West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh have agreed to a renewal of the Backyard Brawl rivalry in women’s basketball, Director of Athletics Shane Lyons announced today.

 

The home-and-home series will begin on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, when the Mountaineers host the Panthers at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The second game of the series will take place during the 2018-19 season at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

 

“Since I returned to West Virginia University as athletic director, my goal has been to reconnect our teams with our natural rivals,” Lyons said. “This is a great opportunity for both West Virginia and Pitt to renew a fantastic women’s basketball rivalry. I want to thank Pitt Athletic Director Heather Lyke, coach (Suzie) McConnell-Serio and coach Mike Carey for renewing this exciting rivalry. We look forward to hosting the Panthers here at the WVU Coliseum this December.”

 

West Virginia has won five of the last six meetings, including a 60-42 win over Pitt in the last meeting on Feb. 27, 2012. WVU owns a 26-19 all-time record against the Panthers in a series that began on Jan. 19, 1974.

 

“It’s great to have Pitt back on the schedule,” Carey said. “It has always been a rivalry and we always had tremendous games. It’s great to get it going again. We’re excited about it and I am sure coach McConnell-Serio is excited about it as well. This will be fantastic for the fans, student-athletes and women’s basketball.”

 

A specific date for the 2018-19 season will be announced at a later date. On Tuesday, it was announced that West Virginia and Virginia Tech would renew its rivalry on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.