Rich Rodriguez’s Ideal WVU Schedule Requires Going Back in Time

Even though seeing Rich Rodriguez on the sideline may represent great memories of the past, he’s now coaching in a completely different college sports landscape than he was 20 years ago. Aside from the obvious differences centered around NIL and the transfer portal, the rivalries he was part of decades ago no longer exist.

Fully aware he can only control what he can control, Rodriguez can still emphasize with fans who wish the sport could get back in time, especially in terms of the schedule.

As part of an interview with Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, the 63-year-old head coach spoke candidly about what his ideal landscape for both WVU and the sports as a whole would look like. It’s one that resembles what we he knew, not what’s going on and where the sport is headed.

“We should all come together in one league and have regions as they do in the NFL. We have Pitt and Penn State, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Virginia, Cincinnati — all those schools right around us in our area. Our fans would eat that up. That would be great, wouldn’t it? I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen because there are TV agreements for the next six or seven years, but I’d love to play Pitt every year.”

All of that may sound like music to the ears of Mountaineer Nation, but in reality, college football has morphed into a professional league, granted one without the results and regulations required in the NFL, the NBA, MLB or the NHL.

Part of that transformation has been a series of conference realignments that’s led to just four conferences retaining their “power” distinction and a noticeable difference in actual power from the Big Ten and SEC to the Big 12 and ACC.

West Virginia is now a decade and a half into its tenure as a member of the Big 12, a period that has failed to result in one single conference title and now a seven-year drought without appearing in the Associated Press poll. The last WVU Football conference title came in the program’s final season in the old Big East, resulting in hanging 70 points on Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez looks on after winning the 2025 season opener against Robert Morris – his first win as West Virginia’s head coach since 2007. (WVSN photo by William Wotring)

In addition to the decline in terms of on field success, WVU plays a Big 12 schedule that requires traveling all over the country. It means playing teams in Arizona and Colorado, all the way to Florida, with Cincinnati as the closest to Morgantown.

It also means playing nine league games, leaving only three left for non conference opponents. That makes scheduling regional rivals extremely difficult. It makes scheduling more than one in a season literally impossible. While WVU has played all of the teams Rodriguez mentioned in the last decade, and all but Maryland in recent years – only Pitt appears on a future schedules.

Also, and in an effort to keep West Virginia on as much of a level playing field as possible, director of athletics Wren Baker will employ a model that only permits one P4 opponent outside of the Big 12. The other non conference games will be against FCS and Group of 5 competition, just as is the case for most major programs.

Prior to Baker being able to fix the schedule, WVU was playing 11 Power Four opponents each season, although this was happening during a period most similar schools capped themselves at 10.

So barring an unforeseen turn of events, Rodriguez’s ideal schedule will remain only possible in his dreams.