Football season has officially started, so it is only appropriate that we get to hear from the Mountaineer Maniac’s Executive Director, Matt Elder. Matt is originally from Boca Raton, FL, but has been a WVU fan his entire life thanks to family ties to the state. Matt graduated from the WVU College of Business and Economics with a marketing degree. He is in his final year of graduate school, pursuing a duel MBA/MS in sports management. All while continuing to lead the Maniac’s as one of the best student organizations on campus.
Q: For those who do not know, can you explain exactly what the maniacs are?
A: The maniacs are the official student section for WVU athletics. We support all WVU teams by showing up and trying to make a difference in the atmosphere of the game.
Q: When and how did you get involved with Maniacs?
A: I applied to be on the board my freshman year. My sophomore year I was on the marketing committee. The following year, I moved up to assistant director, which I ended up being for two years, and now I am the director. I got involved through meeting different people that were on the board already. They encouraged me to step up and try out to be on the board.
Q: What motivated you to become director?
A: I think I felt like I had a plan for the organization. I had been around long enough that I could see where I wanted it to grow and continue to be one of the best student sections in the country.
Q: As a student who may want to join the Maniacs, what are some of the biggest perks of being a member?
A: With the ultimate membership, you are guaranteed football tickets, which I think is what attracts most people to sign up. But if you take advantage of your membership, you get so much out of it. The membership t-shirt is always a big thing. I personally think taking advantage of the trips we take is one of the best things. You get a huge discount and it is always an experience that you will not forget. I know most of the best memories that I have had at WVU have come from away trips that I have taken with the Maniacs.
Q: How do you think this position will benefit your future career goals?
A: I hope that I do a good enough job that the many people I have had the opportunity to interact with can recommend me for jobs in the future. I also hope that my future employer can see all of the time and effort that it takes to make an organization like this run. It is a lot of just getting things in motion. You have to be able to motivate people and show the planning, budgeting, and vision involved with each idea. I really try to focus on the marketing side and branding the organization to make sure we are doing as much as possible to provide a good service for our members.
Q: Clearly you love WVU sports. What do you think makes WVU athletics different from other schools?
A: This is a cliché answer and everyone says it, but I really do think the people that are passionate about WVU sports are some of the kindest people. They will do anything for anyone. They care about more than just the wins. They really care about the players and they want to see the state be able to get behind the team and really thrive. It’s our passion; our teams are like our showcase to the rest of the nation. That is what makes us unique, the way that we use WVU athletics to shine a light for West Virginia.
Q: How does this organization help the university?
A: I think our organization does a lot that would be more difficult for the university to try and do alone. The university obviously has a lot of good initiatives, but sometimes people do not want to listen to what the university has to say. The message that the Maniac’s try to provide is school spirit. We are able to promote pride for our teams, promote class in wins and losses, and promote hospitality to incoming away fans. We want to make sure our students have a good atmosphere to play in but one that is still welcoming to visitors. I think the biggest message we can provide on behalf of the university is school spirit and student involvement with our athletics.
Q: What is your favorite WVU athletic memory?
A: There have been so many crazy games that we have been to. The 70-33 beat down against Clemson at the 2012 Orange Bowl was huge. An away trip that we took to Maryland two years ago where we beat them on a last second field goal was pretty incredible to be able to watch us beat them on their home field.
Q: What are some of your plans to keep improving the Maniacs? They may be short-term goals or long term goals that you implement but do not see out as director.
A: I think currently we have already done a lot of the things that I wanted to accomplish. We have set up a mobile app that I think is a great way to connect our members and let them know what is going on. Through the app all students are able to download tickets and other things like that. I think continuing our community service is a big thing that I want to keep pushing. Just making sure that we are not only donating funds, but that we are also giving of our time to others. And finally I think just growing our membership and creating a hype around who we are as the officially student section for WVU athletics, but also letting students know that they are a part of something big and encourage them to get behind our school and our teams and meet great friends along the way.