WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 2010

Written by Bryan Messerly

One of the greatest quarterbacks in Mountaineer football history, Marc Bulger was a three-year starter from 1996-99, appearing in 38 games with 32 career starts.

A native of Pittsburgh, Bulger tallied 8,153 career passing yards, 59 passing touchdowns and 61 total touchdowns. When he finished his WVU career, he held 25 school passing and total offense records, including career total offense (7,827), completions (630), attempts (1,023), touchdown passes (59), completion percentage (61.6 percent), single-season total offense (3,515 in 1998), passing yards (3,607 in 1998), completions (274 in 1998), attempts (419 in 1998), touchdown passes (31 in 1998), single-game total offense (424 vs. Missouri in 1998), most completions (34 vs. Missouri in 1998) and pass attempts (50 vs. Missouri in 1998). All of the single-game records vs. Missouri are also WVU’s single-game bowl records. Bulger also set school records with six touchdown passes against Pitt in 1998 and consecutive completions (13) against East Carolina in 1999. He holds five of the top 10 passing game marks in WVU history.

A two-time all-BIG EAST second-team selection in 1998 and 1999, Bulger led WVU to a 27-20 record during his career with appearances in the 1996 Gator Bowl, 1997 Carquest Bowl and 1998 Insight.com Bowl. He was the 1998 Insight.com Bowl Offensive MVP and played in the 1999 Hula Bowl.

A sixth-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2000, Bulger signed with the St. Louis Rams in 2001 and spent nine seasons with the Rams. He surpassed 20,000 career passing yards in 81 games, becoming the fifth-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 20,000 passing yards behind Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning and Daunte Culpepper. He was the second-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 15,000 passing yards (56 games). On Sept. 10, 2006, he became the fastest quarterback in NFL history to complete 1,000 passes (45 games).

He was a two-time NFL Pro Bowl selection (2003 and 2007) and was named Pro Bowl MVP in 2003, throwing a Pro Bowl record four touchdown passes. Bulger’s 22,814 career passing yards rank second all-time in Rams history. He ranks first in franchise history in completions (1,969) and third in attempts (3,171). His 122 touchdown passes rank third in team history and his 84.4 career passer rating is second in franchise history. Bulger led the Rams to 10 come-from-behind victories, and he produced 29 career games of at least 300 yards passing. In his pro career, Bulger started 95-of-96 games played.

Bulger resides in St. Louis with his wife, Mavis, and daughter, Elsa. He has started the Marc Bulger Foundation, which finds innovative ways to provide funding to a diverse range of programs designed to benefit men and women in uniform, who risk their well-being daily in order to provide Americans with a better quality of life.