Updated Look at WVU's Future Non-Conference Schedules Featuring New Opponents

A glance at the road ahead for the Mountaineers in non-conference play.

West Virginia University football vs. Cincinnati / Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

A week ago, the West Virginia Mountaineers agreed to play the Virginia Cavaliers for a pair of neutral site games in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2026 and 2032. In addition, athletic director Wren Baker announced that WVU has added another non-conference game against Robert Morris in 2029.

The next three years of non-conference scheduling are completely full for West Virginia on paper, but that could change very soon. The Mountaineers have a home-and-home scheduled with Alabama in 2026 and 2027, which just so happens to be the same two-year gap of the Backyard Brawl sits.

Baker has stated on several occasions that he believes that Brawl should be played every year, and even though Pitt recently ushered in a new athletic director, they share the same feelings about the game being played on a yearly basis.

Below is the current look at West Virginia's non-conference schedules in the future with the recent additions of the two Virginia games and the added Robert Morris game in 2029.

2025

8/30 vs. Robert Morris

9/6 at Ohio

9/13 vs. Pitt

2026

9/5 vs. Alabama

9/12 vs. UT Martin

9/19 vs. Virginia (Charlotte, NC)

2027

9/4 at Alabama

9/11 vs. VMI

9/18 vs. Ohio

2028

9/2 vs. Tennessee (Charlotte, NC)

2029

9/1 vs. Ohio

9/8 at Pitt

9/15 vs. Robert Morris

2030

8/31 vs. Saint Francis

9/7 vs. Pitt

2031

9/6 at Pitt

2032

9/4 vs. Virginia (Charlotte, NC)

9/11 vs. Pitt

What needs filled

2028 - Two slots open.

2030 - One slot open.

2031 - Two slots open.

2032 - One slot open.

2033 & beyond - Three slots open.

Who West Virginia should schedule

As previously mentioned, WVU needs to find a way to get out of the home-and-home with Alabama and replace it with Pitt. The Panthers do have room on their schedule in both 2026 and 2027 to make it happen, but they would probably need to tweak their current docket in 2026 which already features two Power Four matchups with UCF and Wisconsin.

Playing Alabama just doesn't make a whole lot of sense for West Virginia, especially since Nick Saban is no longer the head coach there. You need to schedule for success in non-conference play, and putting a blue blood that you don't really have a past with is silly.

Aside from filling the gap with Pitt, I expect the Mountaineers will use one of the open spots in 2028, 2031, and 2032 on an FCS team. Wren Baker will do his very best to stay away from scheduling two Power Four opponents in non-conference, so expect the likes of Marshall if they're willing to only come to Morgantown, Old Dominion, Troy, or perhaps old familiar foes such as UConn, Temple, and South Florida.

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