Pitt fans have debated whether they’d prefer to play Penn State or West Virginia, and now there’s a possibility that within ten years there will be seasons with both on the docket. WVU and Pittsburgh announced today that an agreement has been struck to start the rivalry back up September 17, 2022, and September 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. The rivalry will return to Morgantown with games being played September 16, 2023, and September 13, 2025.
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The first of the four games will be held in 2022 at Heinz Field before the teams meet in Morgantown at Milan Puskar Stadium the following season.
The Backyard Brawl is back after Pittsburgh and West Virginia agreed to schedule the game between the two former rivals in 2022.
Pitt is also trying to extend its series with Penn State beyond the four-game, home-and-home series scheduled from 2016-19.
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons called scheduling the series “a priority”.
“I’ve learned there is a lot of passion surrounding this game and we’re pleased to be able to rekindle that history”, Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes said in a school statement.
“I think this is a very exciting announcement for all of college football”.
“An unfortunate byproduct of conference realignment has been the interruption of numerous traditional rivalries across the country”. “Although Penn State’s scheduling opportunities are limited in the early part of the 2020s, we are hopeful we will be able to expand upon our current four-year agreement that begins next year”.
Pitt leads the overall series, 61-40-3, but West Virginia had won 16 of the last 26 contests against the Panthers.
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Rude? Probably. But this is the Backyard Brawl that we all know and love. Pitt’s 41-38 triple-overtime win in 1997 at Mountaineer Field broke a five-game Mountaineer winning streak in the series (WVU’s longest).
