MORGANTOWN, W.Va – Last month, West Virginia celebrated its birthday.
Monday, July 4, the United States celebrates its independence from Great Britain in 1776.
Nearly 87 years later, West Virginia separated from the state of Virginia to become a state of its own.
With celebrating independence on the mind of many across the US, let’s take a look back at how WVU has fared against 10 of the most well-known athletics programs from the state of Virginia.
For this exercise, we looked only at series records in football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball.
Virginia Tech
The Hokies continue to be one of the Mountaineers’ fiercest rivals. Despite conference affiliation changes over the years, there’s a reason WVU players knew exactly how many days it had been since the Black Diamond Trophy was last kept in Morgantown.
Thanks to last year’s victory over Virginia Tech in the Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy, WVU holds a 29-23-1 record against the Hokies on the gridiron. West Virginia holds a big advantage on the basketball court as well, with the men’s team holding a 49-30 series lead.
Overall Record: 120-117-2
Virginia
The Mountaineers and Cavaliers have not crossed paths nearly as often. In fact, WVU and UVA have squared off 176 fewer times than WVU and VT have in the major sports.
Virginia holds a series advantage in football (10-12-1), women’s basketball (3-5), and baseball (4-9). The Mountaineers, meanwhile, are 10-9 all-time against the Cavs in men’s hoops.
Overall Record: 28-35-1
Richmond
Among the non-Power 5 colleges or universities from Virginia, the Mountaineers have squared off against the Spiders of Richmond most often. And, overall, they’ve been successful matchups for WVU.
The West Virginia football program is 21-3-1 against the Spiders. The men’s basketball team is 42-13 against Richmond. And the baseball program is 22-13 against the team from the Virginia state capital.
Overall Record: 88-31-1
Virginia Military Institue (VMI)
Given that VMI does not sponsor women’s basketball, the Mountaineers have never played the Keydets in the sport. In men’s basketball, meanwhile, West Virginia has won 45 of the 50 meetings.
WVU has also dominated VMI in baseball (28-8), and is a perfect 11-0 against them on the gridiron.
Overall Record: 84-13
James Madison
JMU has been one of the top football teams at the FCS level over the past decade. But the Dukes are winless in three tries, all-time, against the Mountaineers on the football field.
WVU is a combined 17-6 against James Madison in men’s and women’s basketball. The WVU baseball team holds a 7-4 record against the Dukes from Harrisburg.
Overall Record: 27-10
Radford
Both WVU basketball programs squared off against Radford during the 2021-22 season. Highlanders head coach, and former Mountaineer, Darris Nichols said Bob Huggins “changed my life” after WVU handed Nichols’ team a 16-point defeat in early December. The WVU women defeated visiting Radford by 52 nearly two weeks prior.
While both basketball programs are undefeated against the Highlanders, the Mountaineer baseball team has six wins in 11 meetings against Radford.
Overall Record: 17-4-1
Old Dominion
The Monarchs have been playing football since 1930, but have never faced off against the Mountaineers on the gridiron. Meanwhile, ODU has surprisingly gotten the better of the WVU basketball teams.
West Virginia is just 2-6 all-time against Old Dominion in men’s and women’s basketball. Among the four sports being looked at, the Mountaineer baseball team is the only program that has a winning record against the Monarchs.
Overall Record: 9-10
George Mason
Another Virginia-based opponent that WVU is undefeated against on the hardwood.
West Virginia basketball teams are a combined 6-0 against the Patriots. Meetings on the diamond, however, have been more competitive.
Overall Record: 10-3
Liberty
Among the four sports programs being looked at, no club has played the Flames more than the WVU baseball team, which is 4-2 against Liberty all-time.
Meetings between West Virginia and Liberty have been few and far between, overall. WVU is 2-0 against the Flames in football.
Overall Record: 7-4
WVU vs. these Virginia-based programs: 394-231-5