Rich Rodriguez Joked About His Basketball Days and Casually Roasted Marshall

Did you know Rich Rod could have played hoops for Marshall? The stage wasn't big enough for him, though.

Aug 30, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez shakes hands with a referee before the game against the Robert Morris Colonials at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Over forty years ago, Rich Rodriguez was not only a good football player, but he was also a decent basketball player at North Marion High School.

According to the 1980 high school yearbook, Rodriguez was named the UPI National Basketball Player of the Week, but there's some uncertainty about the level of truth in that. Still, he played well enough to get some attention from coaches at the next level and was actually considering playing basketball in college before opting to walk on to the West Virginia football team.

Rodriguez discussed this during his coach's show on Monday night at Kegler's and poked a little fun at the other Division I school in the state, without realizing it until after he said it in that manner.

“I used to shoot a lot, but I was always open. I think I was leading the state in scoring by a little bit, but I was leading the state in shot attempts by a lot. I actually wasn’t sure which route I was going to go in college – football or basketball. My basketball offers were like small schools like Marshall," leading to a big laugh from the crowd on hand. "But Marshall, Davidson, and some other 1-AAs. But football, I wanted to be on the big stage and took a walk-on thing here.”

I'd say Rich Rod made the right choice, siding with football. He had a pretty decent career for a walk-on and has had a ton of success in coaching, of course. With Saturday's win over Robert Morris, he moved back into a second-place tie with Dana Holgorsen for the most victories in WVU program history with 61.

There isn't much bad blood between West Virginia and Marshall despite being the only two in-state Division I schools. It's more bickering between the two fan bases more than anything. The Mountaineers have owned the series, winning all 12 matchups, with the last game being played in 2012. Herd fans have been calling for another shot at the Mountaineers for years, but it would likely only happen in a two-for-one or three-for-one scenario.

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