CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Marshall University and West Virginia University agreed to a seven-year deal to resume its football series, Governor Joe Manchin and representatives from the two schools announced on Tuesday at the State Capitol.

The long-awaited series pits the state of West Virginia's two Division I institutions against one another for the first time since 1997. WVU will host the inaugural game of the new deal, on September 2, 2006, followed by a home game for Marshall on Sept. 8, 2007. The series swings back to Morgantown in 2008 (Sept. 13).

The site for the game on Oct. 3, 2009, will be determined no later than 2008. The team that wins two of the first three games will host the 2009 game at its respective stadium.

The final three years of the contract has the series in Huntington on Sept. 11, 2010, and in Morgantown on Sept. 3, 2011, and Sept. 1, 2012.

The visiting team will be allotted 5,000 tickets for sale to its fans and the home team will own negotiating rights for live television coverage.

West Virginia leads the overall series with Marshall, 5-0. The two schools last played in the Thundering Herd's first game as a Division I-A team, on August 30, 1997, with the Mountaineers winning 42-31 in Morgantown.