MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — With the baseball season now officially over, it feels like the attention around Morgantown is already starting to shift.
What Steve Sabins and the West Virginia baseball team just did was special. They didn’t just have a good season. They woke people up. They gave Mountaineer fans something to rally around, something to believe in, and something to be proud of. For a few weeks, West Virginia baseball was the story. The whole state was watching. Fans were locked in. Social media was buzzing. Omaha felt like it belonged to the Mountaineers. That kind of energy matters.
Now, the question becomes simple: can Rich Rodriguez and the football program keep it going? There is already a different feeling around WVU football with Rodriguez back in Morgantown. Whether people want to admit it or not, his return has brought life back into the program. There is nostalgia, sure, but there is also a real sense of unfinished business. West Virginia fans remember what it felt like when this program was feared, when Milan Puskar Stadium was one of the toughest places to play, and when the Mountaineers expected to win big games.
That is what makes this season feel important. The baseball team just showed that West Virginia can still make noise on a national stage. It showed that this fanbase is still there, still passionate, and still ready to show up when it has something to believe in. Sabins and the Mountaineer baseball team made it to the final four teams in the country. Now football has a chance to take that momentum and run with it.
Rodriguez doesn’t need to sell Mountaineer fans on what WVU football can be. They already know. They lived it. They remember the Pat White and Steve Slaton years. They remember the big nights, the packed stadiums, the national rankings, and the feeling that West Virginia could line up against anyone in the country and win. That is what fans want back.
Nobody is saying it all happens overnight. There are still questions. There is still a roster to put together, games to win, and a Big 12 schedule waiting. But for the first time in a while, there is real excitement. Not fake offseason hype. Real excitement.
The baseball team raised the standard and reminded everyone what it feels like when West Virginia is winning. Now it is football’s turn.
The Mountaineers have a coach who knows the place, a fanbase that is ready to believe again, and a program that feels like it finally has some life behind it. After what baseball just did, it is hard not to feel like something special could be building in Morgantown.
The summer belonged to West Virginia baseball. Now Rich Rodriguez and the Mountaineers have a chance to make the fall just as memorable.
