Dan Dakich was hired at West Virginia (WVU) of the Big East Conference and then quit 8 days later. In April 2002, Beilein accepted the head coaching position at WVU. At WVU he posted a 104–60 record over five seasons. In the 2004–05 season, went 24–11 and reached the "Elite Eight" (fourth round) of the NCAA tournament. The following year, went 22–11 and reached the "Sweet Sixteen" (third round). In 2006–07, Beilein's Mountaineers, despite losing about 80% of their scoring from the previous season, went 27–9 and won the NIT championship.