West Virginia football has officially released the date for their 2025 Gold-Blue Game, an annual tradition that serves as the final stage to show off the program's development during spring practices and packs the stands at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown.
The 2025 Gold-Blue Spring Showcase is slated a bit earlier than in previous seasons, as first-year coach Rich Rodriguez is eager to hit the field with a rebuilt roster in his first season returning to the sidelines in Morgantown. Spring practice will begin on Tuesday, February 25th -- just 12 days away -- and the Gold-Blue Showcase is currently set to take place on Saturday, April 5 at 1 p.m. at Milan Puskar Stadium. Ticket information and fan activities have yet to be announced, but are coming within the next few weeks.
The game will mark the first time since December 1st, 2007 that Rodriguez will take the sideline for game action as the West Virginia Head Football Coach -- his first-ever Division 1 head coaching gig came from 2001-2007 in Morgantown, but he departed to take the opening at Michigan following a heartbreaking loss in the Backyard Brawl to archrival Pitt to close the regular season. The Mountaineers earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl that season, where the program's next head coach -- the late Bill Stewart -- led WVU to a historic win over Oklahoma.
Following his time at Michigan, Rodriguez would spend time leading the programs at Arizona and Jacksonville State, as well as time as an assistant at Ole Miss and Louisiana-Monroe. The Grant Town, W.Va-native and Mountaineer football alum was rehired by the program in December, and the 2025 Gold-Blue Spring Showcase will offer the first taste of what Rodriguez is bringing back to the place where he cut his teeth as an FBS coach.
Last season, the 2024 WVU Gold-Blue Spring Game ended in a 34-24 win for the Gold squad in an event that combined organized scrimmage action with individual skill competitions and 1-on-1 drills to determine the final score. Mountaineer legends Pat White and Pat McAfee -- who both played for Rodriguez at WVU -- were named honorary coaches for 2024 Gold-Blue Game. This year, White will bring his winning coaching experience to the WVU sideline once more, this time as an official member of Rodriguez's staff.