Rich Rodriguez describes the emotions of being in the same conference as Arizona

Veteran head coach Rich Rodriguez is making his long-awaited return to West Virginia this season. This comes 18 years after departing the program for the Michigan job.

Rodriguez saw immense success in Morgantown, as he led the Mountaineers to a 60-26 record over seven seasons with wins in three consecutive bowl games to end his tenure (2005 Sugar Bowl, 2006 Gator Bowl and 2007 Fiesta Bowl). His run at Michigan, however, was a disaster, as a 15-22 (6-18) record over three seasons sent the head coach packing.

He’d eventually end up in the Pac-12 at Arizona, where he coached for six years (2012-2017). With Rodriguez at the helm, the Wildcats compiled a 43-35 (24-30) record with a 2-3 mark in bowl games. Their best season came in 2014, when they finished with a 10-4 record and a 38-30 loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Three of Arizona’s six eight-win seasons this century came under Rodriguez.

At this week’s Big 12 Media Days, Rodriguez was asked about his emotions about being in the same conference as Arizona. The Wildcats are entering their second season of Big 12 play after departing from the sinking Pac-12 conference.

“I didn’t really realize it probably after a couple of weeks on the job,” Rodriguez said. “I started looking at our league and was like, ah, I know the programs or at least half the programs in our league from the Pac-12 days, whether it’s Utah, Colorado, or the Arizona schools (Arizona and Arizona State). I’ve played BYU a couple of times, so there’s some familiarity with that, but this day and age in college athletics is a little bit different.”

The Grant Town, WV native is seeking to guide West Virginia back to college football relevance. The program has not experienced much of that since it departed from the Big East in 2012.

“I loved our time in Arizona,” Rodriguez continued. “It seems like, at least for myself, and some of our staff that we’ve been on this journey for 15 or 20 years or so. As fate would have it, we’re back in Morgantown. But I know Arizona isn’t on the schedule this year, but will be in the next couple of years, but that’ll be an emotional time as well. But I enjoyed our time there, but we’re back home at West Virginia so I’m pretty excited about that.”

West Virginia opens its 2025 season on August 30 against Robert Morris. Kick is slated for 9:30 p.m. ET.