<Tr> <Th> Current win streak </Th> <Td> Virginia Tech, 3 (2004--) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Virginia Tech--West Virginia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Virginia Tech Hokies and West Virginia Mountaineers . They met 52 times between 1912 and 2017, every year from 1973 to 2005, and as conference foes from 1991 to 2003 as members of the Big East Conference . The winner of the game receives the Black Diamond Trophy sponsored by Rish Equipment Company, headquartered in Bluefield, West Virginia . It was introduced in 1997 and was meant to symbolize the Appalachian region's rich coal heritage (the phrase "black diamond" is often used as a term for coal .) </P> <P> Virginia Tech held the trophy in six of the nine years in which it was contested, but West Virginia leads the all - time series 28--23--1 . The last game was played on September 3, 2017 at FedEx Field in Landover, MD; Virginia Tech won 31--24 . </P> <P> The first game took place in 1912, but they started playing consecutively in 1973 . When head coach Frank Beamer began leading the Hokies to success in the 1990s, the rivalry soon elevated . </P>

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