MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Former West Virginia head basketball coach John Beilein is officially headed to the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
Beilein was announced Friday as a member of West Virginia University’s 2026 Sports Hall of Fame class, joining Kadeisha Buchanan, Dennis Fowlkes, Bria Holmes, Alex Kasich, Ashley Lawrence and Craig Turnbull. The seven-member group represents the 36th class of the WVU Sports Hall of Fame and brings the total number of inductees to 250.
The induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 10, prior to West Virginia’s home football game against Arizona.
For Mountaineer basketball fans, Beilein’s inclusion should come as no surprise.
Introducing the WVU Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026‼️
🔹 John Beilein, @WVUhoops
🔹 Kadeisha Buchanan, @wvuwomenssoccer
🔹 Dennis Fowlkes, @WVUfootball
🔹 Bria Holmes, @WVUWBB
🔹 Alex Kasich, @WVUXCTF
🔹 Ashley Lawrence, @wvuwomenssoccer
🔹 Craig Turnbull, @WVUWrestling pic.twitter.com/E7ugYDyF3J— WVU Sports (@WVUSports) August 7, 2026
Beilein took over the West Virginia basketball program in 2002 and spent five seasons in Morgantown, compiling a 104-60 record while leading the Mountaineers to four consecutive postseason appearances. His tenure included an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2005, a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2006 and an NIT championship in 2007.
His 2004-05 team produced one of the most memorable postseason runs in WVU basketball history. West Virginia reached the championship game of the Big East Tournament before earning a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers defeated Creighton, No. 2 seed Wake Forest and Texas Tech to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1959. WVU came within one victory of the Final Four before falling to Louisville in overtime.
The Mountaineers followed that run with another Sweet 16 appearance in 2006, giving WVU consecutive trips to the NCAA regionals for just the second time in school history.
Beilein’s final season in Morgantown also ended with a championship. After narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament despite winning 21 regular-season games, West Virginia earned the No. 1 seed in the NIT. The Mountaineers eventually reached Madison Square Garden, defeated Mississippi State on a buzzer-beater in the semifinals and knocked off Clemson in the championship game to capture WVU’s first NIT title since 1942.
Beilein also helped develop some of the most recognizable Mountaineers of that era. Kevin Pittsnogle became WVU’s first men’s basketball All-American since 1972, while Mike Gansey was one of 10 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Award. Johannes Herber was also named the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for men’s basketball in 2006.
Following his time at West Virginia, Beilein went on to have tremendous success at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to national championship game appearances in 2013 and 2018 and eventually becoming the winningest coach in program history. Michigan reached the NCAA Tournament nine times under Beilein and won two Big Ten regular-season championships and two Big Ten Tournament titles.
Across 41 years as a college head coach, Beilein compiled an 829-468 record, recorded 23 seasons with at least 20 victories and finished with a winning record 35 times. He was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Now, more than two decades after helping bring West Virginia basketball back onto the national stage, Beilein will take his place among the greatest coaches and athletes in Mountaineer history as a member of the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
