Why Cancelling The WVU-Alabama Football Series Was The Right Move For The Mountaineers

On Tuesday, the news dropped that WVU football and Alabama football have mutually agreed to cancel a home-and-home series set for the 2026-2027 seasons, and that the Mountaineers have arranged to replace the two contests with a pair of Group of 6 opponents.

Social media is abuzz with different thoughts and takes on the late scheduling shuffle for the Mountaineers. Let's take a look at a couple reasons why the West Virginia Mountaineers and their fans should be happy about the change.

Easier Path To Success

This is a bit of a two-fold point. From the jump, removing a blue blood, SEC program like Alabama makes WVU's path to success much easier. While it's not out of the realm of possibility for the Mountaineers to win a game against the Crimson Tide, they do have a historical tendency to outperform WVU in terms of contending for the ultimate prize in the sport -- and removing such an obstacle from your path is usually a good thing.

On the flip side, the games with Alabama have been replaced with Coastal Carolina in 2026 and Southern Miss in 2027. Both those opponents are at the Group of 6 level and present much more winnable games for the Mountaineers than an opponent like the Crimson Tide.

And while in 2026, the Mountaineers have a neutral-site affair scheduled with a Power 4 opponent in Virginia, 2027 will give the Mountaineers a chance to face two Group of 6 opponents and and FCS opponent -- saving all their power conference competition for Big 12 play. After a big struggle for the program being a schedule which feature 11 Power 4 opponents in recent years, a season with just nine on the schedule will be a welcome relief and provide perfect opportunity for a hot start in what should be Rich Rodriguez's third season.

An Additional Home Game

The 2026 WVU/Alabama contest was already set to be played at Milan Puskar Stadium, but the Mountaineers were scheduled to return the trip and visit Tuscaloosa in 2027. Now, the Mountaineers have replaced that with another home contest, bringing the total number of home games in 2027 to three in non-conference play and seven in total. That means that the Mountaineers will now get seven total home games in both 2026 and 2027 after only having six in 2025, and in 2026 the Mountaineers will play just four true road games -- given that one neutral-site contest is also on the schedule. This benefits the local economy butm also generates extra, much-needed revenue in the age of revenue sharing.

"I am also aware of the importance of a seventh home game in 2027 for our fans and the huge economic impact it brings to our state, city and tourism division," Wren Baker said. "Visitors coming to West Virginia are not only critical for state tourism, but also to our local economy."

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