WVU, Virginia Tech renew rivalry
West Virginia and Virginia Tech played for bragging rights of the Appalachian region for decades, first meeting in 1912, becoming regular rivals in the 1950s and then turning it into an annual affair in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Mountaineers and Hokies joined the Big East Conference together in 1991. In 1997, they added a trophy to the rivalry. And in 1999 Virginia Tech great Michael Vick pulled off “The Miracle in Morgantown.”
Then, as with so many rivalries in the 2000s, conference realignment sent the participants their separate ways. Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004. A few years later West Virginia went to the Big 12. The Hokies and Mountaineers played for the 51st — and most recent — time in 2005.
Time to dust off that Black Diamond Trophy. No. 21 Virginia Tech and No. 22 West Virginia renew their rivalry Sunday night at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
“These programs parallel each other in a lot of ways as far as the blue-collar mentality, the toughness of the kids,” said Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who has been with the Hokies for 30 years and will be coaching against the Mountaineers for the 20th time. “Got a lot of respect for this program who we’re about to play but I’m excited that this rivalry is kicking back off again.”
The head coaches are newbies to the rivalry. West Virginia’s Dana Holgorsen is starting his seventh season. West Virginia was 10-3 in 2016 and Holgorsen earned a fiveyear contract extension.
Justin Fuente is in his second season leading the Hokies. Year 1 was great. Virginia Tech was 10-3 and won the ACC Coastal Division.
This game is a one-off, not the restart of a yearly tradition, but the Mountaineers and Hokies do have a homeand-home series scheduled for 2021 and 2022. West Virginia-Virginia Tech might feel more like a rivalry to fans than to the 18-22-year-olds playing.
“I want the kids to understand this has been a true rivalry,” Foster said. “There is an expectation of how to play the game when these two play as far as a tough hardnosed, physical football game and I don’t expect it to be any different this year,”.