Backyard Brawl
West Virginia’s annual football and basketball games with Pitt were referred to as “The Backyard Brawl” because of the close proximity of the two schools. West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh played football games for more than 100 straight years, representing the nation’s 14th oldest football rivalry. That rivalry streak ended in 2011 after WVU entered the Big XII.
The two basketball teams have played more than 185 times since 1904. Each year, the game drew thousands of fans to the WVU Coliseum to watch this match-up.
This tradition had been put on hold for the football program after WVU joined the Big XII, although the Backyard Brawl will be revived in 2022 with the start of a four game series between the two programs. WVU Basketball has also scheduled games against Pitt for the past few years and will go to Pittsburgh to face the Panthers again next season in 2020.