Morgantown, West Virginia – In four years, the West Virginia Mountaineers will open the season at home against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the most dominant program in college football today.
Alabama’s legendary head coach, Nick Saban, a Fairmont, West Virginia native, will be 74 years old at the time.
Today, Saban signed an extension that will run through 2030 and pay him an average of $11.7 million per year. This deal now makes Saban the highest paid coach in college football, surpassing Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who makes $11.2 million a year.
Although it’s been rumored that Saban’s incredible career could soon be coming to an end, but this raise and extension show that he still has a hunger to remain in the game. Alabama is coming off an SEC championship title, Saban’s 10th, and a national championship berth, where they lost to Georgia.
If Saban is still coaching in 2026, this could potentially be one of the most important, wildest games ever at West Virginia! Saban returning to his home state with likely one of the top teams in the country will definitely make Mountaineers football history.
