Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Posted: 4:39 p.m.
CSNPhilly.com
Dormant for more than a decade, one of college football's greatest rivalries is set to return in 2016.
Penn State and Pittsburgh will meet again on the football field in 2016 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and 2017 at Beaver Stadium in University Park.
Tim Curley, Penn State athletic director, and Steve Pederson, Pitt athletic director, made the announcement Tuesday that the two teams are scheduled to meet Sept. 10, 2016 and Sept.16, 2017.
"We are very excited about renewing our rivalry with Pitt," Curley said.
"We have worked our schedules to play some of our neighboring rivalries like Syracuse, Rutgers and Temple and are glad to have identified dates that worked for our schedules to play Pitt.
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"The Penn State-Pitt game was one that football fans across the Commonwealth have been passionate about. There have been many memorable Penn State-Pitt games, featuring outstanding players and coaches, and we look forward to playing the Panthers again."
The Nittany Lions have faced the Panthers more often than any other team they've faced, a total of 96 times, with Penn State owning a 50-42-4 series advantage.
The first meeting occurred in 1893 and the teams played every season from 1900-31 and 1935-92, often in the final game of the regular season. They did not play each other from 1993-96, when Penn State began play in the Big Ten Conference, but played a four-game series from 1997-2000, with the Lions taking the first three. The Panthers won the last meeting, 12-0, in Three Rivers Stadium.
The majority of the games in the rivalry have been played in Pittsburgh with the Panthers having a 34-28-4 advantage in games played on their home field. Penn State owns a 17-6 record against Pitt in State College and leads, 5-2, in neutral site games.
"The tremendous history of this rivalry is well documented and the passion that fans have for this game is enormous," Pederson said in a statement.
"We are very pleased that this two-game series is now in place and a new generation of fans can experience the excitement of a Pitt-Penn State football game beginning in 2016."