NCAA: CITY/Game to be hosted at Mellon Arena

The annual City Game rivalry between Pitt and Duquesne will be played at Mellon Arena on Wednesday, December 2, the two schools announced Tuesday at a joint press conference held at the 50-year-old facility.

The game will be hosted by Duquesne and will mark the first time since 2001 that the two intracity rivals will meet at the 17,000-seat Mellon Arena. The City Game rotated between Pitt’s Petersen Events Center and the Palumbo Center from 2002-08.

For ticket information, please contact the Pitt ticket office at (412) 643-PITT or (412) 648-PITT. Pitt season ticketholders and Panther Club members will be given priority before tickets go on sale to the general public.

“This is great for the city of Pittsburgh,” Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon said. “It’s the right thing to do. There is a great history between Pitt and Duquesne in basketball and this is an outstanding way to commemorate and promote the series.”

“Mellon Arena and SMG is thrilled to host the final collegiate basketball game to be played under this roof,” said Jay Roberts, General Manager of Mellon Arena. “Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh have been a big part of the history at the arena and this game gives us the opportunity to honor some of the great moments and legendary players that have played here over the past 50 years.”

Ironically, Pitt and Duquesne both participated in the first two basketball games played at Mellon Arena as part of the Children’s Hospital/Pittsburgh Press charity doubleheader on Dec. 6, 1961. The doubleheader featured a Duquesne-Carnegie Tech matchup in the first game, a 78-40 DU win, while Pitt and then-No. 1 ranked Ohio State (99-79 loss) played in the second contest. The doubleheader drew 8,009 fans.

Pitt and Duquesne have met 34 times at Mellon Arena since 1966 with the Panthers claiming 17 of the last 19 meetings and holding a 20-14 all-time advantage. In the 77-game series, Pitt leads with a 46-31 all-time record. The largest crowd for a Pitt-Duquesne game at Mellon Arena was 15,824 on Feb. 15, 1981.

Pitt has played a total of 112 games at Mellon Arena with the Panthers compiling a 61-51 all-time record. Several of the more memorable games for Pitt fans include the 1993 contest against North Carolina, which drew a city record 17,716 fans, annual Big East Conference clashes against the likes of Syracuse, Georgetown, St. John’s, Notre Dame and Villanova, the Eastern 8 Tournament which Pitt captured titles in both 1981 and 1982 and other top non-conference matchups against UCLA, Arizona, Ohio State and Oklahoma. Additionally, Pitt has hosted four teams that entered games at Mellon Arena as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team. Pitt last appeared at Mellon Arena during the first and second rounds of the 2002 NCAA Tournament when Pitt defeated both Central Connecticut State and California before 17,015 fans on both games.