Why WVU Will Occasionally Trade a Home Game for a Neutral-Site Matchup

Schedule a neutral-site game or have an additional home game? That's something that West Virginia Director of Athletics Wren Baker wrestles with, knowing there are pros to both.

Of course, you would like to play as many games in Morgantown as humanly possible, but sometimes something will come up that makes too much sense, and he can't pass on.

For example, Baker knew that there was a strong possibility that the home-and-home series with Alabama could be canceled, with the SEC at one time discussing and now officially moving to a nine-game league schedule. Well before that actually came off the books, WVU and Virginia agreed to play a pair of neutral-site games in Charlotte (2026, 2032).

With the date of the game being the same weekend as their previously scheduled road matchup with East Carolina, it made sense to buy out of the ECU game and play Virginia in Charlotte. You avoid having to go to a Group of Five team's stadium where disaster can happen (i.e., Ohio 2025) and instead turn it into a game where fans will want to travel to it and is, of course, way more winnable of a Power Four opponent than Alabama.

These neutral-site games are also a way for schools to get a Power Four matchup in the non-conference slate (for football) without having to commit to a home-and-home where you know you'll be walking into a tough environment against a tough opponent.

It may not be something fans want, but they aren't going anywhere. If it makes sense for WVU, they'll agree to playing one every once in a while.

“When we get a neutral site opportunity, there’s a baseline number of games we expect to play in Morgantown, and are we hitting that? I would say it’s pretty non-negotiable that we always want at least six games here in Morgantown for football, for instance," Baker said. "We’d really like to have seven. But if you’re given the opportunity to play the right opponent and the financials make sense, and it’s in a place where you’re trying to engage donors and alums…we’ve made an emphasis on the Charlotte area, for instance. It’s always a place we do really well, so that’s a place we have really tried to plant our flag. You want to do what’s right by the state and community, but certain neutral-site games give you an opportunity to draw revenue, to hit a broader audience, to play an opponent that maybe doesn’t have it in their schedule to do two games.

"I think the other aspect that plays into that now is the NIL opportunities, he continued. "And then lastly, when you look at NET scores, RPIs, and all those metrics, some of those neutral-site games are a good compromise. Especially in basketball, because you don’t get hit as hard in a negative way if you lose, and then conversely, if you win a neutral game, you are rewarded more than winning a game at home. You just kind of mitigate the loss a little bit and inflate the win.”

Baker wasn't joking when he said they are trying to plant their flag in Charlotte, or in North Carolina in general. The Mountaineers' men's basketball team is finalizing a deal to play North Carolina in the 2nd annual Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte on Black Friday.

They also have the "return" neutral court game in Greensboro this season against Wake Forest. The two played in Charleston last year in an unusual "home-and-home" playing two games in their home states on another court, helping their cause in the RPI and NET.

Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Nashville would be potential neutral-site cities that would make a ton of sense for West Virginia. The football team played Alabama in Atlanta in 2014 and BYU in D.C. in 2016. As of today, those three games in Charlotte, two against Virginia and one against Tennessee (2028) are the only neutral-site matchups for WVU football through 2036.

I would not expect West Virginia to have any interest in playing internationally.

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