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June 4, 2007
Charlottesville, Va. – Virginia and Penn State will renew their football rivalry for a two-game series in 2012 and 2013 the schools jointly announced today. The Cavaliers and Nittany Lions have met seven times with the most recent contest taking place in 2002. The teams are scheduled to meet September 8, 2012 in Charlottesville and September 14, 2013 in Beaver Stadium. The series will mark the fourth time the teams have met in back-to-back seasons during their respective football histories.
“We are delighted to renew the football series with Penn State,” Virginia Executive Associate Director of Athletics Jon Oliver said. “The tradition of Penn State football speaks for itself and we believe these games will be exciting for our fans. Our rigorous ACC schedule provides a healthy challenge, but we will continue to look for opportunities within future football schedules to play quality non-conference games.”
Penn State currently holds a 5-2 advantage in the seven games that have been played between the two teams. The first meeting came in 1893 during Virginia’s sixth season of intercollegiate football. The Nittany Lions won that encounter 6-0 in Charlottesville. The schools did not play again until 1954 when Penn State won 34-7 in University Park. The following season the Nittany Lions won 26-7 in Richmond.
Penn State won its fourth game in the series in 1988 when it downed UVa 42-14 in Charlottesville. The next season the Cavaliers handed the Nittany Lions a 14-6 loss in University Park to pick up their first win in the series. In 2001 the Cavaliers concluded their first year under coach Al Groh by beating Penn State 20-14 in Scott Stadium. Penn State defeated the Cavaliers 35-14 in University Park in 2002 during the last meeting between the teams.
“Following the recent confirmation of the Virginia-USC series, the announcing of two games versus Penn State further shows our intent to aggressively schedule premier teams on a national scale,” said Cavaliers coach Al Groh.
Last month Virginia announced it has added a two-game series with Southern California to its future schedules. The Trojans and Cavaliers will meet on Aug. 30, 2008 in Charlottesville and Sept. 11, 2010 in Los Angeles.