Former WVU football coach Don Nehlen will serve as an honorary captain during this Sunday's Mountaineer game versus Virginia Tech.
He probably could also serve as a spokesman for West Virginia's fans - at least on one topic.
"One thing our football program needs is a Virginia Tech or Pitt or Penn State back on that schedule continually, not just one time and then, 10 years later, play them again," he said this week.
"We don't really have a game to hang our hat on. I'm talking about 'we' the fans. We need to be able to drive down to Blacksburg or Pittsburgh or Happy Valley. It would really be nice to have one of those teams back on the schedule."
And he's not the only one to feel that way. Former WVU All-America selection Grant Wiley also expressed frustration.
"It's really important for college football, I think, to continue to figure out how to keep these teams - regardless of conference realignment - playing," Wiley said. "It adds to the tradition of the sport. It makes it more fun. It makes it more interesting. It makes it more personal.
"We used to take buses to Virginia Tech. And back then I'd just gotten a cell phone in the summer of 2002. When we won our phones were ringing like crazy on the buses.
"Everyone was telling us Morgantown was on fire. We heard the students had broken into the stadium and had torn down the goal post. We heard they were carrying the goal post down High Street. If there wasn't that tension between us and Virginia Tech these extraordinary celebrations wouldn't have happened."
OK, so you could argue whether that's good or bad. But most, I believe, loved the passion involved.
"The series was tremendously important," Wiley said. "As young kids, we grew up with rivalries. We watched them on TV. Part of the excitement of going to West Virginia or Virginia Tech was being able to live a dream - to jump over the offensive line and make a stop with an inch to score."
Wiley, you might know, made one of WVU's most famous stops in 2002 when he stuffed Tech's Lee Suggs on the 1-yard line.
(As an aside, by the way, Wiley had "a cup of coffee" with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings after leaving WVU and then moved to the New York City area. He's been acting and involved in the arts and entertainment business. He appeared in two episodes of "Inside Amy Shumer" and had roles in the "Sex and the City" movie and "Trainwreck." He said he produced a short film that won an award at the Soho International Film Festival.)
Anyway, Nehlen is very passionate on the topic. Why, he asks, wouldn't Pitt want WVU on the non-conference schedule every year? At least the Panthers are guaranteed of filling Heinz Field once every two years, right?
"Their biggest problem up there is getting people in the stadium," Nehlen said. "Anytime you coach a team in a big city with the Denver Broncos or the Pittsburgh Steelers or any pro team, it's a tough deal boy."
I've always wondered why WVU couldn't cut a deal with Pitt and Virginia Tech to be annual rivals. Play at Pitt one year and host Tech and then reverse it the next year.
Shane Lyons?
"Anything is possible," said the WVU athletic director. "It just takes each school matching up correctly. That said, there are scheduling philosophies to consider.
"Obviously, Virginia Tech is important to us from a rivalry standpoint. Pitt is important to us, no question. But then we have Penn State. We have Maryland. So looking ahead, we have one of them each year and sometimes two in a given year."
Indeed, WVU fans have to give former Mountaineer AD Luck and Lyons credit. They've tried. With some success.
Understand that after Sunday, rivalries disappear until 2020. But then Maryland visits Morgantown that season. In 2021, WVU goes to College Park and hosts Virginia Tech. In 2022, the Mountaineers go to Pitt and Tech. (Ouch.)
Yet the rivalry train continues in 2023. WVU visits Penn State and hosts Pitt. In 2024, West Virginia hosts Penn State and travels to Pitt. In 2025, the Panthers visit Morgantown again.
"Before I got here, I don't know the background," Lyons said. "I don't know why Pitt didn't want to schedule a game. I know Oliver [Luck] tried. I don't know what happened to the Virginia Tech series."
Having those two on WVU's schedule each season just makes so much sense for all three schools. But maybe Lyons has done the best any AD can.
"It's something we'll focus on, but it's about marrying up schedules," he said. "We want to play teams within our geographical footprint, what we once knew as rivals, more frequently.
"The question is, does [Pitt and Virginia Tech] want the exact same games or different opponents? I don't know their thinking. But to answer the question, if you look out far enough, yeah, you can get it done. But it would probably be 2030 and beyond. And I'm just hoping to be around in 2030. Not in the AD chair. On earth."
Amen to that.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.