Pitt volleyball coach Dan Fisher signs 7-year contract through 2026
With three consecutive ACC championships in his recent past, Pitt women’s volleyball coach Dan Fisher has signed a seven-year contract that runs through the 2026 season. Fisher compiled a record of 178-49 in seven years at Pitt, including 106-29 in the ACC and league titles in 2017, ‘18 and ‘19....
Top 5 stories in Pittsburgh sports in 2019
Much like a year ago, the 2019 Steelers season ended in disappointment when the team fell short of reaching the playoffs. Also like 2018, the past year was filled with captivating storylines in Pittsburgh sports. Here’s a few of the most memorable: 1. Quarterback carousel Life without Ben Roethlisberger was...
Paris Ford says he’ll defer NFL plans, return to Pitt for 2020 season
Paris Ford made it three for three Monday when he announced his plans to return to Pitt for his junior season. Ford, who was named a first-team All-ACC strong safety in his first season as a starter, joins defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and defensive end Patrick Jones as Pitt players...
Pitt ends nonconference schedule with win against CanisiusVideo
Pitt put holidays, mom’s home cooking and days off in the past Monday, closingthe nonconference portion of its schedule with good news and bad. With bigger, more significant days ahead. While defeating Canisius, 87-79, before a crowd of 8,035 at Petersen Events Center, Pitt set a season high for points...
Top-20 prospect Jalen Hood-Schifino verbally commits to Pitt
Pitt coach Jeff Capel landed the school’s most decorated basketball prospect in eight years when sophomore guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, a native of Penn Hills, verbally committed on his Instagram post. Pitt hasn’t successfully recruited a top-20 prospect since Jamie Dixon signed future NBA star Steven Adams in 2012. Hood-Schifino, 6-foot-4,...
Mark Madden: All meaningful Week 17 NFL games should kick off at same time
Take down the Christmas decorations and put up refreshing sports notes! I got a lot of problems with you people, and you’re going to hear about it! • New Year’s Eve is JuJu Smith-Schuster’s favorite holiday: party for six hours, then drop a ball at midnight. (That joke was stolen...
Pitt’s Patrick Jones says he won’t declare for NFL Draft
Pitt received more good news for next season Saturday when defensive end Patrick Jones announced on Twitter he plans to return for his senior season. Good news for Pitt Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) December 28, 2019 That means Pitt’s two best defensive linemen last season decided to defer the possibility...
Pat Narduzzi, Pitt ready to ‘reload and go’ after bowl victory
In the minutes after Pitt’s Quick Lane Bowl victory Thursday night, Pat Narduzzi said he, his staff and players will enjoy it for more than 24 hours (a luxury they only experience at season’s end) but get back to work Jan. 2. And let’s not be fooled by the dramatic...
Pitt’s Heather Lyke helped rebuild Eastern Michigan’s programVideo
DETROIT – The Quick Lane Bowl between Pitt and Eastern Michigan on Thursday night held special meaning for Heather Lyke beyond the Panthers’ 34-30 victory. How could it not? She hired one coach (Chris Creighton at Eastern Michigan) and extended the contract of the other (Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi). Lyke, Pitt’s...
Pitt notebook: Pat Narduzzi hopes NCAA allows senior Damar Hamlin one more season of eligibilityVideo
DETROIT – Free safety Damar Hamlin is listed as a senior, but coach Pat Narduzzi said Thursday night Pitt officials are petitioning the NCAA about getting a fifth year of eligibility for the Central Catholic graduate. The basis for their petition is Hamlin’s freshman year in 2016 when he was...
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman ‘110%’ committed to returning to Pitt next season
DETROIT — After three years on Pitt’s campus, defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman is eligible to leave school early and enter the 2020 NFL Draft. And he has the resume to interest any team. • He’s a second-team All-American and first-team All-ACC performer. • He recorded 10½ sacks as an interior...
Pitt ends bowl losing streak with 34-30 victory against Eastern MichiganVideo
DETROIT — Down three, with only two minutes, 43 seconds left in the Quick Lane Bowl, Kenny Pickett broke the huddle, stepped behind center Jimmy Morrissey and surveyed the scene. It wasn’t pretty or encouraging. In front of Pitt’s quarterback stood 11 Eastern Michigan defenders guarding 91 yards of green...
Pitt AD Heather Lyke: Coach Pat Narduzzi improving, more work to doVideo
DETROIT — Heather Lyke said Thursday night Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi “continues to become a better head coach every year,” but she added the quest to lift the Panthers to a desired level of excellence is far from finished. “I think we’ve got a lot to do in the offseason...
Pitt’s Mike Ditka, Bill Fralic, Larry Fitzgerald, Hugh Green named to ESPN’s all-time All-America team
Four Pitt greats, all of whom have had their jerseys retired by the university, are first-team selections on ESPN’s All-Time All-America college football team announced Wednesday. Named to the team were tight end Mike Ditka, offensive tackle Bill Fralic, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and defensive end Hugh Green. Ditka, who...
Pitt bowl game matters, especially to those coming back for more
There can be reasonable debate about the importance of bowl games that don’t involve ranked teams. So let’s review the arguments: • If Pitt defeats Eastern Michiganon Thursday night in the Quick Lane Bowl, will anyone remember? Coach Pat Narduzzi surely will. It would be his first bowl victory in...
Pitt basketball’s Kyla Nelson returns to the court after cancer surgeryVideo
The game of basketball can mirror life. In between those lines, there is a competitor. Athletes go out every day to challenge themselves and persevere against roadblocks to victory. For Pitt women’s basketball player Kyla Nelson, the competitor was cancer, the challenge surgery and the roadblock the will to live....
Habakkuk Baldonado’s long journey from Rome to Pitt’s defensive line
The Italian Club has been active on Pitt’s campus for 106 years, but until the day Charlie Partridge walked Habakkuk Baldonado through the front door, it never was used as a recruiting tool for the football team. Partridge, Pitt’s defensive line coach and assistant head coach, said it’s an experience...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi on Kenny Pickett: ‘He’s a great quarterback. He’s our quarterback’
Kenny Pickett’s collegiate career, so fresh with hope when he boldly led Pitt to an upset of No. 2 Miami as a freshman only two years ago, has been reduced to one season and one game. “He’ll be a senior next year,” coach Pat Narduzzi said, almost sadly. “We wish...
Pitt gets defensive, breezes past Binghamton
With the Christmas break on the horizon, Pitt enjoyed a bit of a breather Friday night while taking advantage of another opportunity to sharpen its skills ahead of an ACC schedule that doesn’t offer many breaks. Pitt coach Jeff Capel saw some things to like in a 79-53 rout of...
Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman finds his name on a 5th All-America team
There are few guarantees in college football, but Pitt sophomore defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman has found one. His name is listed on all five All-America teams announced since the end of the season. The most recent organization to recognize Twyman on its All-America team is the Football Writers Association of...
Pittsburgh homecoming for Kennesaw State women’s basketball players, coach
Duquesne will be at home against Kennesaw State on Friday, but for many of the visiting Owls, the game is a chance to be home for the holidays. Kennesaw State, an Atlantic Sun Conference school located just north of Atlanta, boasts four former WPIAL standouts on its women’s basketball team,...
College football participants also contend for team recruiting title
Teams competing for the national championship this season got good news well before the College Football Playoff — even if they didn’t have much time to celebrate. The early signing period opened Wednesday with three playoff teams — Clemson, LSU and Ohio State — landing eight of the nation’s top...
Pat Narduzzi looking for a buzz from Pitt’s class of 2020Video
When Pat Narduzzi looks back on Pitt’s 2020 recruiting class, he will remember awaiting receipt of paperwork from Liberia; a meal of oxtails, salmon and Jamaican rice and how much assistant Tim Salem enjoyed it; and a series of good-night text messages from the best defensive lineman in Pennsylvania. Those...
Pitt football letters of intent roll in on national signing day, reaches 15 by mid-morning
Defensive end Sam Williams, one of two Pitt recruits from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was the first to send in his letter of intent Wednesday morning. Pat Narduzzi acknowledged receipt at 7:05 a.m., and the process of restocking the roster began. Pitt started the day with 17 verbal commits, but wide...
Pitt flips safety on the eve of signing day
Safety Buddy Mack, who was committed to Charlotte for the past three months, changed his mind Tuesday night and announced on Twitter he will sign with Pitt. ?? #H2P pic.twitter.com/5hpqKU6GjL— Buddy Mack (@TMack_14) December 18, 2019 Mack, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound three-star prospect from Duncan, S.C., is the third defensive back...
