technical college, which then became known as Pierpont Community and Technical College. While both institutions still operate on the Fairmont campus, since 2008, they are recognized as independent institutions and offer completely separate degree programs; Pierpont focuses more on technical associate's programs, while Fairmont State's main focus is on baccalaureate degrees and masters programs. After a March 2021 Memorandum of Understanding, the two schools will become independent of one another whereby Pierpont has transitioned off of the Fairmont campus. Athletics Fairmont State's athletic teams, known as the Falcons (alternately as Fighting Falcons, or Lady Falcons for women's teams), compete in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and field teams in 17 sports including football, men's and women's basketball, wrestling, women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's golf, acrobatics and tumbling, baseball, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's cross country. The Fighting falcons football team finished the 2016 season with a 10–2 record, clinching an NCAA playoff berth. In 2017, they finished the season 8–3 and 2nd in the MEC. In 2017, the men's basketball team was ranked #3 in the final NABC Coaches Poll. In post-season play, the Falcons captured the NCAA Atlantic Region title and earned the top-seed in the NCAA Elite Eight tournament eventually losing to Northwest Missouri State in the tournament final on March 25, 2017 by a score of 71–61. Traditions The Victory Bell In 1940, the Letterman's Association (now the Fairmont State Athletic Association) presented the college with a "Victory Bell" from a Monongahela oil barge. Nicknamed "Old Boaz" – in honor of Boaz Fleming, the founding father of Fairmont – students would ring the bell after athletic team victories. During World War II, the Victory Bell was declared silent and was not rung again until Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) on May 8, 1945. It was rung for that victory and for the Americans still fighting in the South Pacific. The exact date unknown (likely the late 1960s), the tradition shifted from ringing to painting the bell by various fraternities, sororities, and other campus organizations – its clapper and handle removed. Originally located adjacent to Hardway Hall, the bell now stands in front of the Education Building. Honor societies Alpha Phi Sigma (Criminal Justice) Alpha Psi Omega (Dramatics) founded at the college in 1925 by professor Paul F. Opp.