Bill Stewart reveals death threat
August 4, 2010 by Mike Casazza
Remember that very troubling 17-9 win against Louisville last year? The one where, if you look at the statistical measures, the Mountaineers came up short at home against a bad team, but came up bigger in the only category that mattered (And what if Julian Miller doesn’t get two sacks on the game’s final drive)?
Well, Bill Stewart was defensive and according to some borderline delusional after the game.
“We found a way to win,” he said. “That may not appease you. You all want sensationalism and I don’t blame you. If I was a writer, I’d do the same thing, but I love a Big East win. I’ll take it any day of the week.”
Many did not agree. You’ll also remember this was the first agame after the “Remember November” mission born out of the loss at South Florida and it came a week before WVU’s season was on the line on the road against top-five Cincinnati. The pressure was high … and absolutely and officially out of control.
“I got death threats, a guy e-mailed me death threats,” Stewart said, sitting in an office, his index finger pointing to a computer on his desk. “And I know it was because we didn’t beat [the point spread]. I turned it over to the authorities, but that bothered me. I mean, you have to be kidding me. That’s not what this is supposed to be about.”
Stewart, the sociable, deeply religious son of a pipefitter from New Martinsville, W.Va., rarely shows much emotion. Still, months later, he was visibly frazzled by the menacing correspondence.
He grew quiet for a moment before continuing, this time churning with more force.
“It’s a Big East win!” Stewart said. “I can’t make us score 46 and 44 points all the time, I can’t script that.
“The first thing I hear from some people are, ‘The days of beating UConn, 66-21, are over,’ and they complain about it. Hell, yeah, they might be over. You know why? Because these other teams are striving to get better. The UConns of the world are getting pretty doggone good now. That’s what the common fan forgets sometime. We aren’t the only team out there practicing; West Virginia isn’t the only team trying to get better every day.”
And this is what life is like for Stewart: The interview for that story was conducted July 14. I know because I had one the following day. Newspapers being one of those tricky things that require planning and organization, the PPG being one of those tricky newspapers that doesn’t need to rush a WVU story into print, this story was held until preseason practice was closer.
And isn’t Big East media day a fair spot for the story?
Yet, as best as I can tell based on reactions I’ve seen and received, a lot of people blame Stewart for the timing and the revelation. Many figure this was all Stewart’s doing and that he and the reporter, Colin Dunlap, acted together.