WVU’s Dana Holgorsen ‘intends to keep’ rivalry trophy that’s been kept by Virginia Tech since 2005

The 2017 opening weekend of college football is just a few months away, and one of the big matchups on Labor Day weekend includes West Virginia-Virginia Tech, which will be played on Sunday, Sept. 3 at FedEx Field in Maryland. The two schools, whose campuses two lie just about four hours away from each other, used to play each other consistently in the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s.

The series was a pretty big rivalry, and in the late 1990s, the Black Diamond Trophy was created and given to the winning team each year. The last time these two teams played each other was in 2005, and Virginia Tech won, 34-17. Per tradition, the Hokies were awarded the Black Diamond Trophy.

But apparently Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen thinks that WVU, not Virginia Tech, actually has possession of the trophy. The head coach was asked about the trophy on Thursday via the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, and his response suggested that he was unaware of who got the trophy last.

“We have the Black Diamond Trophy and I expect to keep it,” West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen said.

Virginia Tech might disagree. When the Orange and Maroon Caravan was held in Tazewell in April, displayed on the head table for all to see was the Black Diamond Trophy, which the Hokies have apparently had since winning the last meeting between the schools 34-17 in 2005.

Holgorsen now has a new quandary to consider in the offseason.

“That is a good question. That was 12 years ago so who knows, I think the thing disappeared,” said Holgorsen, who is entering his seventh season at West Virginia. “I am going to have to look that up and figure it out.”

According to Virginia Tech, the Hokies have held onto the trophy since 2004, winning back-to-back games in the series. West Virginia previously won it in 1997, 2002, and 2003. WVU athletic director, Shane Lyons, added that scheduling regional schools like Virginia Tech is something he tries to accomplish each season.

“We are back out there. It is tough with our schedule playing nine conference games and then trying to get the non-conference in,” Lyons said via the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. “What I have tried to do with the scheduling is get Virginia Tech back in the rotation. We have them in Washington D.C. the first game of the year, Sunday night, prime time, on ESPN/ABC so that is going to be a nice contest. Then we have a home-and home-series in 2021-22.

“I am trying to keep them as well as the regional schools, the Pitt’s, the Penn State’s, the Maryland’s in the rotation to have those games. Those are important for the West Virginia fans. What we grew up with was tradition, plus it is our closest rivalries that we need to play in the Power-5 so I don’t think I will be able to get Virginia Tech every year, but to have them on the schedule as well as the others is very important.”

We’ll see who will take home the trophy this year, in a matchup that would look good on either team’s resume in terms of out-of-conference schedules. The trophy is meant to symbolize the Appalachian region’s coal roots.