The basketball series was first played in 1929 ( 1974 for the women ) , but they did n't start playing annually until 1978 . In 1992 , they started to play their annual game in West Virginia 's capital city of Charleston . WVU 's campus is in Morgantown , West Virginia and Marshall 's campus is in Huntington , West Virginia . The two universities are the only Division I programs in the state , thus creating a natural geographic rivalry . The meeting typically occurred in the middle of the schools conference schedules when WVU was in the Big East Conference . Since West Virginia joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012 the game has occurred in December . Marshall has been a member of Conference USA since 2005
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic