With WVU football's rough start to the second Rich Rodriguez tenure, it's only natural that some fans are beginning to question the future state of the program and where it will end up – particularly after six years of mediocrity during the Neal Brown era. But a pair of recent revelations has shown that the Mountaineers are fully committed to building a winning program under Rodriguez.
The first piece of news came from legendary MetroNews analyst Hoppy Kercheval on the 3 Guys Before The Game podcast last Wednesday, where he revealed that the Mountaineers have actually withheld approximately $4-$5 million in revenue-sharing money that was available this season, which will roll over into the funding available for next season.
That interesting tidbit was boosted by even further good news earlier this week, as it was announced that WVU will add 140 total new athletic scholarships for the 2026-2027 school year, including 16 new scholarships for the sport of football.
Sources: West Virginia is going to add 140 new athletic scholarships starting in the 2026-27 season, including 16 new football scholarships and 124 in Olympic sports. WVU's Board of Governors voted in September to be among the top funded schools in the Big 12. pic.twitter.com/LpnitnMzsl
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 9, 2025
These revelations might not immediately jump off the page at WVU fans – some fans might even find themselves upset at the fact that money went unspent this season on the football roster, given the state of the team through six games. But a deeper dive into the details can help understand why this is all amazing news for the program.
On the revenue-sharing front, the Mountaineers have $20.5 million in revenue-sharing money to distribute to its student-athletes between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, and approximately $12.5 million was available for the football team this season, of which roughly one-third is still unspent.
That will allow the Mountaineers to have extra money to drop on offers to keep players on the roster that other programs try to poach at the end of the season when the transfer portal opens, and to offer high-end players in the portal so they can outbid talent in the portal to land them in Morgantown. That's money other programs might not have saved, and that doesn't come out of the revenue-sharing money for next season either.
EerSports' WVU beat reporter Mike Casazza recently reported that reliable sources indicate that a winning Big 12 football program needs to spend roughly $18-$20 million to be a championship contender – WVU will see their revenue-share amount rise by four percent next year, which means the football program will likely expect approximately 13.5 million in that department, and rumors estimate the program averages about $3 million in NIL money outside of the revenue-sharing structure.
Combined, this means WVU will be much closer to hitting the mark for the amount of money needed to aim for a championship-contending team next season with the extra $4-$5 million withheld this season in play, whereas they previously would have been a bit short.
The scholarship news further boosts the idea that the Mountaineers are committed to revitalizing the program. The House Settlement this summer imposed roster limits which will eventually see rosters decrease to a hard limit of 105 each year, but it also upped the scholarship limit at the FBS level so that all 105 players can be on scholarship.
The additional scholarships should boost WVU's available scholarships much closer to the 105-man number, if it doesn't fully get the program there. Yes, these scholarships will likely come out of the revenue-sharing pool, but it still shows a definitive commitment to increasing the amount of money given to the program to land talent. All in all, this recent news points to a bright future for the Mountaineers on the gridiron.