Pittsburgh and West Virginia can’t come to an agreement to reignite its Backyard Brawl rivalry. The Panthers have, though, found a way to continue playing in the state to their south.
In a press release Tuesday, Marshall announced that it has reached an agreement on a future home-and-home series with Pitt. The Thundering Herd will visit Pitt on Oct. 1, 2016, while the Panthers head to Huntington on Sept. 26, 2020.
“Since arriving here in 2009, my goal has been to bring quality nationally-recognized programs on a home-and-home basis to Huntington,” said Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick in a statement. “The addition of Pitt is just another step in that process. Our Thundering Herd fans are loyal and deserve to see quality programs in Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Also, these games are regionally-based, which will allow our fans to travel to see Marshall play.”
Marshall and Pittsburgh have never met before in football.
Back in July, WVU head coach Dana Holgorsen became the latest person to publicly push for a renewal of the Backyard Brawl. The scheduling reality of life in the nine-game Big 12 makes that an even tougher assignment for the rival athletic directors.
“I would welcome back Pitt and the Backyard Brawl any time that they want it,” Holgorsen said at the time. “But scheduling is tricky. … Now that we’re not in the same conference we both had to drop non-conference games. That makes it challenging. There’s a reason why a lot of games are being announced for 2020 and 2021. … It’s got to be done in advance.”
Of course, if Pitt can manage to get a West Virginia school not named the Mountaineers on its future schedule, surely it could do the same for its bitter rival.
