Morgantown schools announce closure ahead of live performance of 'Pat McAfee Show'

Former West Virginia player Pat McAfee is coming home Friday for a live broadcast of The Pat McAfee Show from the Morgantown campus before the school's season-opening football showdown against Penn State.

To say that loyal Mountaineers (and Nittany Lions) fans are excited would be an understatement. The game is sold out, as are most hotel rooms in the area, while Fox's Great lunchtime kick-off will be in town before the game and will no doubt draw crowds on Saturday.

Although College Game Day in Texas, McAfee will be doing a live broadcast from the West Virginia campus the day before. That's sure to bring college football fans out of hiding, especially since McAfee has been hyping the appearance and how special it will be for him.

The @PatMcAfeeShow will be reporting live from Morgantown, West Virginia, in their home opener against Penn State next Friday, August 30th 👏 🏈 pic.twitter.com/3x65jbLeRP

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) 22 August 2024

All this excitement, anticipation and expected influx of people has prompted the local school district to close its schools on Friday.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, the Monongalia County School District announced that after consulting with local law enforcement, it had decided to close all schools “due to expected traffic congestion and possible delays to our bus service.”

While the post did not directly link McAfee's popular show to the decision to cancel the broadcast, local news outlets noted that increased traffic in and around West Virginia's downtown campus is expected during the live broadcast between noon and 3 p.m. ET. Classes at WVU will also be in session during that time, which will exacerbate congestion.

Every high school student in Morgantown should be on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday because he single-handedly caused Monongalia County Schools to close on Friday.

— Ben Booth (@TheBenBoothShow) 28 August 2024

McAfee spoke about the live show on Tuesday, saying the school would have to prohibit students from sleeping outdoors and would not allow them to attend school before 9 a.m. He also hinted at possible appearances by “West Virginia legends” during the show.

“I can’t wait to see you in Morgantown”

It will be a GREAT time @KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/U0HQVsyA9e

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) 27 August 2024

The good news for local students is that since Monday is Labor Day, they have a four-day weekend. Maybe they have Pat McAfee to thank for that.

[WBOY, Monogalia County Schools]