With an average home attendance of 54,506 in 2025, Milan Puskar Stadium held enough patrons on most WVU football Saturdays to be the biggest city in West Virginia.
Mountaineers fans will have seven such opportunities to gather in 2026.
For just the second time in 10 years, WVU’s schedule this fall includes seven home games, the Mountaineers and the Big 12 announced Wednesday.
That includes five home tilts within WVU’s first seven outings.
"It’s great for our program and fans that we have seven home games and start with five of the first seven at Milan Puskar Stadium,†WVU coach Rich Rodriguez said in a news release. “As with every year, the Big 12 is one of the best conferences in the country, filled with many tough opponents. Our players and coaches already are working hard and know there is a lot to do to get ready for the challenges ahead of us this season."
Those challenges seem many. Nine of WVU’s 12 2026 opponents and seven of its nine league foes reached bowl eligibility last season, including defending Big 12 champion and College Football Playoff participant Texas Tech.
The Mountaineers’ slate opens against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 5 in Morgantown, followed by a home date with Tennessee-Martin a week later.
A fixture against Virginia in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sept. 19 completes WVU’s nonconference slate. The Cavaliers went 11-3 in 2025, losing the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in overtime before winning the Gator Bowl.
WVU’s home league contests are against Oklahoma State (Sept. 26), Arizona (Oct. 10), Cincinnati (Oct. 17), Kansas (Nov. 14) and Houston (Nov. 21).
The Mountaineers travel to Iowa State (Oct. 3), TCU (Oct. 24), Texas Tech (Nov. 7) and Utah (Nov. 28).
From that group, the Utes, Cougars and Horned Frogs won 2025 bowl games. The Wildcats and Bearcats lost their postseason contests, the Red Raiders fell in the CFP quarterfinals and the Cyclones opted out of a bowl bid. The Jayhawks and Cowboys missed bowl season at 5-7 and 1-11, respectively.
The Mountaineers didn’t play any of their first seven 2026 opponents last season. They went 1-4 against the holdovers in 2025, topping Houston 45-35 and losing to TCU (23-17), Texas Tech (49-0), Kansas (41-10) and Utah (48-14).
WVU’s homecoming is slated for Oct. 17 against the Bearcats, while Mountaineer Week falls on the Nov. 14 encounter with the Jayhawks.
Pitt is gone from the Mountaineers’ schedule. The Backyard Brawl had been contested in Week 3 in the previous three seasons, with WVU winning the most recent one in 2025, 31-24 in overtime in Morgantown. The series against the Panthers is scheduled to resume in 2029 in Pittsburgh.
WVU won’t meet Big 12 colleagues Arizona State, Baylor, 2025 league runner-up BYU, Colorado, Kansas State and UCF in the regular season. That’s a mixed bag for the Mountaineers – the Cougars, Sun Devils and Wildcats are among 10 Big 12 teams that qualified for bowl games last season, while one of WVU’s two league wins came against the Buffaloes.
The Mountaineers are meeting UT Martin for the first time. WVU has played Coastal Carolina once, beating the Chanticleers 31-0 in 2010 in Morgantown. The Mountaineers are 10-12-1 all-time versus Virginia in a series that dates to 1898, with the most recent encounter in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, a 48-22 Cavaliers victory.
Kickoff times and the television lineup remain to be released. The Big 12 retains the right to flex league games to Fridays. It also moved the conference title game to Friday, Dec. 4, “launching a new Friday-Saturday rotation that enhances national exposure,†the conference said in a news release.
WVU is pleased with how the schedule shook out from a logistical standpoint, athletic director Wren Baker said.
“I'm excited for this schedule and our 2026 football season,†Baker said in a release. “With this being our year to have five Big 12 Conference games at home, there will be less travel for our team and our fans. Charlotte has always been a popular destination with Mountaineer nation, so I think overall, our schedule sets up nicely for our fans.â€
