Hodge Talks Challenging Schedule, Hints Marquee Matchup Could Be Finalized Next Week

It's become pretty clear in Ross Hodge's first two years on the job at West Virginia that he doesn't mind playing a challenging non-league schedule. Last year's slate was fairly tough for a first-year coach, but the 2026-27 slate is jam-packed with interesting matchups.

In addition to the Backyard Brawl, which will be played at PPG Paints Arena (home of the Pittsburgh Penguins), the Mountaineers will face Wake Forest on a "neutral court" in Greensboro, participate in the Players Era tournament where they will open up with Auburn, rekindle the rivalry with Virginia Tech, and have a date with a blue blood. There have been conflicting reports in recent months about who WVU would be playing on Black Friday, but it seems as if the matchup with North Carolina in Charlotte is where this is headed.

Hodge met with reporters earlier this week and discussed how he landed on adding Virginia Tech to the schedule while also hinting that the game against either North Carolina/Kentucky will be officially added soon.

“The Players Era adds obviously a very third competitive game, where last year, your MTE was just a two-game MTE down in Charleston. So you’re naturally picking up one more super competitive game. We knew that the Pitt game was going to be on the road, and so we wanted to try to get a really good home game in the non-league. I was actually talking to Toni (Caridi) and Brad (Howe), and it was before one of our home games in the non-league last year, and we were doing the pregame interview, and we sat around and talked a little bit, and I was asking them if there was a non-league game that would excite our fan base. And Tony mentioned it was Virginia Tech; especially for people in the southern part of the state, they may even view that rivalry on the same level as how everybody else views the Pitt game. Your players certainly enjoy playing in games like that, and then also, you do want to make sure that you’re exciting your fan base and giving them something to look forward to early in the season. We tried to do that with the games that we’ve scheduled and some unique opportunities.

"We’re close to finalizing the one game that’s kind of been, it’s out there, and it’s not really a secret. You’re just trying to finalize it. I think it’ll be announced officially next week, maybe. And then you’ve got one more game that we’re close to finishing up on, and then looking at some creative exhibition games still as well."

The pros and cons of a tough non-conference SOS

West Virginia University head coach Ross Hodge | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

When you play in the Big 12 Conference, you don't really need to go through a gauntlet in the non-league part of your schedule because you will be playing a Quad 1 or 2 game virtually every time you take the floor in conference play.

Then again, you don't want to make it cupcake city for two months, and then your team gets big-eyed when Big 12 play starts. You have to challenge yourself to some degree to prepare them for what they are about to go through. Also, if you happen to win a fair share of these challenging games in non-con play, you naturally create yourself some wiggle room as far as your NCAA Tournament resume is concerned.

Sure, it won't be easy, but Hodge and his staff will have a good idea of what this team can/can't do much earlier in the year and have the experience and depth to handle a rigorous schedule.

Add us as a preferred source on Google