Pitt-Notre Dame matchup set for afternoon kickoff, will be televised nationally
Pitt’s first game against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., since 2018 will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 28 and will be nationally televised by NBC, the schools announced Wednesday. Locally, the game will be televised by WPXI-TV. It also will be shown on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. The...
ACC backs plan to offer increased payouts to schools for postseason success
The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving forward allowing schools to earn more money generated from their own postseason performances, a move coming as the league tries to find ways to close a growing financial gap with two power-conference peers. The ACC announced Wednesday that its board of directors have endorsed...
Former Pitt star Gilbert Brown made sure Jeff Capel knew about Papa Kante
Two years ago, when Gilbert Brown was hired as Pitt’s Director of Alumni and Player Development, Papa Kante started appearing on Jeff Capel’s radar. Capel might have noticed Kante, anyway. A 6-foot-10, 225-pound player with a 7-foot-4 wing span who can hit 3-pointers is hard to miss. Still, Brown —...
Ex-Pitt players bring back Zoo Crew to seek $1M tournament prize
With a $1 million prize at stake, it’s no wonder The Zoo Crew is making a comeback. The Zoo Crew, a group of former Pitt basketball players, will compete this year in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 64-team, single-elimination event. The first game will be July 25 in the West...
Pitt lands 6-10 center, ex-Michigan 4-star recruit Papa Kante for its freshman class
Pitt coach Jeff Capel sent a message — in a big way — that he wasn’t finished recruiting the high school class of 2023 when he received a commitment Monday from 6-foot-10 four-star center Papa Kante of South Kent, Conn. Kante, who signed with Michigan in November, requested and received...
Pitt earns spot in ACC baseball tournament for 3rd straight year
Despite losing its final three games and four of the last five regular-season contests, Pitt baseball built up enough equity to earn a berth in the ACC Tournament — thanks to Florida State’s victory against Louisville last Saturday. Starting Wednesday in Durham (N.C.) Bulls Athletics Park, Pitt (23-30, 10-18) will...
Former Steel Valley, Duquesne linebacker Todd Hill plans to transfer to Pitt
Linebacker Todd Hill, who helped lead Steel Valley to WPIAL championships in 2016 and 2018 and a PIAA title in 2016, announced on his Twitter account that he is transferring from Duquesne to Pitt. ✅ pic.twitter.com/Q8Eb1NdkPW— ☦odd ♓️ill (@Toddhill_9) May 18, 2023 Hill (5-foot-10, 240 pounds) was an elite pass...
Analysis: Hard work, tough choices lie ahead, but ACC, Pitt still have strong legs to stand on
Flipping through the pages of the history of the past 12 years of Pitt football – so long ago that Todd Graham was still relevant and Pat Narduzzi was a mere Big Ten coordinator – you’ll run across how the Big East crumbled and Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pederson, former...
Former Pitt, WPIAL hoops star Cam Johnson using NBA platform, family motivation in Rush to Crush Cancer
While Cameron Johnson was starring in the WPIAL at Our Lady of Sacred Heart, Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon wanted to make an in-home recruiting visit shortly before Easter. The way Johnson’s aunt — Gina Caliguire — tells the story, her nephew was looking forward to the visit. But it...
It’s official: Pitt will spend Thanksgiving in Brooklyn for the NIT Season Tip-Off
Pitt made its Thanksgiving plans official Thursday with the announcement that the Panthers will be one of four teams participating in the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The dates — Nov. 22 and 24 — are the days immediately before and after the holiday. Pitt’s...
First Call: Ben Roethlisberger asks Bill Cowher about ’04 draft; over-under odds for local college football teams
Tuesday’s “First Call” has quite a personal conversation about Pittsburgh Steelers history between Ben Roethlisberger and Bill Cowher. We have a positive report about one of the Steelers draft choices. The Brewers keep in line with the Pirates atop the NL Central. Duquesne is in the hunt for a big-conference...
Pitt fires softball coach Jodi Hermanek after 5 seasons
Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke continued to weed out the unsuccessful coaches in her department Monday when softball’s Jodi Hermanek was dismissed after five seasons. In the past two months, women’s basketball coach Lance White and gymnastics’ Samantha Snider were fired. Hermanek was hired at the end of the 2018...
Pitt basketball’s nonconference plans include trip to Brooklyn for Preseason NIT
Add Brooklyn to the travel destinations for the Pitt basketball team this year. Pitt will play two games in the 2023 Preseason NIT at the Barclays Center. NEWS: Baylor, Pitt, Florida, and Oregon State will headline the 2023 Preseason NIT at the Barclays Center, according to a source.There was no...
Pitt gets commitment from high school linebacker Davin Brewton
Pitt has been busy collecting verbal commitments for its class of 2024, but coach Pat Narduzzi needed a linebacker or two. That pursuit found Davin Brewton, a rising senior at Red Bank Catholic (N.J.) High School, who gave Narduzzi a verbal commitment Thursday. Time (2) Commit- Through The Grace of...
Pitt secures verbal commitment from transfer offensive lineman Jackson Brown, formerly of California
Three people led freshman offensive lineman Jackson Brown to transfer from California to Pitt — coach Pat Narduzzi, line coach Dave Borbely and Brown’s father, Tony, who was an offensive lineman for the Panthers from 1983-1985. Sadly, Tony Brown’s contribution came from afar. Tony Brown died in 2010, but his...
Pitt basketball plans summer tour of Spain, Diaz Graham twins’ hometown in Canary Islands
The Diaz Graham twins are going home — and taking their Pitt teammates with them. Pitt’s basketball team is crossing the Atlantic Ocean this summer for a 10-day trip to Spain, including Tenerife in the Canary Islands, the home of Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham. The team departs Aug. 5...
Herb Douglas remembered as an athlete, executive and inspirationVideo
Those who knew Herb Douglas, those who entrusted their futures with him and those who credit him for helping them succeed in life filled almost all of the pews inside Heinz Chapel on Wednesday afternoon. They were not there to mourn Douglas, an Olympic bronze medalist, a Pitt man (football...
Pat Narduzzi teams with ex-Steelers OC Chan Gailey to win Peach Bowl charity golf event
Pat Narduzzi and Chan Gailey, football coaches with strong ties to Pittsburgh and the ACC, teamed up to win the Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge and $32,500 each for their respective charities Tuesday. The team of Narduzzi and Gailey recorded an eagle and six birdies, including three on holes 16-18,...
First Call: Ex-Pitt, Duquesne players earn shot with Steelers; any truth to Patriots-Jets subplot before Broderick Jones pick?
Tuesday’s “First Call” gives us players from Pitt and Duquesne who will have rookie minicamp tryouts with the Pittsburgh Steelers. We get a little intel on that Steelers-Patriots trade in Round 1 of last week’s draft. A former Steeler decides to revisit the coaching path. And a high grade for...
Pitt punter Sam Vander Haar enters NCAA transfer portal
Punter Sam Vander Haar, who spent one season at Pitt, has announced his intention to transfer, according to FarrellSports’ Mike Farrell. Vander Haar, who turns 26 on Thursday, is a native of Melbourne, Australia, where he played Australian rules football and attended the well-known Prokick Australia program that has produced...
With an eye toward the 2024 draft, NFL scouts will continue monitoring how Pitt players develop
The target number is 11. That’s the record for the most Pitt players chosen within the first seven rounds of the NFL Draft. In 1981, after the 1980 team finished 11-1 and mauled South Carolina, 37-9, in the Gator Bowl, 11 Pitt players were drafted in the first five rounds....
Brandon Hill chosen by Texans, 8th Pitt defensive back drafted in past 6 years
The list of Pitt defensive backs recruited and developed under coach Pat Narduzzi and eventually drafted by an NFL team grew by two to eight Saturday when the Houston Texans selected strong safety Brandon Hill in the seventh round (No. 249 overall). Hill’s partner at safety, Erick Hallett II, was...
Jaguars pick Pitt safety Erick Hallett II in 6th round
If there’s one trait the NFL values over almost every other, it’s reliability. And former Pitt free safety Erick Hallett II certainly showed that by finishing his college career by making 31 consecutive starts. The Jacksonville Jaguars were paying attention, and they made Hallett a sixth-round draft choice Saturday (the...
Pitt LB SirVocea Dennis drafted by Buccaneers in 5th round, 1 of 6 Panthers selected
Unless your last name is Manning, college players can’t manipulate the NFL Draft to land in a desired spot. Former Pitt linebacker SirVocea Dennis’ professional fate rested with the 32 NFL teams, but ending up in Tampa, Fla., with the Buccaneers on Saturday surely looked like a predestined event. Dennis,...
Jets pluck Pitt running back Izzy Abanikanda in 5th round
After Izzy Abanikanda worked out for pro scouts inside Pitt’s indoor practice facility last month, he was asked what he wanted the NFL to know about him. “I want them to know I’m a dedicated, disciplined, humble man, on and off the field,” he said. But he added, without shame,...
