How did the tradition of couch burning start at West Virginia University?

Answer 1

Actually, I feel certain that the tradition started in Sunnyside.

Sunnyside is a neighborhood very near the university where the rents are relatively cheap, and you get what you pay for.

Before they built the new stadium, the old stadium was right where the Business & Economics building is now, which is right next to Sunnyside. Most of the bars and partying happened in Sunnyside as well. Using zoning laws, they drove the bars out of Sunnyside, but it's still probably overall the cheapest place to live in Mo-Town.

If I were guessing, I'd imagine that the tradition started when a houseful of partying students in Sunnyside pretty much ruined their couch, maybe left it out on the porch for a while until it got really nasty, and were looking for something to burn to celebrate a major WVU victory.

All hypothetical, but it seems logical to me.

-- WVU College of Engineering Class of 1995

Answer 2

I was a freshman at WVU during the Fall of 1975. WVU had won a football game against Pitt. Many students were hanging out in Sunnyside after the game. The legal drinking age in West Virginia was 18. Someone caught something on fire in the middle of the street. People started dancing around the small bonfire. There was a couch on a porch up a hill. The couch was rolled down the hill into the middle of the bonfire. The now huge blaze attracted more students. Police allowed the bonfire and directed traffic around the area until electrical wires started to melt. When it was time to go home, everyone went home.

Answer 3

What!

I'm an alumna, and must have left town before this started (1989). In my day, we were content to set fire to Sunnyside.