NEW MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. — A beloved West Virginia University head football coach will be honored this weekend in his hometown of New Martinsville.
Bill Stewart, who died of a heart attack in 2012, will be inducted into the Wetzel County Museum Hall of Fame this Sunday at 6 p.m.
“You can’t find a person in this town that has a bad word to say about Coach Stewart. Everything you ever hear is ‘Coach Stewart was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known’,” said Robby Parsons, director of marketing Wetzel County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The event will include former WVU Coach Don Nehlen, former WVU stars like Pat White, Noel Devine and members of the Stewart family.
There will be a display of items and plaques that tell Stewart’s story, Parsons said.
“One of Coach Stewart’s vests he wore on the sideline, one of his shirts, pair of his pants, pair of his shoes — we have a mannequin of that stuff,” he explained. “Then we have plaques on the wall that tell a little bit about Coach Stewart.”
Parsons said a brand new mural was painted on the side of the CVB’s building this summer, which depicts Stewart being lifted off the field at the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.
Not only was Stewart a coach, but to some of his former players, Parsons said he was a father figure.
“The amount of love and respect this man has is overwhelming,” he said. “Every time somebody comes in to our office here and has a Coach Stewart story, I mean, it sends chills up your spine because the amount of love people have for him is absolutely genuine and true.”
Stewart, nicknamed “Stew”, was announced interim head coach in Dec. 2007 after Rich Rodriguez left to coach the University of Michigan. Stewart was named head football coach in Jan. 2008 after leading the Mountaineers to a 48-28 victory over the University of Oklahoma at the Fiesta Bowl.
He resigned in 2011 due to a controversy involving current head coach Dana Holgerson.
Stewart’s death came after he collapsed while playing golf. He was 59.
Sunday night’s induction ceremony will be at the Wetzel County Museum located at 136 Main Street in New Martinsville. The event is free and open to the public.