Friends of Coal is a West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

-based political advocacy group funded by the West Virginia Coal Association, a trade organization. The group offers free membership and has asserted its reach spans 37 states, three provinces in Canada and nine other countries.

Friends of Coal has been active in improving the image of the coal industry, and its activities have included hiring public relations and marketing specialists, sponsoring an annual automobile fair, financing the creation of a West Virginia soccer field, and sponsoring both the college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 Friends of Coal Bowl

Friends of Coal Bowl

The Friends of Coal Bowl is an annual college football game played between the West Virginia University Mountaineers and the Marshall University Thundering Herd. The game is sponsored by the Friends of Coal, a coal industry trade group...

 between West Virginia University

West Virginia University

West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...

 and Marshall University

Marshall University

Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....

as well as scholarships at both schools.