Campus Alert Archive
WVU

10:43 to Play, Then 1 Hour 43 to Wait: KU Leads WVU When Lightning Empties Milan Puskar

WVsevere stormemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

At 2:46 PM EDT on September 21, 2024 — one minute after a visible lightning strike near Milan Puskar Stadium (Mountaineer Field) in Morgantown — public-safety officials suspended the Kansas-WVU game with 10:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and Kansas leading 21-17. Fans were directed to seek shelter in the stadium concourse, restrooms, their vehicles, or WVU's nearby indoor practice facility. The delay kept players off the field until 4:29 PM EDT — approximately 1 hour 43 minutes. This was WVU's second lightning-suspended home game in three weeks following the August 31 Penn State delay.

Alerts
4
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
West Virginia University
Public R1 · WV
~26,000 studentsWVU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatim@WVUfootball X/Twitter — original weather-delay tweet132 chars
🌩️ WEATHER DELAY The game is suspended due to lightning in the area of the stadium. Additional updates will be made when available.
Verbatim @WVUfootball tweet posted at the moment of the 2:46 PM EDT suspension on September 21, 2024 — the cloud-and-lightning emoji is part of the official-account house style for weather holds
Posted one minute after [a visible lightning strike near the stadium](https://www2.kusports.com/sports/college/football/2024/sep/21/weather-delay-disrupts-fourth-quarter-of-ku-wvu-game/) prompted the suspension with 10:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and Kansas leading 21-17
Identical template language to the August 31 Penn State delay tweet — WVU Athletics standardized this format after the Penn State game three weeks earlier
UPDATEPA System
Approximate reconstruction148 chars
Lightning has been detected in the immediate area. Please leave the seating area and move to the concourse, restrooms, or your vehicles for shelter.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed PA announcement matching the shelter destinations [reported by KU Sports](https://www2.kusports.com/sports/college/football/2024/sep/21/weather-delay-disrupts-fourth-quarter-of-ku-wvu-game/): concourse, restrooms, vehicles, and the nearby indoor practice facility
Milan Puskar Stadium's open bowl design forces an exit-the-bowl protocol — the second deck overhang is the only on-site overhead shelter besides the concourse and restrooms
WVU is one of the few programs to also direct fans to a nearby athletics indoor facility — the Mountaineer's indoor practice building — for weather shelter
UPDATETwitter/X
Approximate reconstruction174 chars
Weather delay update: We are continuing to monitor lightning in the area. Please remain in shelter. The earliest possible restart remains under evaluation. Updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed mid-delay social update consistent with the [Bleacher Report photo coverage](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10136267-lightning-near-west-virginias-stadium-captured-in-photo-as-game-vs-kansas-delayed) showing visible strikes near the stadium during the suspension
Stadium officials initially projected a [full 90 minutes of lightning](https://wvsportsnow.com/lightning-in-area-causes-weather-delay-in-wvu-kansas-game/) — the actual delay ran approximately 1 hour 43 minutes
Each new strike within 8 miles resets the NCAA 30-minute clock — the delay duration is governed by storm-cell progression, not by the stadium's choice
ALL CLEARPA System+1h 43m
Approximate reconstruction128 chars
The all-clear has been issued. Please return to your seats. Play will resume shortly with 10:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed restart announcement matching the [4:29 PM EDT resume time](https://www2.kusports.com/sports/college/football/2024/sep/21/weather-delay-disrupts-fourth-quarter-of-ku-wvu-game/) reported by KU Sports
Total delay: approximately 1 hour 43 minutes from 2:46 PM EDT suspension to 4:29 PM EDT resume
Kansas won 31-28; the Mountaineers' near-comeback fell short after the long shelter-in-concourse wait
Context

Background

Milan Puskar Stadium (Mountaineer Field) is West Virginia University's 60,000-seat football venue in Morgantown. The September 21, 2024 game against Kansas was WVU's second lightning-suspended home game in three weeks — coming just three weeks after the August 31 Penn State delay, which was already covered by a previous case file in this archive. At 2:45 PM EDT, a visible lightning strike landed near the stadium; one minute later, at 2:46 PM EDT, public-safety officials suspended play with 10:43 remaining in the fourth quarter and Kansas leading 21-17. @WVUfootball tweeted the suspension immediately, using the same lightning-emoji template that had debuted three weeks earlier. Fans were directed off the seating decks into the concourse, restrooms, vehicles, and WVU's nearby indoor practice facility. Stadium officials initially projected as much as 90 minutes of continuing lightning; the actual delay ran approximately 1 hour 43 minutes, with players returning to the field at 4:29 PM EDT. Kansas held on to win 31-28 — the Mountaineers' attempted comeback fell short after the long shelter-in-concourse wait. The back-to-back lightning suspensions made Milan Puskar one of the most lightning-disrupted FBS venues of the 2024 season, and WVU's standardized social-media language for weather holds became one of the cleanest examples of operational-messaging-on-game-day in the Big 12.
Analysis

Key Findings

The 2:46 PM EDT @WVUfootball tweet went out one minute after a visible lightning strike near the stadium — among the fastest documented social-media weather alerts in college football, and identical in template to the August 31 Penn State delay tweet
WVU is unusual among FBS programs in directing fans to a nearby athletics indoor practice facility for lightning shelter, in addition to the standard concourse/restroom/vehicle options
Two lightning suspensions in three weeks (Aug 31 Penn State + Sep 21 Kansas) made Milan Puskar Stadium one of the most weather-disrupted FBS venues of the 2024 season
The 1-hour-43-minute total delay tracks one full NCAA 30-minute reset cycle (about 30+30+30 minutes of resets), plus player warm-up — a multi-cell storm event rather than a single-strike clear-and-restart
Outcome
Game resumed at approximately 4:29 PM EDT. Kansas held on to win 31-28. No injuries reported during the seating-bowl evacuation.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Notebook: Weather delay disrupts fourth quarter of KU-WVU game (KU Sports / Lawrence Journal-World)
    www2.kusports.com
  2. social media
    @WVUfootball — Weather Delay tweet (X)
    x.com
  3. News
    Lightning Near West Virginia's Stadium Captured in Photo as Game vs. Kansas Delayed (Bleacher Report)
    bleacherreport.com
  4. News
    Lightning in Area Causes Weather Delay in WVU-Kansas Game (WVSportsNow)
    wvsportsnow.com
  5. News
    Kansas-West Virginia restart time: Lightning delay updates from Morgantown (FanSided)
    fansided.com
  6. Official
    WVU Alert — Official Emergency Notification System
    alert.wvu.edu
Tags
severe-stormlightningstadium-evacuationmilan-puskar-stadiummountaineer-fieldfootballwest-virginiawvubig-12weather-delaygame-daynon-violentpublic-r1twitter-x
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion