Assuming the series doesn’t get cancelled or otherwise modified before then, that is.
And here’s hoping it doesn’t. Thanks to conference realignment, several of the rivalries that made college football so great have become dormant. One of those was the battle for the Black Diamond Trophy between Virginia Tech and West Virginia. The last time the two teams played was in 2005, a 34-17 win for the Hokies. But Virginia Tech was already in the ACC by that point and the future of the series was doubtful at best.
That’s set set change -- at least temporarily. WVU athletic director Oliver Luck and Hokies coach Frank Beamer announced on Wednesday that the two sides have agreed to a home-and-home series for 2012 and ’22. The Mountaineers are scheduled to host the Hokies on Sept. 18, 2021 before traveling to Blacksburg on Sept. 24, 2022.
“During my three years as Athletic Director at West Virginia University, I have heard from legions of Mountaineer fans, particularly those in the Southern part of the state, who have expressed their strong sentiments to renew the football rivalry with Virginia Tech,” Luck said. “This game is great for college football. We all know that the two schools have extraordinary fan bases, and both schools will be counting down the days until the Hokies and the Mountaineers meet again.”
“It’s two great universities that have had some great competition,” added Beamer. “We’ve always had great respect for them, and I think they feel the same way about us. Where we’re located, it’s the right thing to do. We’ll take fans to Morgantown, and they’ll bring fans to Blacksburg.”
Luck emphasized that scheduling conflicts led to such a distant date for the renewal of the series, but given WVU’s geographical challenges in the Big 12 -- the Mountaineers’ closest Big 12 opponent is Iowa State -- he felt it was important to have a big game close to home.
And the battle for the Black Diamond Trophy was a big game, at least regionally. The schools played every year from 1973 through 2005. WVU leads the all-time series 28-22-1, but Beamer is 12-7 against the Mountaineers.