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Penn State and Pitt to Renew Football Rivalry in 2016-17

Penn State-Pitt Rivalry: By the Numbers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., June 14, 2011 - One of the nation's fiercest football rivalries is set to be renewed, as old rivals Penn State and Pittsburgh will meet again on the gridiron in 2016 and 2017.

Tim Curley, Penn State Director of Athletics, and Steve Pederson, Pitt Director of Athletics, made the announcement today that the long-time rivals are scheduled to meet September 10, 2016 in Pittsburgh and September 16, 2017 in Beaver Stadium.

"We are very excited about renewing our rivalry with Pitt," Curley stated. "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. 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 met the Panthers more than any other opponent - 96 times - with Penn State owning a 50-42-4 series advantage. The teams first met in 1893 and played every season from 1900-31 and 1935-92, often in a compelling final game of the regular season. The teams did not meet from 1993-96, when Penn State began play in the Big Ten Conference, and then played a four-game series from 1997-2000, with the Nittany Lions winning the first three games. The Panthers won the last meeting, 12-0, in Three Rivers Stadium 11 years ago.

Penn State owns a 17-6 record against Pitt in State College, while the Panthers have a 34-28-4 advantage in games played on their home field. Penn State leads, 5-2, in neutral site games, the majority of which were played in Pittsburgh.

Coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions have played several of the nation's premier programs during the non-conference portion of the regular season schedule during the past decade. The Nittany Lions are completing a two-game series with Alabama this season, meeting Sept. 10 in Beaver Stadium for an all-stadium whitehouse that will air nationally on ABC at 3:30 p.m. During the 2012-13 seasons, Virginia returns to the Nittany Lions' slate, followed by another old rival, Rutgers, in 2014-15. Penn State and long-time rival Syracuse played in 2008-09 and are scheduled to meet again in the 2013 season opener at New Meadowlands Stadium.

Rivals.com College Football - Mailbag: Who has the roughest stretch?

Though Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe has indicated the league is content with 10 members, the feeling here is that the league eventually will add two more teams.

The Big 12 is somewhat limited geographically, although that's not really an issue in college athletics today, as we've seen with the Big East adding TCU and the Big Ten stretching from Nebraska to Pennsylvania.

There are not a lot of attractive options out there unless the Big 12 thinks it can raid another Big Six conference. But which one? The Pac-12, the Big Ten and the SEC are set. It doesn't seem likely that any team in the ACC would leave for the Big 12. The Big East always is in danger of being raided, but would the Big 12 add TCU? It already has four teams in Texas.

Louisville might be an attractive target. It would bring a solid football program and a storied basketball program. And for Louisville, the Big 12 would be a step up from the Big East.

The problem with Louisville, though, would center on the 12th member.

Boise State and Nevada have solid football programs, but if the Big 12 opted to add two new teams, BYU would seem the right choice over either of those schools.

BYU has a strong athletic program and has national appeal. BYU's leaders have opted to leave the Mountain West for independent status, but an invitation from the Big 12 would be hard to pass up.

Besides, BYU is launching its own TV network. That would be cool with the Big 12. Texas is launching its own network and Oklahoma has plans to do the same. Texas A&M won't be far behind.

If BYU joined the Big 12, Louisville might not be a viable option. That would put the conference in three time zones, which would cause issues with scheduling and class time. No other major conference is in more than two time zones.

If the Big 12 does decide to actually have 12 teams again, the guess here is it would extend invitations to BYU and Boise State.

Do you think if Ohio State's entire coaching staff resigned, the NCAA would go lighter on the Buckeyes?
Michael in Miami

I don't think so. Jim Tressel's resignation was huge. There is no greater mea culpa for Ohio State.

It was Tressel who opted not to report players' misdeeds to the Ohio State compliance department, then lie about it. While the assistants might or might not have known what was going on, their boss absolutely did know.

It was Tressel's responsibility to make the right choices, and he did not. I don't think getting rid of the assistants would have an impact on potential NCAA sanctions.