WVU athletics, Big 12 Conference announce Mountaineers' 2021 football schedule
The West Virginia football team will open its 2021 season with a road trip to Maryland on Sept. 4.
Six home dates — four Big 12 matchups and games against Virginia Tech and Long Island — plus five conference road dates also make up the Mountaineers upcoming schedule, WVU director of intercollegiate athletics Shane Lyons announced Thursday afternoon.
“The release of the 2021 football schedule is, hopefully, the first step to getting things back to a normal athletic season,” said Lyons in a release revealing the schedule.
“I know our players, coaches and fans want that and now we can start working toward that goal. We will have six home games and a road trip to Maryland that will be easily accessible for our fan base, and I believe there will be plenty of excitement surrounding our team as we head into the season.”
WVU will host Long Island on Sept. 11 and Virginia Tech on Sept. 18 in the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy.
The Maryland and Virginia Tech games mark the 53rd contest in each of the series. WVU and Maryland will play for the first time since 2015.
Covid-19 canceled a 2020 matchup between the Mountaineers and Terrapins.
WVU and Virginia Tech will play for the first time since 2017, a 31-24 Hokies win at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
The Mountaineers’ Big 12 Conference home dates are Texas Tech (Oct. 2), Iowa State (Oct. 30), Oklahoma State (Nov. 6) and Texas (Nov. 20).
Road conference games are Oklahoma (Sept. 25), Baylor (Oct. 9), TCU (Oct. 23), Kansas State (Nov. 13) and Kansas (Nov. 27).
“This is a tough schedule, not only with the Big 12 Conference lineup, but also nonconference games against Power 5 teams Virginia Tech and Maryland,” WVU football coach Neal Brown said.
The top two finishers in the regular-season standings will compete for the conference title in the Big 12 Football Championship Game, which is scheduled in 2021 for Dec. 4 in Arlington, Texas.
The times and television schedule will be announced at a later date, and all dates are subject to change.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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