For years, even the most diehard West Virginia University fan would often find themselves having a hard time defending the strength of the Mountaineers football schedule. It wasn’t that WVU was ducking anyone, but during the final years of the Big East Conference it sure seemed in many seasons it was WVU and “the rest of the league.”

 

Flash forward to 2014 and WVU’s third season in the Big 12 Conference. On conference games alone, WVU’s slate is set up annually to be as strong as most in the country.

 

It’s what’s taken place recently with non-conference games that really give WVU’s schedule strength. And that goes beyond this year’s season-opener in Atlanta against Alabama and Monongah’s Nick Saban.

 

Here’s the thing. WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck didn’t pick up the phone and call down to Atlanta and say “Hey, go ahead and put us in there.” It didn’t work like that. Instead, he said it’s a bit more of a drawn-out process to get involved in a game such as the one against Alabama and others that were recently announced.

 

“The first thing people need to know is that you’re seeing a lot more of these neutral site games now than you did six or seven years ago. Whether it’s Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville or anywhere else, you’re seeing them happen and you’ll see them continue to happen,” said Luck.

So how did the matchup with the Crimson Tide get started?

 

“We were contacted by the folks from the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. For neutral site games they gauge your interest. If it’s got something to it, we let them know we’ll consider it,” said Luck. “When they contacted us and told us Alabama was scheduled, they told us we were one of five or six teams on a short list that Alabama would be interested in playing. When we were offered we felt it made sense.”

 

Of course, the first thought many likely had through their head was that the folks in the Peach Bowl not only felt good about getting Alabama, but getting him to go up against his home state’s flagship university would be a huge bonus. Luck said that probably was at least part of the thought process.

 

“Did they think about that? It was probably part of their calculus, but more importantly their thought process is the same as a bowl game,” said Luck. “They want to draw a fan base that travels and we meet those criteria.”

 

Atlanta also proves, said Luck, to meet WVU’s criteria of being close to some large pockets of alumni; particularly the Charlotte area. He said that always plays into whether WVU will consider an offer.

 

“The immediate thought is that the connection is Nick, but more important to us is that it’s relatively an easy trip for our fans, particularly down south and into the Charlotte area,” said Luck. “I think we’ve sold all but maybe 1,000 tickets of our allotment of what I believe are 20,000 for the Alabama game.”

 

And that’s why they’ve got a game in 2016 against Brigham Young University at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., (where they played James Madison in 2012) and at the same location against long-time rival Virginia Tech in 2017. And to open the 2018 season, the Mountaineers will be heading to Charlotte to battle Tennessee at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.

 

“We’ve been contacted about playing a neutral site game in the future in Nashville, but I’d say there’s less of a chance of that because it’s further away,” said Luck. “The Big 12 has a tie in through the state with Memphis’ Liberty Bowl, which is even further away. Still, we’ll listen when we’re contacted. We talk about money, payouts, ticket requirements, which are all relatively straight forward. Nashville has done a few neutral site games and we’re now on their radar.”

 

Luck has also witnessed the addition of some home and home series. Most recently, a two-game set with North Carolina State is set for 2018-19. That comes on the heels of several others being announced in the past several months and years.

 

“In many respects (home and home series) are easier because you don’t have to argue about money. You get the gate and there is very little to haggle about,” said Luck. “ … I actually think with the recent decision on the five power conferences that some of the non-conference scheduling will get even easier, but we just don’t have a lot of openings with three non-conference games a year.”

 

Some series, like the one with the Wolfpack, are in place a little closer to the current date on the calendar. Starting in 2021 WVU and the Hokies will have a two-game begin. And starting in 2023, Penn State and the Mountaineers will kick-off a two-year series.

 

That, of course, brings up the question that is asked by hundreds of fans any time a WVU story is posted on any Web site or social media site. Why aren’t we playing Pitt?

 

Luck says the door there isn’t closed, but no one has been able to step through yet. And he said if it can happen it will because he said both he and Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pederson “have a good relationship” and both would like to see it happen.

 

“We’ve talked and looked at different dates and their openings just don’t align with ours. To be fair, we’re both in new conferences and where we used to have five non-conference games, we have three and I think they have four,” said Luck. “They also have the Notre Dame membership issue and the last I talked with Steve they were still trying to sort out that issue as to when (Notre Dame will) be on their schedule.

 

“We’re willing to get them back on the schedule, but you can’t stop everything else,” he continued. “In their defense, they’ve worked hard to get Penn State back on their schedule and have. We’ll continue to talk because as a former player, I fully understand the desire of the fans to get that rivalry back in place.”

 

Luck said the Mountaineers  also had “lengthy discussions” with the University of Virginia for a home and home series. In the end, it didn’t pan out, but he did say both sides are agreeable if things change.

 

“Another team I’d like to see a home and home series with is Kentucky,” said Luck. “They’re a neighboring state and I think it would make for an ideal game for both fan bases.”

 

Barring the Big 12 adding more teams and perhaps having less league-required outings, WVU will likely stick to a formula of having two of its three non-conference games against teams from the power five conferences if possible.

 

“You don’t want to over schedule,” said Luck. “We think we have some competitive schedules in the future lined up for the team and schedules the fans will enjoy.”

 

Click HERE to read last week's blog on why Wayne Jamison, the legendary BHS football coach, has long had the nickname "Smiley," and it's not because he smiled a lot.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo of luck and bottom two photos (second from bottom of WVU vs. Pitt and bottom photo of Major Harris against Penn State) courtesy of WVU Sports Communications. Second photo of Dana Holgorsen courtesy of Joe McNemar of D-Max Photography, while photo of Kevin White by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.