watched the convention likely saw the red, white, and blue hard hats which symbolize the strength and resilience of our citizenry during cut-away shots of the crowd and in various media reports.

The West Virginia Coal Association is proud to support our delegation and wholeheartedly and enthusiastically approve of the vote they cast for Donald J. Trump for President”.

Charleston, W.Va.– The West Virginia Coal Association in partnership with America’s Coal Associations announce the launch of the “Friends of Coal” app, an interactive and educational portal designed to equip users with a direct link to current information and issues impacting West Virginia’s and our nation’s coal industry. 

The app is available for download on Android and Apple products at the following links: 

West Virginia football will debut a black alternate uniform for the 2024 season that's designed to pay homage to the state's rich coal tradition and honor miners who work underground daily to supply energy around the world. After the unveiling of new blue, gold and white uniforms at the annual Gold-Blue Spring game, the black alternate unform serves as an additional uniform set for the Mountaineers to showcase on select occasions. The ideas and designs for the black alternate uniform came from a day spent with actual miners.