West Virginia director of athletics Shane Lyons has heard the rumors and he wants to put them to rest.

While there have been some delays with the ongoing renovations at the West Virginia Coliseum, there are no concerns over not being able to play basketball in the facility when the season opens.

“Absolutely not,” Lyons said.

Due to issues with asbestos earlier in the summer the project is currently running several weeks behind but that will not prohibit the basketball teams as well as volleyball playing their home schedules inside the facility. Work is expected to continue once the season begins however, with the project now expected to be wrapped up until sometime shortly before the start of the Big 12 Conference slate.

That means that once the facility opens to the public there could be some of the restrooms or points of sale that are not opened initially as crews work to complete the project. The delay with the project has also put the renovation of the Shell Building as well as the new locker rooms behind as well.

It’s part of just a number of recent upgrades and renovations across the campus.

Lyons said that the renovations and expansion of the East-side concourse at Mountaineer Field is on track to be completed in time for the season-opener against Missouri Sept. 3. The work allows more free-flow with fans, restrooms and points of sale throughout the concourse. The West-side, or press box side, of the stadium will be completed next summer.

West Virginia also removed the crown and replaced the turf on Mountaineer Field with that project already completed as well as the work with the new turfed practice fields. Those fields allow the West Virginia coaches to practice there as opposed to on the surface of the football stadium.

“It really makes Mountaineer Field more special. It’s the game day field,” Lyons said.

--Lyons made it clear that he does not plan to discuss the contract of head coach Dana Holgorsen with the media during the course of the season.

“I’m not talking about it,” he said.

The athletic director did say that he discussed the issue with Holgorsen during the spring and the two have focused on winning on the field this upcoming fall, while Lyons has dedicated his efforts on providing the resources to help that cause.

“We’ve put that behind us and we’ve moved on,” Lyons said.

--That same policy goes to assistant coaches, who Lyons said he looks at each situation different when it comes to single-season or multi-year contracts. A seasoned, more veteran assistant could be awarded with the multi-year while a new coach a single although he examines every situation individually.

--When it comes to additional sports programs, Lyons said that bringing back men’s track or adding another sport is currently not on his radar.