CHARLESTON, W.Va – The West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission’s high school football championships return to Charleston in two months, and planning for the 2026 games is already well underway.
The championship committee meets this Thursday, and chair Mike Arbogast is excited for another opportunity to host this year.
“We try to pay attention to detail. We’re in year three, believe it or not, already. We had bumps in the road, but we feel like we had success the first two years,” he said Tuesday on 580 Live with Dave Allen.
The football championships returned to Charleston in 2024 and moved from Wheeling after decades in the Northern Panhandle. Arbogast wants to carry on the tradition of rolling out the red carpet for teams that make it to the title games.
“We want this to be a ‘bowl-type’ experience and a ‘bowl-type’ atmosphere to put it to the college level, so hopefully the kids are excited about that when they come in,” he said.
Arbogast works closely with stakeholders, including the City of Charleston and Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, to set up experiences for teams. He wants student-athletes to look back fondly on these experiences.
“They’re going to remember it for a lifetime, and that’s why we want it to be a positive experience. You think about it, and we still hook up with our buddies in their 50s and 60s and still talk about what happened in the high school days,” he said.
The excitement is not limited to players and coaches, as fans have flocked to Laidley Field each of the last two years for exciting games. Arbogast hopes more big crowds will see more competitive games this year.
“We want the fans to enjoy it, and we’ve had great crowds. We’ve had over 10,000 people, not paid attendance, but over 10,000 people attend those games the last two years and see exciting football games,” he said.
The 2026 WVSSAC High School Football Championships will be played in Charleston from December 4-5.