Rumor says WVU, Marshall overlooked to host WVSSAC Football Championship due to "terrible job" in presentation

A hope that the West Virginia Secondary School Athletic Activities Commission (WVSSAC) may begin to rotate their high school football championship weekend between the state's two FBS football stadiums came crashing down on Thursday. And rumors are circulating that those involved with the WVU/Marshall bid may not have put forth the most competent presentation to earn the right to host.

It was announced by the WVSSAC on Thursday that Laidley Field in Charleston. home of the University of Charleston's Division 2 program and long-time host of the state's track and field championship meet, will be the new home of the high school football championship weekend. The Charleston bid beat out three others, including a joint proposal from Morgantown and Huntington to rotate the event between WVU's Milan Puskar Stadium and Marshall's Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

While for many the event returning to the state's capital city is an exciting development, others were hoping that bringing a state championship to FBS-level facilities may help put the state title game experience on-par with other states. Many point to Georgia hosting their state championship event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Texas using AT&T Stadium -- both NFL facilities that host high-level college contests as well -- as proof that larger stadiums are the best choice for these events.

And in terms of states that neighbor West Virginia, the FBS stadium route in particular is used in Maryland and Kentucky, where the state title games are held in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (Navy) and Kroger Field (University of Kentucky) respectively.

However, the inability to land the WVSSAC championship weekend -- historically called the Super Six, but likely to change as the number of classifications expands -- may land more so on the presentation put forward by those involved with the bid than the WVSSAC intentionally snubbing the idea of a Division 1 stadium playing host.

Spencer DuPuis, a former reporter with WRNR in Martinsburg and currently with WIBW of Topeka, Kansas, spoke with connected sources back in the Mountain State about the decision. An unnamed source told him there was "zero volunteer help" offered by WVU and Marshall to help with championship weekend if they received the bid, and that both put forth "poor presentations." DuPuis shared the screenshot of that text on Twitter/X after the news broke.

West Virginia football official Travis Coon II, who claims to be "dialed in" with a high school athletic director in the state, also shared on Twitter/X that the joint WVU/Marshall bid was prepared only two months before it was submitted and that it was not "up to par." He also provided screenshots of a text conversation with said athletic director.

If said rumors are true, it shows an amazing lack of initiative from the power players in Morgantown and Huntington to let the potential for a state championship event slip from their grasp, particularly one which would provide a boon for the FBS programs located in their cities. As of now, Charleston has secured the hosting duties for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons, with an option available for 2027 as well.