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Pittsburgh AD says Penn State wasn't available to extend series

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wbgvwbgv

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. . . . . . . .

Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes said the Panthers' recent four-game agreement with West Virginia from 2022-25 was, in part, because the Nittany Lions were unwilling to play during that time frame.

Barnes said he reached out to Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour about continuing the series beyond 2019, but Barbour said the Nittany Lions were not available. Then, Barnes moved on to West Virginia.

"Our priority was to try and lock in Penn State as much as we could, as often as we could," Barnes said before Pitt's kickoff against Akron tonight. "The second priority was West Virginia."

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The Pitt-Penn State series was arranged by two ADs who were on their way out. The current Penn State A.D. got stuck with the series, but wisely stopped all talk of any kind of extension. I wish Lyons would have told Pitt's desperate Athletic Director that WVU wasn't available either. The ACC (especially the Coastal Division) is a terrible draw for Pitt, and Notre Dame now only plays in Pittsburgh once every 6 years. Penn State will not agree to any kind of an extension so Pitt desperately needed to get WVU on it's future schedule (that is how it happened). I am just glad that Lyons pushed it out 7 years and only agreed to a 4 game series.

http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2015/09/pittsburgh_ad_says_penn_state.html

 
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CT Mountaineer

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I think logically our best rival is Maryland. It might not be athletically the best one, but they have shown the most class over the years. Both Pitt and Virginia Tech have attitudes that just plain suck. I'd try to lock in long term series with Maryland before anybody else.
 
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Butler-eer

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MD is now a better recruiting area. Western PA used to be a gold mine for recruiting but in the last 10-15 years the quality of high school football played in this area has fallen off significantly.
 
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CT Mountaineer

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Frankly, with the almost non existent interest in Pitt football in recent years, you'd have to think they would be thrilled that anybody still wants to play them. They tarp over entire sections of their stadium on game days due to empty seats it looks so bad, and they actually lose to AA teams.

Since moving to the ACC, their athletic budget is about half ours, with income in the $40 millions range. I believe they actually did better in the Big East, which they were so anxious to help destroy.
 
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MountaineerGuy

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Butler-eer said:
MD is now a better recruiting area. Western PA used to be a gold mine for recruiting but in the last 10-15 years the quality of high school football played in this area has fallen off significantly.
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Agreed. The state of Maryland and the D.C. area is now HUGE for football recruiting......wetness the likes of Tavon Austin, William Crest, Smothers, etc., etc..............
 
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dogeered_again

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I think Pitt's AD gave us a bit of a slap in the face with that comment and we should have told them to go schedule Villanova instead.
 
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eers1foru_rivals

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I think if anything it proves Oliver Luck's statement that Pitt. needs us to fill their stadium. Was it a professional or diplomatic statement? No, but it doesn't make it any less true.
 
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Jakey_John_rivals78127

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Geography may not be your strong suit but I'll put it in terms you would understand. Given the choice between Marshall and Pitt who would you geniuses schedule first? Your prestigious university must be handing out degrees in the social sciences as well.
 
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eers1foru_rivals

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From the looks of things you may have been better off to schedule Marshall. You could call it the "Friends of Meth Bowl"! Between the two if you you could probably sell out a grey hound bus.
 
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Cuyahoga Falls Eers_rivals

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I am happy that WVU will be playing Pitt. Playing second-fiddle to Penn State doesn't bother me. I understand Pitt's stance on that. Two in-state schools, both in P-5. NOT the same situation with WVU and Marshall, one P-5 and one Little Five team.
WVU has Pitt, Penn State and Virginia Tech and Maryland in its future. I like that. Four games that Mountaineer fans can drive to, compared to the Big 12 road games, which bring in a ton of money to the athletic program but limit WVU fan visits mostly to flights rather than drives. Air game rather than ground game, to put it in football parlance.


M ighty defense throttled Georgia Southern, 44-0

O utstanding defense obliterated Liberty, 41-17

U nilaterally decimate Maryland

N euter Oklahoma

T rample Oklahoma State

A nnihilate Baylor

I ncinerate TCU

N ail Texas Tech

E rectile dysfunction Texas

E viscerate Kansas

R ip open a new one for Iowa State

S kewer Kansas State
 
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Chris from WV

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For rivalry sake, it would be great to see teams like Pitt, Penn State, VT, and Maryland every year. But playing other (legitimate) teams from around the country has other positive effects on recruiting.
 
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CT Mountaineer

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dogeered_again said:
I think Pitt's AD gave us a bit of a slap in the face with that comment and we should have told them to go schedule Villanova instead.
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College athletics is a business, and athletic directors make statements to appease certain segments of a fan base (in Pitt's case the diehards who believe their program is on the same level as that of Penn State), but in the final analysis they generally go with the money. Playing Pitt is good for the money of both schools. He knows it and we know it. That game will be scheduled more often than not in the future.

There are some folks, ... those naive as to how it works, who illogically believe we should be jumping in and scheduling a pathetic, low level program like MarsHall in football. That makes zero sense for West Virginia. Marshall would benefit, of course, but WVU would take a major hit in many ways doing that. That game should never be played, period.
 
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Atreides

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We are an afterthought...to some is how I read it....Gotta think PSU was their priority...and that's understandable...though the Brawl has always been a Huge Draw. I am glad we are playing it again, but it would have been fine either way for me. I think some there think we Needed it more....We don't Need to play them.....The fact we are going to is and should be Fun for both....
 
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CT Mountaineer

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Atreides said:
We are an afterthought...to some is how I read it....Gotta think PSU was their priority...and that's understandable...though the Brawl has always been a Huge Draw. I am glad we are playing it again, but it would have been fine either way for me. I think some there think we Needed it more....We don't Need to play them.....The fact we are going to is and should be Fun for both....
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Their program is not nearly as good as ours now, but we do need the historic rivalries and at least one or two nearby away games every year. In that sense, we might have needed it more than they do, but I suspect in all honesty if you look at the bottom lines, their athletic program is suffering mightily these days and they really need butts in the seats up there. We will provide those. When we play them, it won't be their usual $10 discounted ticket price.

My opinion is there should be two of Pitt, VTech, and/or Penn State on our schedule every year. On years where that can't be arranged, put Syracuse, BC, UConn, Temple, or Rutgers on there for home and homes. Our student body and alumni support are heavily east coast dominated, and we need those games.
 
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WiiWii

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I don't care if we ever play sPitt again because I hate their fans and beating their team is no longer anything to crow about. That said, I totally get why they want to play Penn State and why that is their priority and I guarantee you that their AD said that because of their fan reaction.

If you go read their board, their first reaction was...

1. glad to be playing WVU again, but...
2. does this mean that playing PSU annually is out?

He had to answer their question and he did
 
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CT Mountaineer

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Jakey_John said:
Geography may not be your strong suit but I'll put it in terms you would understand. Given the choice between Marshall and Pitt who would you geniuses schedule first? Your prestigious university must be handing out degrees in the social sciences as well.
Click to expand...

MarsHall is not a serious option or consideration. There is zero upside for WVU in playing them. None.

The way that institution has been operated during the past 10 years I'd be pleased if we had nothing to do with them in other sports or academically either.
 
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