Will WVU and Ross Hodge Have a New Rival in the Big 12?

With a certain new coach in the league, West Virginia may have a new rivalry on its hands.

Mar 3, 2026; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge reacts to a play during the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Unless some crazy conference realignment happens, which is certainly possible these days, West Virginia will have to continue playing its main rivals, Pitt and Virginia Tech, in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Pitt has been a mainstay on the men's hoops schedule, but it's been 10 years since they faced the Hokies.

Cincinnati is the closest school to Morgantown and does have a past with the Mountaineers from their days in the Big East, but it's never been an opponent that West Virginia fans have considered as a rival. WVU will continue to keep the Backyard Brawl alive, but as far as conference rivalries go, perhaps one was just created by Cincinnati's hire of Jerrod Calhoun.

A year ago, Wren Baker considered Calhoun as an option to replace Darian DeVries after he bolted for Indiana, and even went as far as conducting an in-person interview. Ultimately, he was passed on for defensive guru Ross Hodge, who better fits the profile of the coach Baker has a liking for. The WVU AD understands that to win in the Big 12 and to do so consistently, you have to have elite defensive play. If you go back through all of the league's champions, you'll recognize very quickly that those teams are built on defensive success.

On the flip side, Calhoun is purely known as an offensive mastermind whose teams struggle to defend. In his nine years as a Division I head coach, Calhoun's teams have averaged a ranking of 222nd in defensive efficiency. Because of his ties to WVU, having served as an assistant here, along with his success as a mid-major head coach, it made all the sense in the world for Baker to consider him.

And I can assure you, interviewing him was not some favor to donors, nor was he passed on because of his connection to Bob Huggins. Baker is never going to waste time and resources, especially during a pivotal coaching search, just to interview someone in person he's not seriously considering.

All that being said, Calhoun, I would assume, probably does (or did) feel some sort of way for being passed on by the school he spent five years at. With his familiarity with WVU, the close proximity, and the contrasting styles of play, the yearly Cincinnati-West Virginia bouts could develop into a rivalry on the hardwood, especially with two young coaches who are expected to turn their respective programs around.