Newly appointed men’s head basketball coach Ross Hodge had his introductory press conference on April 3. It was the Mountaineer fans’ first glimpse at his personality and what he brings to the table.
Hodge attended his first Backyard Brawl last night and immediately saw the support he will have from all of the fans next year. He also heard a famous song during the seventh-inning stretch that is familiar to all West Virginia fans known as “Sweet Caroline.” If you are a fan, you know the explicit word said in the WVU rendition that makes it so unique.
“My daughter Emry was sending me videos of the Mountaineer version of Sweet Caroline and we had a lot of fun with that at the house,” Hodge said. “We actually have a rule in practice. I am not a big cursor when it comes to practice, I just think there are other ways you can motivate people. We will just do five push-ups and I’ll do my five pushups and you just knock your five pushups out and you move on. The Hodge house was doing about 500 pushups when we were listening,” he added.
He is going to need to get used to the explicit language with WVU fans who are as passionate and loud as you can get. He will be hearing Sweet Caroline a lot in his, hopefully, long tenure at the university, which is bound to cause a lot of pushups for everyone.
Ross Hodge showed in his press conference today that, although he may not curse, he will fit right in with the West Virginia culture. If he can build a winning roster in his first couple of seasons as a head coach in a power five conference, he may just be here for a long time to come.
With the transfer portal open, Hodge already has his hands full. The new age of college athletics gives head coaches no days off, but Ross Hodge seems up for the challenge.
Photo Courtesy of WVU Athletics
