Four Years Added to the “Backyard Brawl”

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University Director of Athletics Wren Baker has announced that the "Backyard Brawl" football series with Pitt, one of the nation's oldest and most intense rivalries, has been scheduled for four additional years (2033-36).

"It's always a great day when you can extend one of the best rivalries in all of college sports," WVU Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said. "I want to thank Pitt Athletic Director Allan Greene for his help in extending the "Backyard Brawl," and there is no doubt that today's announcement is a win for not only fans of the two Universities but for all of college football."

The recently scheduled four-game addition will start in 2033 at Acrisure Stadium, move to Milan Puskar Stadium in 2034, go back to Pittsburgh in 2035, with the final game of the contract in Morgantown in 2036.

"I think it's one of the greatest rivalries in sports," Rich Rodriguez said. "Obviously, the location between the two are close. There's a lot of intensity with it, and there never seems to be any love lost between the fanbases. It's always, to me, the biggest game on your schedule when you're at West Virginia."

In 2022, West Virginia announced that WVU's longest football series in school history would resume in 2029 for a four-game series starting at Heinz Field on Sept. 8 and would run through the 2032 season. This extension keeps the rivalry going for an additional four years.

The "Backyard Brawl" started in 1895 and was played for 104 years until conference realignment ended it in 2011 after a 21-20 WVU victory in Morgantown. The series resumed in 2022, starting in Pittsburgh, and runs to the final year of the current contract, ending with the 108th meeting this Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.

The two schools were Eastern independents for a majority of the series but became Big East football founding members in 1991. West Virginia won 14 of the 21 games in Big East play, before the Mountaineers became a member of the Big 12 in 2012, and the Panthers moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013.

Pitt leads the overall series 63-41-3. The two teams met every season from 1943-2011, and have played each year since 2022. West Virginia is 26-22-2 over the past 50 meetings, dating back to 1965.

West Virginia – Pitt future series dates

September 8, 2029 at Pitt

September 7, 2030 at West Virginia

September 6, 2031 at Pitt

September 11, 2032 at West Virginia

September 10, 2033 at Pitt

September 9, 2034 at West Virginia

September 8, 2035 at Pitt

September 13, 2036 at West Virginia

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