Morgantown, West Virginia – Moments ago, former director of athletics at West Virginia University, Shane Lyons, spoke on MetroNews Statewide Sportsline, and he really didn’t hold anything back!
Lyons, who was recently forced to resign, said that he felt betrayed by university president Gordon Gee and was shocked by the decision.
“He (Gee) texted me two weeks earlier and said that there was no one else that he’d want to be in the foxhole with than me. I just got an extension last year. I had other opportunities during my time here and passed up on them because I didn’t think my work was done here and my boss was telling me, ‘We love you here, we want you to stay here.'”
Lyons said the following about the Neal Brown contract extension: “Everyone was on board and agreed with that decision. It wasn’t just a Shane Lyons decision. People don’t see behind the scenes which, as an Athletic Director, you get to see. I think this last weekend proved a point that he had not lost his team. We were looking for seven or eight wins. Did they meet expectations? No.
At the same time, a couple plays go our way and we’re sitting at seven wins and we’re not having this conversation. The first couple years when Neal Brown took over and the players he had and throw COVID in there, I look at this as Year 2 for Neal Brown. If I were still sitting in that chair, and that’s no longer my decision, but I think he should still be the head coach of the team. Neal Brown checks off all the boxes for a head coach.”
Lyons closed by saying that he will always have some bitterness towards Gordon Gee and interim athletic director Rob Alsop, who he says led to him being dismissed, but that he will always be a West Virginian and will always cheer for the Mountaineers.
