Mountain Rivals: Five Nights in Morgantown

(MORGANTOWN, W.Va.) — Some rivalries are built by geography. Others are built by history. The best ones are built by competition.

After spending the last five nights in West Virginia at the NCAA Baseball Morgantown Regional, I have become convinced that Kentucky and West Virginia baseball need to play every year.

Not occasionally. Not when the NCAA Tournament bracket happens to throw them together.

Every single year.

Make it home-and-home. Alternate sites. Midweek. Weekend series. I honestly don't care how they do it.

Just make it happen.

For the second consecutive season, Kentucky and West Virginia crossed paths in the postseason. For the second consecutive season, the games delivered enough drama to fill an entire Netflix series.

This year's regional felt less like a baseball tournament and more like an emotional stress test. Kentucky was just three outs away from hosting a Super Regional before West Virginia erupted for five runs in the ninth inning to steal an 11-9 victory. The following night, the Mountaineers appeared comfortably in control with a 5-1 lead before back-to-back home runs by Hudson Brown and Ethan Hindle fueled a Kentucky comeback that tied the game. West Virginia ultimately walked it off 6-5 in the tenth inning, ending the Wildcats' season and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

We saw it all—momentum swings, comeback victories, blown leads, late-inning heroics, and enough stress to shorten the lifespan of both fan bases by several months.

The atmosphere felt different from a typical regional—more personal, more meaningful, like two proud programs refusing to give an inch.

Maybe that's because these schools have more in common than people realize.

Neither program enjoys the advantages of the traditional warm-weather baseball powers. Neither carries the national cachet of an LSU or Texas. Both have had to earn their way into relevance. Both are exceptionally well coached. Both have developed identities built on toughness, culture, and finding ways to win.

And both fan bases care a lot more than outsiders probably understand.

I was especially struck by the number of Kentucky fans who made the five-hour drive to Morgantown. As expected, West Virginia fans filled Kendrick Family Ballpark. Kentucky fans, however, showed up right alongside them. The result was an atmosphere that felt far bigger than a typical college baseball game.

That's what college sports is supposed to be.

As I walked around Morgantown, I couldn't help but notice how much the communities resemble each other. Both are fiercely loyal to their universities. Both carry a bit of an underdog chip on their shoulder. Both believe outsiders don't fully appreciate what makes their programs special. And both fan bases seem perfectly willing to defend that honor at a moment's notice.

I learned that lesson firsthand on day one of the tournament.

I posted on social media about one of my favorite features of Kentucky Proud Park—the 360-degree concourse that allows fans to walk completely around the stadium while still following the game. I casually noted that West Virginia's otherwise beautiful Kendrick Family Ballpark doesn't have one.

You would have thought I insulted somebody's mother.

The reaction was immediate and passionate. Apparently, in Morgantown, criticizing a stadium feature is as egregious as questioning pepperoni rolls.

Frankly, I loved every second of it.

People don't get that worked up over schools they don't care about. Nobody launches a multi-state defense of a ballpark against Directional State University. They do it when pride is involved. They do it when the opponent matters.

That's why this matchup works.

The geography makes sense, the baseball is outstanding, and the fan bases travel. The games have been dramatic enough to leave both sides emotionally exhausted. Good players also love playing against other good players.

Kentucky's Nick Mingione and West Virginia's Steve Sabins both came through Embry-Riddle University. Throughout the weekend there was obvious mutual respect between the two. They competed fiercely without acting like professional wrestlers trying to sell a pay-per-view event. The games supplied all the drama anyone needed.

Sabins seemed open to the idea of an annual series, noting that "trying to play good opponents, regional opponents, is always a great thing" and that his staff is constantly searching for quality competition. The biggest obstacles, he explained, are weather concerns and schedules often finalized years in advance.

Mingione was more guarded, pointing instead to Kentucky's scheduling formula that has helped produce one of the nation's strongest average RPIs over the last three seasons. That's understandable. Coaches are paid to make scheduling decisions with their heads, not their hearts.

Still, after two years of unforgettable postseason baseball, it feels like both programs may have stumbled onto something worth exploring.

Kentucky’s rivalry with Louisville will always have history. It will always matter for fans. But from a pure baseball standpoint, Kentucky versus West Virginia currently appears like a more natural fit. Honestly, it feels more organic.

Most importantly, neither team appears capable of playing a boring game against the other.

In today's college baseball landscape, where every nonconference game is scrutinized through the lens of postseason selection, playing quality opponents shouldn't be viewed as a risk. It should be viewed as an investment. Kentucky helps West Virginia's résumé. West Virginia helps Kentucky's résumé. Both programs benefit from playing meaningful games in front of meaningful crowds.

College athletics often spends too much time chasing television contracts, conference realignment maps, and corporate buzzwords while overlooking the simple things fans actually enjoy—good teams, competitive atmospheres, and meaningful games.

Kentucky and West Virginia check every box.

Look, sometimes the best ideas aren't complicated. Sometimes they're sitting right in front of you.

This is one of them. Pick up the phone, find an open weekend, and sign a five-year contract. Give the fans a memorable road trip. Give both programs a quality opponent. Then let the mountains decide it every spring.

Dr. John Huang is a retired orthodontist, military veteran, and award-winning author. Currently serving as a columnist for Nolan Group Media, he invites readers to follow him on social media @KYHuangs. Explore his latest, Whining for Posterity, and all his books at Amazon.