WVU releases 2012 football schedule

For the first time since the 1991 season, the West Virginia football team will not be playing in the Big East Conference.

WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck announced the Mountaineer football schedule for the 2012 season, which included their nine games against new conference opponents from the Big 12 Conference.

"I know our fans will be looking forward to having the Big 12 schools visit Milan Puskar Stadium this fall," Luck said. "This is a tremendous opportunity for our department, and the challenges ahead are certainly exciting."

The schedule features seven games that will be played in Morgantown, four road games and a neutral-site game against Division I-AA James Madison at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., home of the NFL's Washington Redskins.

WVU's first Big 12 game will be Oct. 29, when Baylor makes the trip up to Morgantown.

After the Baylor game, the Mountaineers will go to Texas two weeks in a row for road games against Texas and Texas Tech.

Arguably the toughest three-game stretch in the 2012 schedule will begin Nov. 3, when West Virginia will host TCU, travel to Oklahoma State and then take on Oklahoma at home in back-to-back-to-back weeks.

"I am excited about this year's schedule, especially since we will be competing in the Big 12," said WVU head football coach Dana Holgorsen in a statement. "I am familiar with the conference, and know the challenges that are ahead of us."

West Virginia will kick off the season at home when it takes on Marshall in the Friends of Coal Bowl. It will be the seventh-straight the two in-state schools will face each other and the third time in those seven years that it will be the Mountaineers' season opener.

The nonconference schedule will wrap up following a bye week after the Marshall game with West Virginia taking on James Madison and Maryland.

The Mountaineers have only played the Dukes one other time, a 45-10 win in 2004 at Milan Puskar Stadium, and they currently are on a six-game winning streak against the Terrapins.

"Mixing our conference schedule with Maryland, Marshall and James Madison, the offseason becomes even more important to our preparation," Holgorsen said.

West Virginia's other home games in Big 12 play will be against Kansas State on Oct. 20, and Kansas in the season finale Dec. 1. The Mountaineers' other conference road game will be Nov. 24, at Iowa State.

WVU's Big 12 opener against Baylor will also serve as Homecoming, and Mountaineer Week will be capped off by the TCU game.

Coming into this season, West Virginia is 8-4 all-time against the other schools in the Big 12. The meetings in 2012 will be the first time WVU has faced Baylor, TCU and Iowa State.