UVa will host Oregon in 2013

The much-talked-about rumor has now become a reality, as both Virginia and Oregon announced on Monday that the two teams will meet in football.

The home-and-home series will begin in 2013 with a return date sometime in 2016. Adding Oregon appeared to fill a hole in UVa's schedule that arose last week when Penn State elected to drop the Cavaliers in favor of a matchup with UCF. But according to PSU's athletic director, it was Virginia that initiated change.

Regardless, the first-ever meeting between the Ducks and Wahoos is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013, in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers will travel to Autzen Stadium in Eugene sometime during the 2016 season.

Virginia previously announced the 2013 season would begin with an August 31 home game against BYU.

Oregon finished the 2012 season ranked second in both the Associated Press and USA Today college football polls. The Ducks went 12-1, including a victory in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. It was Oregon's fourth-consecutive BCS bowl appearance. Since the 2009 season, the Ducks have produced a record of 46-7.

Adding Oregon to the 2013 schedule gives Virginia will eight home games at Scott Stadium for first time in school history.

"We initiated a conversation with Oregon about a potential game in 2017 in Europe," said Virginia Executive Associate Athletics Director Jon Oliver in a statement. "As the conversation progressed, it became clear we might have an opportunity to initiate a series in 2013 starting in Charlottesville. We saw that as a great opportunity for our program and our fans."

"I'm looking forward to playing eight home games next season," Virginia head coach Mike London said. "We want our players to be able to compete against great teams."

"The chance to add Oregon presents us with the unique opportunity to have eight home games in a single season," Oliver added. "Kicking off the season against BYU on August 31 and playing Oregon on September 7 will be a challenge, but one that Coach London has been on board with since the very beginning. I am hopeful that our fans will embrace this schedule and create a home field advantage to help make our team successful."

London added that bringing BYU and Oregon to Scott Stadium to start the season will be a "tremendous challenge," saying it is "one our team is preparing for now and is very excited to take on."

Adding some mystery to the announcement were comments from PSU's Director of Athletics, Dave Joyner, who said, "The University of Virginia notified Penn State that it would not be playing the Sept. 14, 2013 game scheduled for Beaver Stadium in order to play a home game on that date. We are working with Virginia to reschedule the game for Beaver Stadium in a future season. We have begun discussions to find an opponent for the Sept. 14 date and expect to make that announcement very soon."

In its release, UVa also addressed rescheduling the game against the Nittany Lions.

"It's our desire to reschedule the game at Penn State in the future and we're hopeful we can come to an agreement as to when that will happen soon," Oliver said.

In addition to Oregon, the Cavaliers' home slate in 2013 includes BYU (August 31), VMI (September 21), Ball State (October 5) and ACC opponents Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to release Virginia's complete schedule with specific dates sometime next month.