Paid.

Twas a large day at West Virginia University. The 25th-ranked men’s basketball team went on the road and beat No. 6 Virginia. It’s certainly the biggest non-conference win in the Bob Huggins Era. It’s the first road win against a top-10 team since 2010. It more than salvages this season’s non-conference slate. It’s very significant.

WVU ended Virginia’s 24-game home win streak and became the first team to beat the Cavaliers in Charlottesville since January of 2015, when Duke knocked them off.

It was also West Virginia’s first nonconference road win over an Associated Press top-10 team since Dec. 20, 1957, when the Mountaineers won at No. 5 Kentucky.

“Coach [Bob Huggins] knows what he’s doing in those situations,” West Virginia forward Nathan Adrian said. “As long as we follow him at times like that, we will be all right.”

A while later, the 14th-ranked football team concluded a 10-2 regular season with … well, it was a win, and the Mountaineers again did it with fewer than 30 points. Remember, 3-17 before this year, 4-2 this year. Dana Holgorsen was emphatically unapologetic about style points, and he finally (?) stumped for more respect or appreciation for his team’s record, insisting the achievement ought to trump the aesthetics.

Agree or disagree, 10-win seasons are to be celebrated. Speaking of!

Skyler Howard was cheered after he suggested he might be booed, and he actually apologized for saying what he did following the Iowa State game. He played … he played. It wasn’t great, but it was Howard and it was enough against a team that’s now lost six in a row but played better and harder for longer than I honestly anticipated. I suspect that might have been as much of a surprise to WVU as it was to many of us.

The greater news was discovered within the game: Holgorsen has a new contract that intends to keep him at WVU through 2021. He gets a $600,000 raise for next season and then $100,000 raises after the first three seasons and a $200,000 raise before the final season. His 2021 salary will be $4 million. The buyout is kinder to Holgorsen than what was believed to be contained in suggested versions over the winter. I’ve always heard that was the issue that led to a stalemate. Were the other bones to pick? Maybe. But that was the biggest. But along those lines, the buyout is kinder to WVU, too. It was on the short end in Holgorsen’s current arrangement.

We’ll dig much deeper into this tomorrow, and I’m gathering a lot of intel today that makes this worth a dive — like, they were releasing the contract after the game, win or lose. For now, it helps some things that needed helping.

The decision has been made. Those complaining about the effect on recruiting of no new contract can be still. And perhaps, just perhaps, the announcement will help there. Can’t hurt. As of Saturday evening, WVU’s 2017 recruiting class was ranked No. 51 by recruiting sites Rivals and 247 Sports and No. 57 by Scout.

Holgorsen made it through the “gap year” to connect him and former Florida quarterback Will Grier, who will be eligible to play for West Virginia next year. (At a point to be determined.) That should provide buzz and help with 2017 season ticket sales.

Today? College Cup Final! ESPNU at 6 p.m.! Gordon Gee and Shane Lyons are there. Oliver Luck was there Friday. You should watch!