On Friday afternoon, the news was broken by Mike Casazza of EerSports and later confirmed via press release from the WVU and Pitt athletic departments that The Backyard Brawl series, which was previously set to resume from 2029-2032 after a four-season break following this weekend's game, has been extended for another four games from 2033-2036. That means once the series resumes, fans of both programs can anticipate at least eight straight years of their biggest rivalry being played.
"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."
"I think it's one of the greatest rivalries in sports," WVU football head coach 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."
Sources tell @EerSportsDotCom that #WVU and Pitt have agreed to a new four-year contract for the Backyard Brawl from 2033-36. https://t.co/u79K4iyI2i
— Mike Casazza (@mikecasazza) September 12, 2025
What Does The Return Of The Backyard Brawl Mean For West Virginia
Well, the first thing it means is the most obvious – WVU gets it's most bitter rival back on the schedule. There's no game most WVU faithful cherish more than the Brawl, and having it guaranteed for eight consecutive years is a big boost to the morale of the fanbase and those within the program and adds at least one big-game atmosphere that fans can easily attend and look forward to each season. And let's not ignore the revenue and national attention for two more home games in Morgantown which is now also guaranteed.
It also pretty much gives fans a better idea of what the non-conference schedule might look like for the next decade – Baker seems to be a strong advocate for one Power 4 opponent, one Group of 6 opponent, and one FCS opponent to make up the three non-conference games. It's also the current trend WVU is set to see from 2025-2030, except 2027 when there are no power conference opponents in non-conference play. 2032 currently has both Pitt and Virginia lined up as non-conference matchups for WVU, but in 2031 and from 2033-2036, Pitt now occupies that slot as the premier non-conference opponent.
That also means that the Mountaineers might not have room on the schedule to renew other old-school WVU rivalries across conference lines, such as The Battle For The Black Diamond Trophy against Virginia Tech or The Battle For The Schwartzwalder Trophy against Syracuse. But how much that means to WVU fans once the Brawl is back on the schedule long-term is yet to be seen.
What the schedule extension doesn't mean, however, is that we'll see the schedule renewed before the scheduled four-year break in the series ends in 2029. The game isn't on the schedule for any of those four seasons despite recent changes to the WVU schedule, and if games were going to be added before then in the series, and it likely would have been announced today. So count on this weekend being the last Brawl for four years – that's probably the case now.