The Big 12 Conference is bringing its Fall Tour to Morgantown from Oct. 8-10, and WVU is set to play host to a slate of events that stretches from a school makeover to a free pregame concert before the Arizona game.
The first stop comes Thursday, Oct. 8, when a local school will be selected for an upgrade to either a STEM center or a library through the College Football Playoff Foundation’s Extra Yard for Teachers Makeover Project. The program began in 2015 and has already provided more than 100 schools with Extra Yard Makeovers, including 15 classroom makeovers done in partnership with the Big 12 and the CFP Foundation.
Friday’s focus shifts to the Allstate Empowerment Luncheon, which is built around leadership advice and career insight from alumni, business owners and innovators. This year’s panel includes Amy Bush, president of WVU Medicine Golisano Children's; Brooke Glover, CEO and co-founder of Swilled Dog; Natasha Oakes, deputy athletics director, chief administrative officer and SWA for WVU Athletics; and Melissa Wells-Greathouse, senior director of global marketing partnerships for the NBA. Limited spots remain for those interested in attending.
Saturday wraps the tour with a pregame tailgate and kickoff concert. The tailgate will feature product sampling, interactive games and exclusive merchandise giveaways, and the day closes with a free concert at Milan Puskar Stadium featuring David Lee Murphy. The concert will be held on the North Lawn on the northeast side of the stadium from 10:15-11:15 a.m., ahead of the noon kickoff against Arizona.
Admission to the Big 12 Fall Tour Kickoff Concert is free, and fans are allowed to bring their own food and beverages. No public concession sales will be available during or before the concert.
In Other News...
West Virginia Mourns A Heartbreaking Loss In Its Recruiting Class
The latest blow to West Virginias recruiting picture came away from the field, where Chris Wilson, a senior at Yorktown High School and a committed defensive line prospect for the Mountaineers, was killed in a shooting Monday morning. The incident is still under investigation, and authorities have not released additional details, leaving a painful and unfinished situation around a player who had become part of the programs future plans.
Yorktown High School principal Stacey Brewer issued a statement offering condolences and stressing that there is no threat to students or schools. For West Virginia, the news adds a deeply somber note to recruiting season, with a commitment lost in the most tragic way and a community left waiting for answers. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginias Cincinnati Weekend Is Turning Into A Program Showcase
West Virginias mid-October date with Cincinnati is shaping up to be more than just another conference game. The Big 12 announced the Oct. 17 matchup will air on TNT and also be simulcast on TruTV and HBO Max, giving the Mountaineers a wider national stage as they welcome the Bearcats to Morgantown for a weekend packed with extras.
Around the game, WVU is leaning into the moment with a Stripe the Stadium theme, group ticket packages aimed at alumni and the induction of the 36th WVU Sports Hall of Fame class. Add in the Big 12 Fall Tour stopping in Morgantown with a free kickoff concert on Oct. 10, and the weekend is starting to look like a full-scale showcase for the program as much as a football date on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
West Virginias Fast Start Is Reviving A Feeling Fans Missed
West Virginias early offensive surge has brought back an old feeling around Morgantown, the kind that takes fans straight to the days when Pat White and Steve Slaton made the offense feel explosive every time it touched the ball. Through five games, Mike Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook have drawn the obvious comparison, with Hawkins handling the passing load and Cook giving the ground game a different kind of burst. The parallel is less about copying the past than it is about reminding people how dangerous this program can look when it finds rhythm in both phases.
The numbers invite the conversation because the production is there, even if the styles are not identical. Hawkins and Cook have given West Virginia balance, while White and Slaton in 2006 set the standard for what that balance can become when everything clicks. The question now is not whether the resemblance exists, but how far it can go as the season unfolds and whether this fast start turns into something fans have been waiting a long time to see again. [Read more 🡒]