Rich Rodriguez Reveals Change in Entrance to Field for WVU Football

The 2026 WVU football season will mark a change in the way the Mountaineers take the field.

As revealed during his weekly radio show on Monday night, Rich Rodriguez announced that his team will run out of the tunnel instead of entering through the wight room.

“I hope the fans like it because we’re still going to have the smoke and running out of there like normal we’re just going to do it a little bit of a hidden kind of deal with the tunnel,” said Rodriguez about coming out of the tunnel, an option that didn’t exist in his first tenure.

Graeson Malashevich carries out the West Virginia flag on Homecoming at Milan Puskar Stadium. (WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose)

And speaking of his first tenure, Rodriguez also squashed any notion that West Virginia would incorporate a giant inflatable helmet like they did twenty years ago. It was while saying no to the throwback that he let the new tunnel entrance slip.

“Disappointed to tell you, no. Because we have a pretty neat entrance but we are coming out of the tunnel now which I really like,” he said. “We’re coming out of the tunnel like gladiators.”

But of course, and as Rodriguez knows as well as anyone, WVU fans want the team to win above all else. The fans aren’t going to be satisfied with another 4-8 season, or losing at all, no matter what the entrance looks like.

Find more coverage of Rich Rodriguez and the WVU football program at WV Sports Now.