Pitt vs West Virginia Backyard Brawl May Not Go Anywhere

The Pittsburgh Panthers and West Virgnia Mountaineers playing each other in the Backyard Brawl every year makes for one of the best rivarly games in college football. Unfortunately, the next time the classic matchup will be played after this season isn't until 2029.

In a recent press conference, West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker answered questions from the media, including one about the future of the Backyard Brawl.

Baker says he reached out to Pitt's athletic director to extend the series.

"We're looking at a lot of things when we look at scheduling," Baker said.

He mentioned how the goals of schedule making are to make a schedule that helps West Virginia's chances of making the College Football Playoffs and one that brings people into Morgantown and sells tickets. Promoting tourism for the state of West Virginia was a factor of highest importance.

The question about the Backyard Brawl came packaged with one about the SEC's recent changes to their scheduling, making it so every school in the conference is mandated to play nine teams in the conference rather than eight.

West Virgnia, a Big 12 school, is scheduled to play SEC powerhouse Alabama in 2026 and 2027. The SEC's new scheduling rules could leave one of those games canceled and allow a different school, such as Pitt, to play West Virginia instead.