WVU Football announced game times Wednesday for its three non-conference matchups and one of its conference matchups in 2026. Read more: Game times determined for four 2026 WVU Football matchups: history behind the schedule.
The game times announced were:
- WVU vs. Coastal Carolina, September 5: 12:00 PM ET on TNT
- WVU vs. UT Martin, September 12: 1:00 PM ET on ESPN+
- WVU vs. Virginia, September 19: 7:30 PM ET on ACCN
- WVU @ Utah, November 27: 9:00 PM ET on FOX
West Virginia is headed into year two under head coach Rich Rodriguez and aiming to improve from its 4-8 2025 season.
Related: WVU Football: The non-conference games that actually matter
WVU opens the 2026 season at home vs. Coastal Carolina
The Mountaineers open the 2026 season at home against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers of the Sun Belt Conference.
West Virginia has only played Coastal Carolina one other time. That game was also a home opener for the Mountaineers, defeating the Chanticleers 31-0 on September 4, 2010.
The 2026 season will be the third straight season the Mountaineers will open the season at home. It defeated Robert Morris 45-3 this past season and fell to No. 8 Penn State in 2024.
Over the past 10 seasons, West Virginia is 8-2 in its home opener. In this time frame, the Mountaineers have only lost home openers against power conference teams (Penn State, Kansas).
West Virginia is 5-5 in season openers over the past 10 seasons.
The last time Coastal Carolina won a season opener on the road against a power conference opponent was in 2020 when it defeated Kansas, 38-23.
Its most recent victory against a power conference opponent was also Kansas, winning 49-22 at home in 2021.
Overall, Coastal Carolina is 6-4 in its season opener over the past 10 seasons.
Coastal Carolina finished the 2025 season with a 6-6 record and a 23-14 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.
Game 2: WVU vs. UT Martin at home
West Virginia remains at home for its second game of the season when it faces an FCS school, the UT Martin Skyhawks of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The matchup will be the first time the two teams meet in program history.
Since the FCS was established, West Virginia has played 25 opponents from the subdivision. The Mountaineers have remained undefeated against FCS opponents, although James Madison gave WVU a scare in 2019 when the Mountaineers pulled off a tight 20-13 victory.
UT Martin has defeated two FBS opponents, but neither was a Power Four team. The Skyhawks most recently defeated Kennesaw State 24-13 in 2024 and Memphis in 2012 20-17.
UT Martin finished the 2025 season with a 6-6 record.
Game 3: WVU hits road for neutral-site matchup in Charlotte against Virginia
West Virginia’s first road trip is a neutral-site game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, against the Virginia Cavaliers of the ACC.
Both teams have won bowl games at Bank of America Stadium in the past 10 years. WVU won the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in 2023, while Virginia won the Belk Bowl in 2018.
The two teams have a long history spanning to 1898 but have not played each other since 2002. Virginia holds the all-time record at 12-10.
The last time West Virginia faced Virginia was also at Bank of America Stadium (previously Ericsson Stadium) in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl. West Virginia lost to Virginia, 48-22.
Rich Rodriguez was in his first stint as the head coach of WVU Football in the 2002 matchup.
WVU and Virginia have also faced off in three other neutral-site games, all in Charleston, West Virginia. The first ever meeting in 1898 was one of these neutral-site games, which WVU won 6-0.
No. 20 Virginia finished the 2025 season with an 11-3 record. The Cavaliers lost the ACC championship to Duke 20-27. It won the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl 13-7 against Missouri.
WVU Football closes season on the road against Utah
West Virginia’s final game of the 2026 regular season is against the Utah Utes.
WVU Football announced on May 8 that the game would be televised on FOX at either 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. It has now been announced that the game’s official kickoff time is 9 p.m.
The matchup will be the Mountaineers’ first time traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah, to face the Utes. They have faced off three other times, with West Virginia losing all three meetings.
Most recently, Utah defeated WVU 48-14 in 2025 at Milan Puskar Stadium in the two teams’ first meeting as conference foes.
Utah finished the 2025 season with an 11-2 record. The Utes won their final game of the season against Nebraska 44-22 to become SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl champs.
Other matchups
The remainder of WVU Football’s 2026 game times are still to be determined. These game times are typically announced six days before the game.
The remainder of the schedule includes:
- WVU vs. Oklahoma State, September 26 on FOX/FS1
- WVU @ Iowa State, October 3
- WVU vs. Arizona, October 10
- WVU vs. Cincinnati, October 17
- WVU @ TCU, October 24
- WVU @ Texas Tech, November 7
- WVU vs. Kansas, November 14
- WVU vs. Houston, November 21
Related: Big 12 coaches believe WVU Football is on the right path
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