Pitt and Penn State have had a date set for the renewal of their rivalry for five years. Now, they have a time, too.
High noon.
The Sept. 10 game at Heinz Field will be a noon kickoff, the ACC announced Thursday. It will be televised on WTAE or ESPN.
It will be the first meeting between the intrastate rivals since Pitt’s 12-0 win in 2000 at Three Rivers Stadium. They currently have a four-year agreement from 2016-19, with two games at Heinz Field and two at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa.
Penn State holds a 50-42-4 edge in the series.
The noon kickoff for the series renewal is no surprise because the Pirates have a 7:05 p.m. game scheduled against the Cincinnati Reds for that night at PNC Park. Because Heinz Field and PNC Park share parking lots, a later kickoff would have made for an untenable traffic situation on the North Shore. Thus, the teams’ and networks’ only option was to play at noon.
“The Pirates are outstanding partners and we greatly appreciate our many collaborations and communications with them,” the Pitt athletic department said in a statement. “[Sept.] 10 will be a tremendous showcase of Pittsburgh sports: a classic college football rivalry in the afternoon followed by Major League Baseball at night, all on the North Shore.
The Pirates said in a statement that they did not submit a request to Major League Baseball for a rescheduling to accommodate the football game.
“We have not asked MLB to consider rescheduling our [Sept.] 10 game,” Pirates vice president of communications and broadcasting Brian Warecki said in a statement. “We are instead very excited about what should be a full and fun weekend on the North Shore. In addition to the baseball and football games on Saturday, we will have dueling Pitt and Penn State University Days on Friday night [Sept.] 9 in order to give the great Pitt and Penn State Pirates fans the opportunity to show their school pride on Friday night as well.
“Working together with Pitt, the SEA and ALCO Parking, we will ensure that Pirates fans have access to the North Shore and reserved parking well in advance of our 7:05 start.”
Pitt also announced two other home kickoff times Thursday. The Panthers’ season-opener Sept. 3 against Villanova at Heinz Field will start at 1:30 p.m. and be available on the Internet on ESPN3. Their Oct. 27 Thursday night home game against Virginia Tech will be at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
All other kickoff times are still to be determined.
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter@SWernerPG.
First Published: May 19, 2016, 3:43 p.m.