WVU Athletics Announces Historic Jersey Patch Partnership

The WVU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, in conjunction with Learfield’s Mountaineer Sports Properties, has partnered with Antero Resources, West Virginia’s largest natural gas producer, for a groundbreaking, five-year jersey sponsorship beginning with the 2026 athletic campaign.

The partnership secures Antero’s logo on the home and away jerseys of all 18 WVU varsity sports and marks the first uniform sponsorship patch in school history.

“This is an historic day for West Virginia Athletics, and I am grateful that Antero is part of the Mountaineer family,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said. “More than 500 Mountaineer student-athletes proudly wear the West Virginia jersey, competing and representing the University and the state in front of millions each week on the national stage. Now, Antero shares that jersey with us and will play a key role in our future success.

“As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, WVU plays a vital and dynamic role in the overall economic success, growth and well-being of the state,” Baker added. “Antero has been a partner of ours that cares, as it supplies energy on a daily basis to improve health, safety and the livelihood of millions. The Mountaineers look forward to being a part of this special bond with Antero.”

Antero is one of the largest producers of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the United States. As an independent oil and gas company, Antero acquires, explores, develops and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids and oil in the Appalachian Basin. The company focuses on developing low-cost, repeatable unconventional properties in West Virginia. With its expansive gas and liquids transportation portfolio, Antero provides gas and natural gas liquids to premier markets and is one of the most integrated natural gas producers in Appalachia.

“We are excited to be sewn into the fabric of Mountaineer Athletics,” said Antero Resources and Antero Midstream President and CEO Michael Kennedy. “It is a demonstration that West Virginia is an energy state and a demonstration of Antero’s commitment to West Virginia. We know it will be a point of pride for all of the Antero family – our employees, our contractors, our mineral owners – when they see Antero on these jerseys.”

The jersey patch will feature the Antero logo and be available in different WVU colorways to ensure visibility on all sets and styles of home and away Mountaineer uniforms for each sport. To complement the sponsorship, there will be additional digital and social media activation that feature the Antero jersey patch. The partnership will also provide new opportunities for West Virginia student-athletes to participate in brand storytelling campaigns.

“It is exciting to bring together two powerful brands in West Virginia to make a statement and drive significant value for Mountaineer Athletics, their student-athletes and fans nationwide,” said Andrew Wheeler, Executive Vice President, Learfield. “Wren’s vision and leadership continue to make a powerful impact on West Virginia Athletics, and we are proud to partner with him and his team on this next-level sponsorship.”

Antero’s jersey sponsorship of the Mountaineers partners the company with one of the most popular and recognizable brands in all of college sports. The Flying WV logo is known worldwide, and Mountaineer athletics competes nationally on its Big 12 Conference media partners that include the ESPN Family of Networks, ABC, Fox, TNT, CBS and Peacock/NBC. In addition to linear networks, more than 70 WVU sports events are streamed each year on ESPN+.

The Antero logo will make its 2026 regular season debut on a West Virginia jersey at women’s soccer’s season opener on Thursday, Aug. 13 against Dayton.

This story originated as a press release sent to WV Sports Now. Below also includes a separate press release sent to directly to WVSN managing editor Mike Asti.