Pitt and West Virginia have extended the basketball Backyard Brawl for two additional years, the universities announced on Thursday.
The contract for two more games extends the original four-year agreement through the 2022-23 season, adding one more game at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center and WVU Coliseum.
“The Pitt-West Virginia rivalry is one of the best in the country,” Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said in a press release. “Backyard Brawl says all you need to know about the intensity and energy around these games. Coach Huggins is an outstanding coach and has built a terrific program in Morgantown. We look forward to continuing the rivalry and building on the great tradition of the Backyard Brawl.”
“The Pitt game has been our biggest rival,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said in a release. “We are thrilled to add another two games to the series. During the last three months or so, I’ve seen numerous WVU-Pitt games being replayed on ESPN. In addition to both fan bases, there is always a national interest in the Backyard Brawl.”
The Mountaineers have won the last three games of the series, which re-started in 2017 after a five-year hiatus caused by the teams leaving the Big East Conference.
WVU has won four straight overall and owns the overall series lead, 99-88. The completion of the contract will result in the teams playing their 190th game.
“We are certainly pleased to extend the men’s basketball series between West Virginia and Pitt,” West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons said. “I’ve said numerous times that one of my first goals as athletic director was to renew the football and basketball series with Pitt because it is good for both schools. I want to thank [Pitt athletic director] Heather Lyke, Coach Huggins and Coach Capel for their efforts in extending the basketball series. The fans are the real winners because this series is great for college basketball.”
The basketball extension will last right up until the teams are set to get back together on the gridiron, as the football teams have agreed to a four-year home-and-home series that will run from 2022-25.