The West Virginia Mountaineers are continuing to beef up their nonconference schedule this coming season, and the latest step towards doing so came on Thursday as the program scheduled a three-game series with a historical rival.
WVU basketball will now square off with Virginia Tech on the hardwood for the next three seasons, with the first game scheduled for Hope Coliseum in Morgantown this season on December, 5, 2026. The Mountaineers will return the trip and travel to Blacksburg during the 2027-2028 game, follow by a neutral site meeting in Charleston, WV in 2029-2030.
This is great! @WVUhoops
— Mitch Vingle (@MitchVingle) June 25, 2026
WVU and Virginia Tech have agreed to a 3-game series in men’s basketball, starting this season on Dec. 5, 2026, at Hope Coliseum.
In 2027-28, the two teams will meet in Blacksburg, Virginia, and the third game will be played in Charleston, WV, 28-29.
West Virginia Mountaineers, Virginia Tech Hokies to renew rivalry on the hardwood: Why it's the right move
For a chunk of fans in a certain age bracket, Virginia Tech is one of the bigger rivalries for the Mountaineers. It's historically been more prominent on the gridiron, where the two teams battle for the Black Diamond Trophy, but there is plenty of history between the two in basketball as well. The two teams have met 79 times dating back to 1921 – the Mountaineers own 49 wins in the series.
College sports in general are better when you're playing these storied rivalries among region teams. The two programs are separated by just about four hours, and are both within the heart of Appalachia. With the history between the two programs, the atmosphere is always certain to be electric and fan interest on both sides high.
It makes things a lot more fun, and a lot more intriguing to follow, which can be seen in the renewal of the Backyard Brawl across basketball, football, and baseball over the past decade, and a brief renewal of the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy in football for in recent seasons. The more these types of games can be arranged, they should be.
Familiar faces return to Morgantown as the WVU basketball's nonconference schedule continues to get tougher
The Hokies will add a little flavor to an already bitter rivalry with the Mountaineers as two men who have been apart of West Virginia's program will return to Hope Coliseum. Chester Frazier, who was an assistant coach under Darian DeVries in 2024-2025, and Amani Hansberry, who played under Frazier on that same team, are both now with Virginia Tech. It will be their first return to Morgantown since departing.
If that wasn't exciting enough, the non-conference slate which this game was just added to should provide the rest of the excitement, as the Mountaineers are gearing up to test themselves tremendously in non-conference play. They already will play two more ACC teams. One of which is Backyard Brawl rival Pitt, who the Mountaineers will play just four days later in a true rivalry week for the program.
The Mountaineers will also travel to Greensboro, North Carolina for game against Wake Forest in December. And while it hasn't been confirmed yet, reports indicate a November game with North Carolina in Charlotte is also on the schedule.
WVU also is set to face NIT champion Auburn in the opening round of Player's Era 8 Invitational, with potential match-ups with Kansas in the second game at the event, and the third game guaranteed to match WVU up with either Florida, Houston, Notre Dame, or Rutgers. In total, the Mountaineers could end up with seven power conference opponents on their non-conference slate, with six of those game away from Hope Coliseum.
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