In only his second season in the Big 12 Conference, West Virginia women’s basketball coach Mike Carey has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year! Read more here >

U.S. Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) recently announced a federal grant of more than $182,000 that will be awarded to West Virginia University for research on the impact of laws banning cell phone use while driving.

The grant funding comes from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, an organization that conducts and supports national research on topics of public health and human development.

Through the grant, West Virginia University’s research team will determine the national impact of cell phone laws, rates of vehicle accidents among drivers under the age of 25, and the enforcement of calling and texting while driving. West Virginia University will make the information available to other researchers, government agencies and scientific communities once the data is collected and analyzed.

US News and World Report ranked three WVU online graduate programs among the best in the country.

The university's nursing, education, and business online graduate programs have been ranked inside the top 30.

Owen Schmitt, who played fullback for WVU in the 2005-07 seasons, will soon open Schmitt's Saloon, a music venue, restaurant and bar, located at 245 Cheat Road in the Cheat Lake area of Morgantown.

Schmitt and his partner, Todd King, aim to "create a place for anyone and everyone to hang out, party and play or listen to great music."

According to Schmitt, his restaurant will have a "West Virginian country flair." The idea came together when Schmitt was playing in the NFL and approached King, a "successful restaurateur," who then put together the plan.

The restaurant is scheduled to open in the beginning of February, 2013.