Tony Gibson Still Wants a Shot at WVU, Claims 'They Don’t Want to Play Us'

West Virginia and Marshall have played on the gridiron twelve times. West Virginia has won twelve times. And for the Thundering Herd to erase that goose egg in the win column, they're going to need some divine intervention to help the two programs agree to a renewal of the series, which has been dormant since September 1st, 2012.

Marshall head coach Tony Gibson, who spent several years as an assistant and defensive coordinator at WVU, has mentioned multiple times his desire to bring back the Friends of Coal Bowl since he landed the job in Huntington in December of 2024.

With Rich Rodriguez back in Morgantown, a longtime friend of his, it led to many throughout the state thinking that the game could get back on the schedule at some point down the road. While it's still possible, there's been absolutely no progress in those talks, simply because there haven't been any.

Gibson recently appeared on The HerdLine Podcast and made it clear that he believes West Virginia doesn't want anything to do with Marshall.

“For your money game and the Power Four game, it makes the most sense for us to play WVU. Obviously, they’re not going to play us. They don’t want to play us. It is what it is, but that makes the most sense. Keep the money in state. If it’s a two-for-one deal or whatever it may be, we would be all on board. But obviously, we’re not going to get there; they’re not going to play. I want to play a money game every year to help us out with different things, and I want to play the top Group of Five schools… I want to play the best of the best at our level.”

Why won't West Virginia play Marshall?

Sep 1, 2012; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) throws for a touchdown as Marshall Thundering Herd linebacker Cortez Carter (49) defends in the first quarter at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images | James Lang-Imagn Images

Well, for starters, it's really a lose-lose situation for West Virginia. There's really no benefit to playing the Herd, even in a 2-for-1, because if you win all three games, you did what you were supposed to do, but eliminated a home game from your schedule. WVU would like to have seven home games per year and perhaps eight in years where they only have four Big 12 road trips.

Yes, WVU has a 2-for-1 with Ohio, but you're not giving up money to another university within the state. The "keep the money in state" thing doesn't really make any sense, if we're being honest. In an era of college athletics where every dollar is precious, why throw Marshall a bone?

Playing at Ohio at least gave WVU a chance to play in front of some recruits from the area, and it was a rather low-exposure game.

Yes, the Mountaineers lost, but outside of West Virginia and the folks in Athens, no one talked about that result longer than a day. Okay, maybe Pitt fans chimed in for a week until they would go on to lose to WVU in overtime, but you get the point.

If WVU plays Marshall and loses, there will be more exposure because it would be the first time that result had happened, and it would be more of a story nationally.

The No. 1 thing, though, is money. Any other factor would be a distant second. And it goes well beyond just giving up a home game.

My assumption is that if the two ever discuss a renewal of the series, Marshall would likely want there to be a high buyout price for West Virginia because it's a game they want to ensure happens once they agree to terms.

The problem is, if a better opportunity for WVU were to arise and they can't do it because of a high buyout with Marshall, then that's bad business. Wren Baker is always going to do what's right for WVU. "Keeping the money in state" is not his concern. Keeping it at WVU is.

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