MORGANTOWN, W.Va — A son of Parkersburg, W.Va., and a recipient of two degrees from West Virginia, Shane Lyons grew up with the Backyard Brawl and understands what the Mountaineers’ annual football game against Pitt once meant.
Since taking over as athletic director at his alma mater in February, few topics have been more pressing than whether the rivalry, which has been dormant the past three years, would be reinstated.
One week after Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes said he and Lyons had begun conversations about potentially renewing the series, Lyons reaffirmed that commitment.
“It’s one of my top priorities in scheduling,” Lyons said in an interview Monday with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.