Pitt basketball, soccer and volleyball athletes scheduled to return Monday
Pitt’s efforts to return its athletic programs to normal offseason schedules will continue Monday when five teams — men’s and women’s basketball and soccer and volleyball — are welcomed back to campus for voluntary activities. As with the football team that began returning June 8, each player will undergo a...
Pitt’s Heather Lyke hopes schools can ‘lift’ student-athletes’ voices
In a time of social injustice and student-athletes developing a voice in response, Heather Lyke said Tuesday universities “need to be there to lift it.” “Our student-athletes need to have a voice if they want to have a voice,” she said Tuesday on 93.7 FM. “A lot of us need...
Heather Lyke believes Pitt can ‘weather this storm’
Faced with the possibility of canceling football games, losing revenue and limiting crowds at Heinz Field — perhaps even the sellout expected for Notre Dame — Heather Lyke said Tuesday that Pitt can “weather this storm” created by the covid-19 pandemic. Speaking on 93.7 FM, Pitt’s director of athletics admitted,...
‘Burgh’s best to wear it, No. 69: Pitt’s Randy Dixon, AC/DC fan, an electric choice
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best 100 players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 69: Randy Dixon Running into defensive linemen all day takes a toll on a man. But when it was time to relax, Pitt’s...
Analysis: 10 victories represent reasonable goal for Pitt football in 2020
The magic number is 10, a victory total that has been unattainable at Pitt for the past decade, and a reality only once since 1981. But it’s a reasonable goal for Pat Narduzzi’s 2020 team, his sixth at Pitt. Narduzzi welcomes back 12 players on defense and seven on offense...
Miami (Ohio) transfer Nike Sibande brings scoring potential to Pitt basketball
Jeff Capel’s makeover of Pitt basketball continued Saturday when he announced the addition of former Miami (Ohio) guard Nike Sibande to the 2020-2021 roster. He has one season of eligibility remaining. Sibande must sit out this season as a transfer, unless he is granted a waiver by the NCAA. But...
Cam Heyward: NFL Hall of Fame Game doubtful, thrilled about his dad’s Pitt honors
Defensive end Cameron Heyward is the Pittsburgh Steelers NFLPA union rep now that Ramon Foster has retired. And, given the coronavirus uncertainty, he seems dubious of the chances that the NFL can pull off the Hall of Fame Game between the Steelers and Cowboys. “It’s just my point of view,”...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear it, No. 73: Mark May sent out ‘May Day’ calls to Pitt opponents
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 73: Mark May They called him “May Day,” the international signal for distress, because that’s what Mark May created for opponents during his time...
Pitt safety Paris Ford: ‘This can be a historic season for the Panthers’Video
Taking a brief break from his offseason workouts, Paris Ford agreed Thursday to do a video interview with the ACC Network. Pitt’s junior safety enjoyed the conversation with the morning team of Mark Packer and Wes Durham — even inviting the duo to enjoy the chicken and waffles with him...
Pitt, West Virginia ink deal to extend basketball ‘Backyard Brawl’ for 2 more seasons
West Virginia coach and alumnus Bob Huggins called Pitt “our biggest rival.” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said Panthers-Mountaineers is “one of the best (rivalries) in the country.” When hired as WVU athletic director, Shane Lyons reiterated a primary objective was to get Pitt and West Virginia playing again. Soon, despite...
NCAA approves plan for basketball players to work with coaches
The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday approved a plan to allow college basketball players to start working with their coaches for the first time since the pandemic wiped out March Madness. The summer access period for men’s and women’s players will begin July 20. The NCAA Tournaments were canceled...
Craig Heyward, Steve Wisniewski among those on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot
Craig Heyward, Steve Wisniewski and Matt Cavanaugh are among those with local ties who were listed on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 that was announced Tuesday. Heyward was a 1987 consensus All-American after leading the nation in rushing yards for Pitt. The late...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 79: Bill Fralic served pancakes with pleasure for Pitt
When it came to Bill Fralic’s blocking for the Pitt Panthers, there is no shortage of superlatives. A new statistic was coined, and a legendary offensive line coach gave a ringing endorsement. The Pancake Block was created in Fralic’s honor, for the ferocity with which he flattened defenders. The late...
Franklin Regional grad Fisch lives dream, earns walk-on spot with Pitt basketball
It is not quite “The Fish Who Saved Pittsburgh.” No, this story is more along the lines of, “The Fisch Who Wooed Pittsburgh,” and it is a tale of devotion, determination and fulfillment. In a couple of years, Pitt super fan Aidan Fisch went from being a team manager on...
Pitt, Penn State defenders named to preseason Walter Camp All-American team
College football is still months away, but the honors are rolling in for Pitt and Penn State players. Pitt defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons were named to the Walter Camp Preseason All-American team. (Twyman and Parsons earned second-team regular-season honors in 2019.) Twyman finished the...
Report: NCAA will vote on early start to summer football drills
College football players recently unleashed from coronavirus quarantine might be permitted to interact with coaches at workouts as early as two days after the Fourth of July. After spring practices were either truncated or canceled by covid-19, the NCAA Division I Oversight Committee is expected to vote June 17 on...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi issues statement after he was criticized for use of word ‘thug’
While racial tensions erupted across the U.S. after the death last month of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, former Pitt linebacker Elias Reynolds went on Twitter and called out coach Pat Narduzzi for the use of the word “thug.” Another former player, Justin Morgan, also tweeted dissatisfaction...
Pitt’s Troost has mixed feelings about response to his kneeling during anthem in 2017Video
During the 2017 season, Ian Troost knelt among his upright Pitt football teammates during the playing of the national anthem at Heinz Field. Peacefully, he was protesting police brutality and racial injustice, trying to create awareness and dialogue that might lead to change. “I wanted to be a white ally,”...
Pitt graduates write letter to administrators, urging support for black student-athletes
This letter was composed by former Pitt student-athletes and graduates Jordan Fields and Ian Troost and sent Monday to the school’s athletic department and administration. We write this as alumni with a complicated love for the University of Pittsburgh. We find it difficult to differentiate between our pride in our...
Pitt adds Georgia cornerback Khalil Anderson to class of 2021
Pitt continued to stockpile high school seniors Friday, adding two defensive backs to its 16-man class of 2021. Two years ago, Pitt didn’t get its first verbal commitment until June 10. COMMITTED #Hail2Pitt ?? pic.twitter.com/gSPxv1sB48— Khalil Anderson ✞ (@_KhalilAnderson) June 6, 2020 Cornerback Khalil Anderson of Riverwood High School in...
Central Valley safety Stephon Hall chooses Pitt
Stephon Hall’s path to a Pitt scholarship started six months ago. In Central Valley’s victory against Aliquippa in the WPIAL Class 3A championship game, Hall picked off two passes in the fourth quarter and helped stop the Quips’ 2-point conversion attempt in overtime to nail down a 13-12 victory. Three...
Pitt football players’ voices heard in shout-out against racial injustice
Expectations are high for the Pitt football team this season. But nothing any Pitt player will do while wearing a helmet will have the same impact as the words of nine of them in a 4-minute, 32-second video produced this week. My time on the team taught me more than...
Four Pitt voices speak loudly on the passing of coach Johnny Majors
Here’s what Pitt people are saying about Johnny Majors, who died Tuesday night in Knoxville, Tenn.: Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher “Coach John Majors was, and always will be, an important part of the University of Pittsburgh’s history. He is a celebrated championship-winning coach, but his impact on our players endured...
Years after leaving, Johnny Majors told John Pelusi, ‘I should have never left Pitt’
Johnny Majors walked down the steps into John Pelusi’s basement, picked up a cue stick, surveyed the pool table and laid down a challenge. “He said to my dad, ‘If I beat you at pool, your son’s going to come to Pitt,’” Pelusi said. “My dad says, ‘He’s not going...
Jackie Sherrill says Johnny Majors was his ‘father figure’
Jackie Sherrill said he had little trouble replacing Johnny Majors as Pitt’s coach in 1977. He had recruited and coached most of the players over three seasons at Pitt. After spending the 1976 season as coach at Washington State, Sherrill was the logical choice to replace Majors, who left for...
