WVU AD Wren Baker Praises Efforts for Backyard Basketball Classic

The Backyard Brawl will be on its biggest stage yet on Dec. 9 when WVU faces Pitt in the inaugural Hope Gas Backyard Basketball Classic.

The announcement came on Wednesday, where the athletic directors of all participating teams took the stage to express their excitement. Wren Baker spoke to the media, emphasizing the importance of rivalry games with the changing landscape of college athletics.

“The Backyard Brawl is one of the most remarkable rivalries in all of sports,” Baker said. “And, and really rivalries is what makes college sports special, and we all know with the transition amongst conferences, um, you, we don’t get as many, uh, of those rivalry games week in and week out.”

The Backyard Basketball Classic won’t just feature Pitt and WVU, as Pittsburgh-located Robert Morris and Duquesne will also face off to open the event.

With all of the teams coming from the same geographical location, Baker spoke on creating an opportunity for local fans to see their favorite teams play.

“That’s four teams with a lot of players from this area. Four great programs, four great coaches, and, and it’s gonna be an awesome, awesome event, one that we hope is the start to an annual event that brings people to the area that all of our fans can get tickets to,” Baker added.

The Hope Gas backyard Basketball Classic will take place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Dec. 9.

Find more coverage of WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, WVU’s newcomers embrace Backyard Brawl rivalry ahead of game at PPG Paints Arena.