New West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons wants to renew the "Backyard Brawl" rivalry with Pittsburgh.
Lyons told MetroNews putting the game back on the schedule was on his radar. Though Pittsburgh has a vacancy to fill at athletic director, chancellor Patrick Gallagher has said previously he wants whomever is hired to give the game serious consideration.
"Obviously at this point I'm kinda waiting to see who their athletic director is," Lyons said. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I have a relationship with that individual to be able to work something out."
The Mountaineers and Panthers have met 104 times, but the rivalry between the two former Big East schools ended in 2011 thanks to conference realignment.
With West Virginia in the Big 12 and Pittsburgh in the ACC, it has been difficult to add the game to their respective nonconference schedules.
Pittsburgh has opted to renew its rivalry with Penn State, scheduling four games between 2016 and 2019. West Virginia, which has only three nonconference dates available, does not have an opening until 2022 at the earliest.
"It's not going to be two years from now," Lyons said. "We're probably looking at 2022 and '23 to do a home-and-away, but I would love that."