Between The Eers: West Virginia Cleans Up Its Near Decade-Long Scheduling Mess

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 8:40 AM ET

On Tuesday, West Virginia and Alabama announced that they had mutually agreed to cancel the home-and-home series, which was slated to begin in 2026 in Morgantown and wrap up the following year in Tuscaloosa.

This was expected, considering the SEC's shift to nine conference games, which will begin in 2026. WVU athletic director Wren Baker replaced the Bama series with a pair of home games against Coastal Carolina and Southern Miss.

For some reason, a bunch of Mountaineer fans are upset and believe the schedule is too weak in both 2026 and 2027. The reality is, anytime a game is canceled this close to it being played, there aren't going to be many teams out there that have an opening on their schedule, especially for the date you need.

Why not the Backyard Brawl? Well, the ACC is likely to move to nine conference games as well, and if they do, they'll be fully booked and won't have room for West Virginia unless they either play three Power Four non-conference games OR buyout of a game against UCF or Wisconsin — neither make sense financially for Pitt.

It may not be the most entertaining opponents in the world, but it gives WVU a more favorable slate, which will give them the best chance to enter Big 12 play at full strength and with confidence. Teams aren't scheduling two Power Four non-conference opponents, so why should West Virginia?

Plus, this is a two-year situation because of the Alabama series being canceled so late. The goal for the administration is to have an FCS, Group of Five, and Pitt on the schedule, which pretty much aligns with the philosophy of everyone else in the country.

On today's episode of Between The Eers, I discuss why this was the right move for WVU.

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