Rich Rod or Ross Hodge? Which Coach Will Turn WVU Into a Big 12 Contender Again?

It's been a while since West Virginia has been nationally relevant in football or men's basketball. Between the dreadful six years of the Neal Brown era, the rough first year back for Rich Rodriguez, and all that drama that has led to four coaches in as many years for the hoops team, Mountaineer fans have been through it. It's easy to understand why fatigue is setting in, and perhaps even some disbelief that either will get back to their winning ways.

I wanted to dig inside the minds of fans because of the unique situation WVU is in with a new head coach on the job in both sports, starting at the same time. A couple of days ago, I opened a poll on X, asking who people had more confidence in to get their respective program back on track and contend for a Big 12 title.

The results overwhelmingly favored Rich Rod, who reeled in 72.4% of the votes compared to Hodge's 27.6%.

Which coach do you have more confidence in to get #WVU back on track and compete for a Big 12 title in their respective sport?
— West Virginia on SI (@SI_WVU) February 25, 2026

Now, I could have put both or neither as options, and there were a handful of comments that submitted that response, but I wanted an answer. I wanted to see who folks truly believe in more when having to pick just one.

To be honest, the results were about what I expected. Rodriguez has had an incredible amount of success throughout his career and engineered the greatest three-year stretch the program has ever seen. It's not that wild to see strong numbers for him, a guy who has done it here before.

Hodge is a likeable guy and an easy person for fans to support, but there are just so many unknowns about him, and I'm assuming that's what caused the hesitancy from many of the voters. He had just two years of Division I head coaching experience at North Texas prior to landing the job and didn't make the NCAA Tournament either of those years. I don't believe that makes him unqualified for this job, but I do understand how it could create skepticism within the fanbase.

What is my choice?

West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez | WVU Athletics Communications

When this moment happened, confidence in Rich Rod being successful here skyrocketed. He's not going to allow the last handful of years of his career go to waste. He is bound and determined to get this program back in the Big 12 title conversation and perhaps more. It may not happen in 2026, but it's coming.

As for Hodge, I think the jury is still out on how much success he'll have here, but I don't believe he's given much reason to doubt that he will be successful. Because he doesn't have the experience at this level, it just may take him a little longer.