NC West Virginia News

Cade Kincaid, a junior at West Virginia University (WVU), has been named the 71st Mountaineer mascot for the 2025-26 academic year. The announcement was made during the men's basketball game at the WVU Coliseum on March 8, 2025.

Kincaid is an accounting major with minors in finance, business data analytics, and business ethics and prosperity. He expressed pride in representing WVU as a land-grant, R1 institution that competes in the Big 12 Conference. Reflecting on his experiences, he shared that attending a WVU bowl game with his family in Florida and watching the Backyard Brawl at Milan Puskar Stadium in 2023 are among his fondest memories.

"To be able to sit back in great seats and watch the Mountaineers beat Pitt that day with my dad — who is an alumnus — was an awesome experience," Kincaid said. His mother and sister are also graduates of WVU.

"This role means so much to me," Kincaid stated. "From age 4 to 20, I was a Mountaineer fan, but in the past two years, it really dawned on me that, if I were to pursue this role, I could really make a change and influence people and our state in a good way."

Kincaid is active within the university community as a member of the Honors College and serves as a peer mentor and ambassador for the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics. He is also involved with Delta Sigma Pi, participating in community service projects benefiting organizations like Ronald McDonald House and Empty Bowls Monongalia.

He will officially assume his duties from Braden Adkins, the current mascot for 2024-25, during a formal "Passing of the Rifle" ceremony scheduled for April 4 at Gluck Theatre in Mountainlair. A reception will precede this event.

The announcement of an alternate mascot will follow at a later date.