MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Friday will mark the end of another college football season for law enforcement and first responders.
“You always want your athletic teams to be successful, you always want folks to come into town to have a good time,” Morgantown Chief of Police Ed Preston said. “But it does take a toll on the extra officers working the extra hours.”
For their final act, Morgantown police, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department, State Police, University Police, MECCA 911, and the WVU athletics department must orchestrate one of the most anticipated games in Morgantown in years, along with the return of WVU students from Thanksgiving break. Plus there’s potential inclement weather.
“It is nighttime, and it is chilly,” Preston said. “We do hope people will dress appropriately and not overindulge prior to coming to the stadium.”
The National Weather Service forecasts a possibie mix of rain and snow in the game’s second half and during the commute home.
“We are planning on a sellout crowd, but with the game starting at 8 p.m. we do not anticipate folks getting out of the stadium until after midnight,” Preston said. “It’s going to last three and a half or four hours.”
With the current forecast, that could potentially cause a number of issues.
“It could be quite problematic,” Preston said. “We’re hoping that folks will pay attention to the weather, changes in the weather, dress appropriately, dress warmly. If it’s that cold and it rains, we have the potential for frost, or we have the potential for ice and again causes significant traffic issues.”
Even if the roads aren’t assaulted by some wintry weather, Preston said the rules stay the same — stay on the main roads.
“There won’t be a disruption like you would expect with a noon game with people doing their commercial traffic to and from shopping centers or going out to dinner,” he said. “Again, it will be night, so there will be visibility issues. We want everyone to pay attention to the traffic control officers to get back to the interstate.”
Extra work aside, Preston said it was sad to see another season come to an end.
“It is a two-edged sword. It’s a little bittersweet, knowing that it is the end of the season.”
Kick-off for WVU-Oklahoma is 8 p.m. Friday night at Milan Puskar Stadium. The Mountaineers are in a win-and-in scenario to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. They could also clinch a berth with a loss if Texas loses at Kansas Friday afternoon and if Iowa State is beaten by Kansas State on Saturday.
Despite the loss to Oklahoma State last week, Preston said it’s all hands on deck.
“We know that (fans) are going to enjoy the adult beverages,” he said. “We just hope they don’t over-enjoy them.”