The Mountaineers open the 2008 season at home against Villanova on Aug. 30. WVU has faced the Wildcats six times, including the first meeting in 1913 and hold a 5-1 series advantage. The last time the two faced was in 1977, the lone win by Villanova in the series, 41-36, on Oct. 29.

WVU then hits the road for the next two games, first on Sept. 6, at East Carolina and then at Colorado. The date for that game will be announced within the next few weeks.

The Mountaineers and Pirates have played 18 times since the first meeting in 1970 with WVU holding a 16-2 series lead. West Virginia has won seven straight in the series. East Carolina won the 1999 meeting, 30-23, in Charlotte, N.C., and the 1995 meeting, 23-20, in Greenville, N.C. Last season, West Virginia won 48-7, in Morgantown on Sept. 22.

This will mark the first meeting with Colorado. The Mountaineers have faced teams which hail from the Big XII Conference 18 times, including defeating Oklahoma, 48-28, in the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, 2008. WVU has posted a 10-8 record against teams from the Big XII.

On Sept. 27, Marshall invades Milan Puskar Stadium at Mountaineer Field for the third-annual “Friends of Coal” Bowl. WVU won the first two games, 42-10, in 2006 and 48-23, last season. West Virginia holds a 7-0 advantage with Marshall in a series which began in 1911.

The final non-conference game of the season is on Thursday, Oct. 23, against Auburn. This will mark the first meeting with the Tigers, but the 41st game against a school from the Southeastern Conference. The Mountaineers have won four in a row against SEC-competition, including the past two years against Mississippi State in a home-and-away series, 41-14, in Starkville in 2006, and 38-13, this past year in Morgantown.

West Virginia finished the 2007 season with an 11-2 record overall and 5-2 in the BIG EAST. The Mountaineers won their fourth conference title in the past five years and finished the season ranked No. 6. WVU is one of only four teams (LSU, USC and Ohio State) in the nation to finish in the Associated Press Top 10 for three-straight years and is one of only two teams (USC) to play in New Year’s bowl games in the past five years.

The Big East league schedule will be released in mid-February.