There were a number of changes for West Virginia football in 1950 including affiliation with the Southern Conference, a new head coach in Art "Pappy" Lewis, and the change from leather to white plastic helmets. Lewis had been a twenty-one year old freshman at Ohio University, leading to his nickname and then earning Little All American honors before becoming the N.Y. Giants very first number one draft choice. At age twenty-seven as a player and the interim head coach of the Cleveland Rams (later to become the L.A. Rams), he broke ground as the youngest head coach in NFL history. After a head coaching tenure at Washington And Lee University where his teams were filled with the top talent from West Virginia, and an assistant's position at Mississippi State, Lewis was excited about coming to West Virginia with his reputation as perhaps the best recruiter in the nation. Lewis posted a 2-8 start in 1950 with only forty players but guard Jim Danter and end Paul Bischoff were stars. Bischoff came out of Beaver Falls, PA and had not impressed the previous staff of Dudley DeGroot or the local scribes until Lewis showcased him and he responded with thirty-five receptions for 581 yards, huge numbers for 1950. The inexperienced sophs would be much improved for 1951.