Sept. 19, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., September 19, 2013 - Penn State Director of Athletics Dave Joyner and West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck today announced the renewal of the gridiron series between the long-time rivals.
Penn State will host the Mountaineers on September 2, 2023 in Beaver Stadium and the Nittany Lions will travel to Morgantown on August 31, 2024.
Penn State and West Virginia have met 59 times, the third-highest number of meetings for a Nittany Lion opponent, trailing only Pitt (96) and Syracuse (71). The Nittany Lions and Mountaineers first met in 1904 and played every season from 1947-1992 (46 games), with Penn State starting Big Ten Conference competition in 1993. The Nittany Lions lead the series, 48-9-2.
"We are excited to announce this football series with West Virginia," Joyner said. "The renewal of our West Virginia rivalry is a series our alumni and fans have wanted to see on our future schedules. I am appreciative of the efforts of Oliver Luck in getting our two schools together again. As we prepare to move to a nine-game Big Ten schedule (2016), I am very pleased that we have been to able to schedule old rivals like West Virginia and Pitt and add Virginia Tech in upcoming years."
The announcement of the West Virginia series gives Penn State two home non-conference games in 2023 that will be highly-anticipated, as Virginia Tech will visit State College for the first time on Sept. 16, 2023. The Nittany Lions will travel to Blacksburg on September 17, 2022 in the first-ever meeting between the schools.
Penn State played Syracuse in a home-and-home series in 2008-09 and the teams opened the 2013 season at MetLife Stadium, with the Nittany Lions capturing a 23-17 win. Long-time rivals Penn State and Pitt will meet every season from 2016-19. The Nittany Lions will play in Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2018 and the Panthers will play in State College in 2017 and 2019.
The Nittany Lions have played every Big 12 Conference team except Iowa State and Oklahoma State. The most recent game against a current Big 12 team was in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl, as Penn State defeated Texas, 38-15, to remain unbeaten in six Fiesta Bowl appearances. The Nittany Lions were victorious on the field against former Big 12 school Texas A&M in the 1999 and 2007 Alamo Bowls.
Penn State has a 59-14-2 all-time on-field record vs. current Big 12 Conference teams: Baylor (1-0), Kansas (1-0), Kansas State (2-0), Oklahoma (0-2), TCU (3-1), Texas (3-2), Texas Tech (1-0) and West Virginia (48-9-2).
Coach Bill O'Brien's Nittany Lions will open the 2014 campaign vs. UCF in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland and will host San Diego State in 2015 prior to starting the four-game series with Pitt in 2016.
Penn State's regular season non-conference opponents since 2000 include: Alabama, Boston College, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Miami, Fla., Nebraska (pre-Big Ten), Notre Dame, Ohio, Oregon State, Pitt, South Florida, Southern California, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Toledo and Virginia.
Penn State (2-1) plays its final non-conference game on Saturday, Sept. 21, hosting Kent State at 3:30 p.m. in Beaver Stadium. For information on single game tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Penn State students can attend this Saturday's All-University Day and Blue Out game at a special price -- two tickets for $40 each with their valid student ID. Students from all Penn State campuses and the World Campus are able to buy two tickets. Tickets are available in advance by calling 1-800-NITTANY or in-person at the Beaver Stadium ticket office (weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.). This special student ticket offer also is available this Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office from 8 a.m. until the 3:30 p.m. kickoff.
The seats for this special student ticket offer will not be located in the 21,000-seat student section in Beaver Stadium.