Marshall and West Virginia to begin football series

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- It took the governor of West Virginia to reach out to the state's two largest universities before they would reach out to each other. \nLast week, Gov. Joe Manchin announced that West Virginia University and Marshall University will meet for the first installment of a seven-year football series in Morgantown, W.Va., on Sept. 2, 2006. \nThe two schools had agreed to play at least four games in Morgantown and two in Huntington, W.Va., before hitting a snag in deciding where a seventh game of the series would be played. \nThat's when Manchin, who was once on the WVU football roster, stepped in. \nBy suggesting that the meeting in 2009 be awarded to whichever school has the better record after the first three games of the series, Manchin provided a solution that pleased both WVU Athletic Director Ed Pastilong and Marshall Director of Athletics Bob Marcum. \nIn addition to 2006, WVU will host the 2008, 2011 and 2012 contests, while the 2007 and 2010 games will be played in Huntington. \nMarshall will receive a flat fee of $750,000 for its four guaranteed trips to Morgantown, while WVU will receive $300,000 for its two scheduled visits to Huntington.