• 2023 Mountain East Conference Football Schedule

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- The Mountain East Conference released the 2023 football schedule for all member institutions on Thursday afternoon. West Virginia State's home games from last season will be away games this season and vice versa. Additionally, the Yellow Jackets will play Wheeling instead of West Liberty this season.

The MEC features a 10-game, in-conference schedule with the first week of the season set aside for non-conference play. West Virginia State played Shippensburg to start the season for the previous two years. This year, the Yellow Jackets will travel to Division I FCS Morehead State to open the season.

WVSU will return to Institute for the home opener against UNC Pembroke in week two. The Yellow Jackets will then take a road trip to Concord in week three. They upset the Mountain Lions at home late in the 2022 season. 

Homecoming will come early this season in week four. West Virginia State will host Glenville State on Saturday, Sept. 23rd. The Yellow Jackets will be looking to avenge a one-point loss on the road to the Pioneers from last year.

How WVSU handles the first four weeks of the 2023 season may determine how the rest of the year goes. The Yellow Jackets will need to be prepared for tough tests later on against Notre Dame College in week six and Frostburg State in week nine. They will play the Falcons on the road and the Bobcats at home.

To wrap up the season, West Virginia State will play Wheeling for the first time since 2019 in week 10 before hosting rivals Charleston in the week 11 finale. The Cardinals are much improved from when they first joined the league for football in 2019. The Golden Eagles always present a challenging matchup, but the Yellow Jackets currently own the rivalry bragging rights with a 42-35 road victory at the end of last season.


2023 Football Schedule

Week 1 (Sept. 2)
West Virginia State at Morehead State

Week 2 (Sept. 9)
UNC Pembroke at West Virginia State

Week 3 (Sept. 16)
West Virginia State at Concord

Week 4 (Sept. 23)
Glenville State at West Virginia State (Homecoming)

Week 5 (Sept. 30)
West Virginia State at West Virginia Wesleyan

Week 6 (Oct. 7)
West Virginia State at Notre Dame

Week 7 (Oct. 14)
Alderson Broaddus at West Virginia State

Week 8 (Oct. 21)
West Virginia State at Fairmont State

Week 9 (Oct. 28)
Frostburg State at West Virginia State

Week 10 (Nov. 4)
West Virginia State at Wheeling

Week 11 (Nov. 11)
Charleston at West Virginia State

* Game times will be announced by the institutions.
* The MEC will pursue Thursday night game opportunities working with MEC institutions. A Thursday night game schedule will be announced later this summer.
* No conference play is slated for Week 1. Individual institutions will announce possible
non-conference games to be played during the opening week of the schedule.