Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
WVU-Pitt Headline Hope Gas Backyard Basketball Classic at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh
September 16, 2026 01:31 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men's basketball players Finley Bizjack, Miles Sadler and Martin Somerville, coach Ross Hodge and vice president and director of athletics Wren Baker were in Pittsburgh today promoting the inaugural Hope Gas Backyard Basketball Classic.
The one-night, two-game affair will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2026, and feature four of the region's Division I basketball programs, Pitt, West Virginia, Duquesne and Robert Morris, performing at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh.
Pitt, of the Atlantic Coast Conference, versus West Virginia, of the Big 12, is the event headliner, moving the annual Backyard Brawl game off campus to PPG Paints Arena for the first time since 1998 when the game was played at the old Civic Arena, a matchup won 76-72 by the Mountaineers.
Other Steel City venues for the game include Duquesne Gardens, Trees Gymnasium, Motor Square Garden, Pitt Pavilion, Fitzgerald Field House and the Petersen Events Center.
The last time the city attempted something similar, according to Pittsburgh sports historian Sam Sciullo Jr., was in 1976 when Pitt and Duquesne staged a two-game basketball extravaganza with Penn State and Penn in an effort to boost attendance.
Games were played over two nights at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena in hopes fans would come out and support the two struggling programs. The experiment opened with Duquesne playing Penn State and Pitt and Penn battling it out on a Friday night, with the host schools switching opponents the following evening.
Pitt and Duquesne collected victories the first night, while Pitt won its game against Penn State and Duquesne lost in triple-overtime to Penn the next day.
"We need college doubleheaders in Pittsburgh, and this is a start," Pitt coach Tim Grgurich said of the event at the time. "I don't think it's the whole answer to the promotion of college basketball, but it's a start."
Thanks to game sponsor Hope Gas, and the cooperation of athletic directors Allen Greene of Pitt, Baker of West Virginia, John Henderson of Duquesne and Dr. Ron Moses of Robert Morris, a compelling night of big-time college basketball will be returning to Pittsburgh.
"This will be a fun and exciting night of basketball at PPG Paints Arena," Baker said. "It's exciting to continue our partnership with Hope Gas and play the Backyard Brawl at PPG Paints Arena. Four great teams with loyal fan bases will make this one of the best early season college basketball nights in the country."
Pitt's Greene concurs.
"Headlining a doubleheader at PPG Paints Arena with the Backyard Brawl puts Pitt at the center of a marquee event that will surely turn into a memorable night for our fans and for our city," Greene said. "Pittsburgh basketball fans deserve events like this, and we're excited to help spearhead it."
West Virginia and Pitt met in Morgantown last year, a 71-49 WVU victory in Hodge's first season piloting the Mountaineers. Veteran coach Jeff Capel captured the 2024 affair by an 86-62 score in the contest played in Pittsburgh.
The two schools have played annually since 2021. The series was revived in 2017 after five idle years, but a game was not played in 2020 because of COVID-19.
Overall, West Virginia owns a 102-90 record against the Panthers. Throughout the years, the two schools have periodically shared conferences when they were members of the Eastern Basketball League (1933-39), Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (1977), Eastern 8 (1978-82) and Big East (1996-2012).
Tickets for the two-game event will be made available at ppgpaintsarena.com and ticketmaster.com beginning on Friday, Sept. 25, at 10 am.
"The Hope Gas Basketball Classic is about bringing Pittsburgh's basketball community together for one incredible night," Gary Desjardins, senior vice president/general manager of PPG Paints Arena, said in a press release. "We're incredibly excited to welcome four outstanding programs to PPG Paints Arena and give fans the opportunity to experience two great matchups under one roof."
A single ticket will provide college basketball fans with access to both games. Additional information regarding game times, ticket pricing, premium seating, parking, fan experiences and television coverage is forthcoming.
The one-night, two-game affair will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2026, and feature four of the region's Division I basketball programs, Pitt, West Virginia, Duquesne and Robert Morris, performing at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh.
Pitt, of the Atlantic Coast Conference, versus West Virginia, of the Big 12, is the event headliner, moving the annual Backyard Brawl game off campus to PPG Paints Arena for the first time since 1998 when the game was played at the old Civic Arena, a matchup won 76-72 by the Mountaineers.
Other Steel City venues for the game include Duquesne Gardens, Trees Gymnasium, Motor Square Garden, Pitt Pavilion, Fitzgerald Field House and the Petersen Events Center.
The last time the city attempted something similar, according to Pittsburgh sports historian Sam Sciullo Jr., was in 1976 when Pitt and Duquesne staged a two-game basketball extravaganza with Penn State and Penn in an effort to boost attendance.
Games were played over two nights at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena in hopes fans would come out and support the two struggling programs. The experiment opened with Duquesne playing Penn State and Pitt and Penn battling it out on a Friday night, with the host schools switching opponents the following evening.
Pitt and Duquesne collected victories the first night, while Pitt won its game against Penn State and Duquesne lost in triple-overtime to Penn the next day.
"We need college doubleheaders in Pittsburgh, and this is a start," Pitt coach Tim Grgurich said of the event at the time. "I don't think it's the whole answer to the promotion of college basketball, but it's a start."
Thanks to game sponsor Hope Gas, and the cooperation of athletic directors Allen Greene of Pitt, Baker of West Virginia, John Henderson of Duquesne and Dr. Ron Moses of Robert Morris, a compelling night of big-time college basketball will be returning to Pittsburgh.
"This will be a fun and exciting night of basketball at PPG Paints Arena," Baker said. "It's exciting to continue our partnership with Hope Gas and play the Backyard Brawl at PPG Paints Arena. Four great teams with loyal fan bases will make this one of the best early season college basketball nights in the country."
Pitt's Greene concurs.
"Headlining a doubleheader at PPG Paints Arena with the Backyard Brawl puts Pitt at the center of a marquee event that will surely turn into a memorable night for our fans and for our city," Greene said. "Pittsburgh basketball fans deserve events like this, and we're excited to help spearhead it."
West Virginia and Pitt met in Morgantown last year, a 71-49 WVU victory in Hodge's first season piloting the Mountaineers. Veteran coach Jeff Capel captured the 2024 affair by an 86-62 score in the contest played in Pittsburgh.
The two schools have played annually since 2021. The series was revived in 2017 after five idle years, but a game was not played in 2020 because of COVID-19.
Overall, West Virginia owns a 102-90 record against the Panthers. Throughout the years, the two schools have periodically shared conferences when they were members of the Eastern Basketball League (1933-39), Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (1977), Eastern 8 (1978-82) and Big East (1996-2012).
Tickets for the two-game event will be made available at ppgpaintsarena.com and ticketmaster.com beginning on Friday, Sept. 25, at 10 am.
"The Hope Gas Basketball Classic is about bringing Pittsburgh's basketball community together for one incredible night," Gary Desjardins, senior vice president/general manager of PPG Paints Arena, said in a press release. "We're incredibly excited to welcome four outstanding programs to PPG Paints Arena and give fans the opportunity to experience two great matchups under one roof."
A single ticket will provide college basketball fans with access to both games. Additional information regarding game times, ticket pricing, premium seating, parking, fan experiences and television coverage is forthcoming.
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