MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A competitive bidding process has led to a new host site for the WVSSAC Football Championships.
The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission Football Championships will move to University of Charleston Stadium for at least the next three years. There is a mutual option for the 2027 title games. The WVSSAC Board of Directors granted final approval to the City of Charleston on Thursday.
David Price
“We are excited with the offer extended by the Charleston community to host the football championships at Laidley Field,” said WVSSAC Executive Director David Price. “The local organizing group is committed to the student and fan experience as well as the financial success of the event.”
The round of bidding to host the 2024, 2025 and 2026 games was the most-competitive in terms of the number of proposals submitted to the WVSSAC. Representatives from Bluefield’s Mitchell Stadium, Wheeling Island Stadium and a combined bid from Huntington’s Joan C. Edwards Stadium and Morgantown’s Milan Puskar Stadium all submitted proposals to host the contests.
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“We were very fortunate to have four proposals from different parts of the state (Bluefield/Charleston, Huntington/Morgantown and Wheeling) who each had great interest in hosting the football championships,” Price said. “Each proposal had strong merit and each received thorough consideration.”
“We included things in our bid like making sure every team, no matter where they are from even if they are from Charleston, gets to experience the same things — a sit-down meal, swag bags to commemorate their championship experience. We are going to make sure every team that comes to Charleston gets to go to GoMart Ballpark and see the ‘Light the Night’ that the Dirty Birds put on,” said Charleston CVB President and CEO Tim Brady.
Tim Brady
“What is going to be better than playing for a state championship with the Capitol Dome in the background and Laidley Field with the lights on? It is going to be really cool,” Brady said.
Bids were formally submitted to to the WVSSAC prior to January 12 and site visits were conducted in the following weeks. A minimum seating capacity of 10,000 was required by the WVSSAC to host. UC Stadium is the home of the University of Charleston and Capital High School football teams. Laidley Field also hosts the WVSSAC Track and Field Championships.
Wheeling had hosted the championship games since 1994. Laidley Field in Charleston was the previous host of the games. The 2024 championships will mark the first time that a 4-class system will be in place. Games will be played December 6 and 7 with noon and 7 p.m. kickoffs both days.
“We have four full-size locker rooms and a locker room for the referees. There are some locker room renovations that will be completed prior to December and some press box renovations that are underway that will be completed by November,” Brady said.
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“Wheeling has been a great host for the past 30 years,” Price said. They set the bar high for other cities to even consider the challenge of hosting the football championships. We thank the many individuals who provided leadership through the years for the Super 6.”
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – West Virginia lawmakers continued working as the Saturday midnight deadline approaches.
Senate Action
The Senate passed 12 bills, including one requiring adult content websites to use age verification to block minors. Senators also passed a bill creating a Cold Case Task Force.
House Bill 49-90, targeting gift card crimes, and House Bill 54-37, the Vape Safety Act, also passed unanimously. All four bills now go to the House for concurrence.
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Delegates passed Alyssa’s Law, allowing teachers to wear mobile alert buttons that notify 9-1-1 and trigger a school lockdown in emergencies. The bill is named after a victim of the 2018 Parkland shooting.
Bill 4005, which clarifies jobs prohibited for workers under 16 — including bar work and logging — also passed. Both bills now head to Governor Patrick Morrisey’s desk.
Senate Bill 4 would require bystanders to stay at least 30 feet from first responders.
Senate Bill 75 would allow West Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with officers in bordering states. A bill from the Education Committee would allow teachers with at least 15 years of experience to become certified as school principals.
For more legislative coverage, go to our website at wdtv.com.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
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The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
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Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
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Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
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West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
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Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
