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Pitt and West Virginia to reignite Backyard Brawl

West Virginia Marshall Basketball

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins gestures to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Marshall in Charleston, W.Va., on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015. (AP Photo/Tyler Evert)

AP

Good news on the college hoops rivalry front, as Pitt and West Virginia announced on Thursday that they will be renewing the Backyard Brawl.

One of the most intense rivalries in college sports, Pitt and West Virginia have not played in hoops since the 2011-12 season. Once Big East rivals, West Virginia left for the Big 12 as Pitt took off for the ACC.

It will be a four-game home-and-home series, with Pitt hosting in 2017 and 2019 and the Mountaineers getting the home games in 2018 and 2020.

I can’t stress this enough: this is great news. The Big East has seen a number of their best rivalries reignited in recent years, namely Syracuse taking on both Georgetown and UConn.

Will this inspire Kansas and Missouri to face off? Well, maybe not:

Anyway, here are the statements from the respective athletic directors.

“We are extremely excited to announce the renewal of this great rivalry,” Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes said in a statement. “Coach Stallings and his staff did an outstanding job working with their counterparts at West Virginia to help make this happen. The Pitt-West Virginia games will serve as marquee non-conference matchups that will garner heavy interest in the area and on the national stage.”

“One of my first goals as athletic director was to reach out to Scott Barnes about renewing the football and basketball series with Pitt because I knew it would be good for both schools,” West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons said in a statement. “I want to thank Scott and coach Stallings as well as [West Virginia] coach [Bob] Huggins and his staff for their efforts in getting the basketball series renewed. The fans are the real winners because whether the game is in the WVU Coliseum or the Petersen Events Center, it will be great for college basketball.”