Neal Brown Hints at WVU Looking to Fix Schedule, Get Out of Alabama Series

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – In the midst of a conversation about the season so far and the upcoming Backyard Brawl, WVU head coach Neal Brown unleashed his true feelings about the schedule, both past and future.

Brown has been open about his thoughts on WVU’s out of conference schedule in the past, and dropped another interesting comment on Monday. When asked about the brief break the Backyard Brawl will experience following the 2025 game, Brown made it clear he wants to play Pitt as often as possible while also complaining about the schedule overall.

“We need to get our schedule fixed. We’re in the process of doing that. It’s a game that needs to be played. We got Alabama, that ain’t fixed,” said Brown while also making a point about the out of conference schedule he’s had to deal with since arriving in Morgantown in 2019.

WVU HC Neal Brown on schedule and trying to play Backyard Brawl as much as possible: “We need to get our schedule fixed. We're in the process of doing that. It's a game that needs to be played. We got Alabama, that ain't fixed.”

— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) September 9, 2024

This is far from the first time Brown has discussed West Virginia’s out of conference schedule, but it is the first time he has publicly mentioned the Mountaineers’ future home and home series with Alabama. WVU will kickoff the 2025 season at home against FCS Robert Morris, however, but will then travel to Tuscaloosa to open the 2026 season before the Crimson Tide comes to Morgantown in 2027.

Prior to starting a two-year series with Penn State, which concluded with WVU’s 34-12 loss this season, Brown’s frustrations with the schedule boiled over.

“My issue with our schedule isn’t when we play teams. My issue with our schedule is we’ve opened on the road three straight years. That’s not smart scheduling,” said Brown in September of 2023. And for context, WVU opened every season from 2021-2023 on the road against a Power Four (then Power Five) opponent. While the Mountaineers did kickoff the 2024 season at home, Brown’s team will still face two Power Four programs in out of conference play, something uncharacteristic of major conference schools.

Neal Brown on WVU’s Recent Schedules: ‘That’s Just Not Smart Scheduling’

Starting in 2025, WVU will employ the more common schedule strategy of playing one Power Four, one Group of 5 and one FCS before conference play gets underway. WVU director of athletics Wren Baker has echoed Brown’s view as well.

While those in-the-know (including WV Sports Now) have heard rumors about Baker wanting to get out of the Alabama series, those games are officially on the schedule as of now.

A notable difference in the years West Virginia plays Alabama is that those games are WVU’s lone non Big 12 Power Four opponent those seasons.