‘Country Roads’ Tradition Made Rich Rodriguez Emotional After WVU Spring Event

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Everything hit Rich Rodriguez while standing on Mountaineer Field and listening to his players sing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in unison with the fans after his first West Virginia spring event in 18 years.

As much as he always tries to stay focused on the work at hand, Rodriguez couldn’t deny WVU’s 2025 Spring Showcase was different than any other he’s been apart of. And the difference wasn’t just about pivoting from a game format to more of a “showcase” event, but emotions of it all for him personally.

Rodriguez even had to hold back some tears when asked how it felt to experience a tradition he started early on in his first tenure for the first time in almost two decades. He explained that he always lets his players know this is all personal for him, something he feels they respect.

“I told the players afterward this is personal for me. This whole thing is. Played here, coached here, a couple times. And I think our guys understand that.”

Rodriguez reflected back on starting the tradition of the singing of John Denver’s famous song to celebrate wins in 2002.

“One of the greatest traditions in college sports, college football anyway,” said Rodriguez about how popular the tradition has become over the years.

WVU HC Rich Rodriguez admits standing on Mountaineer Field hearing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” after the Spring Showcase was a little emotional for him. He also talked about starting the tradition early in his tenure.

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) April 5, 2025

Of course, Rodriguez then joked about how the song has grown in popularity from the Mountaineers using it and how the Denver family and/or WVU should profit from how often the song is played at other non West Virginia games and used in commercials, including Super Bowl ads.

For a related story, WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti and Cody Nespor discuss Rich Rodriguez bringing up Neal Brown.