Podcast part 4: Going one-on-one with Mike Ditka
What is Mike Ditka’s favorite thing to do when he returns to the Pittsburgh area? What is his favorite type of cigar? Gus Frerotte and Dave Hager go one-on-one with the former Pitt All-American and Pro Football Hall of Famer in the final segment of this week’s “Huddle Up with...
Pitt AD Heather Lyke hopes tailgaters someday can set up tents outside Heinz Field
Heather Lyke has a vision, and in her mind, it’s more than a dream. One of these days, Pitt’s athletic director hopes to be driving to her team’s football game, and as she turns toward Heinz Field, she can’t see the parking lots. But that’s a good thing because all...
ACC Network expected to increase exposure, revenue for its members including Pitt
Heather Lyke likes the exposure the ACC Network will give Pitt athletics when it launches Aug. 22. “It’s a national network,” Pitt’s athletic director said Wednesday while meeting with a small group of reporters. “So your brand goes across the country. It gives us the chance to tell the stories...
Norwin grad Connor Perry among 3 Pitt players drafted
The Pitt baseball program was well-represented on the third and final day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday. Center fielder Connor Perry, a Norwin graduate, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 28th round (No. 832). Perry led the Panthers with 15 home runs this season while...
Podcast part 3: Mike Ditka talks coaching 1980s Chicago Bears
The 1985 Chicago Bears offense couldn’t help but be good, having practiced daily against one of the NFL’s all-time great defenses, Mike Ditka said. “If we didn’t defense ourselves, we were going to get killed,” Ditka told Gus Frerotte in the third part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus”...
Podcast: Mike Ditka recalls days at Pitt, getting drafted into NFL
Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka’s first professional football contract was for … $12,000. “I was the (fifth) player picked in the draft — $12,000 with a $6,000 signing bonus,” Ditka told Gus Frerotte during the second part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast. Ditka recalls...
Basketball will be secondary during Pitt’s trip to Italy in August
Basketball will be a part of the Pitt team’s upcoming trip to Italy, but players and coaches will see so much more outside of the Italian gymnasiums. School officials announced the team will leave Aug. 5 for a 10-day, eight-night trip with stops in Rome, Florence, Pisa, Bologna, Vicenza, and...
Podcast: Mike Ditka recalls growing up in Aliquippa, his drive to succeed
Mike Ditka, the former Pitt All-American and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, grew up wanting to be a dentist. “That didn’t work out, you can tell,” he told Gus Frerotte in the first part of this week’s “Huddle Up with Gus” podcast. Ditka tells the story of...
Pitt’s Micky Philllippi takes 2nd at world trials
Pitt red-shirt sophomore Micky Phillippi placed second at 61kg at the U23 World Team Trials on Saturday in Akron, Ohio. Phillippi (Derry), and Pitt teammates Cole Matthews (Reynolds), Taleb Rahmani and Nico Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) all finished in the top eight. Phillippi lost to Cornell junior Chaz Tucker in the...
Joe Moore Award finds a permanent home in Pittsburgh
In Aaron Taylor’s mind, there are two appropriate places to display a trophy named after legendary coach Joe Moore and honoring college football’s top offensive line: • The school that wins it, of course, should get to display the 7-foot tall, 6-foot long, 3-foot wide, 800-pound “behemoth.” (Taylor’s word) •...
Last scheduled Pitt-Penn State game to be nationally televised on ABC
The last scheduled game between old rivals Pitt and Penn State will be nationally televised by ABC and will begin at noon Sept. 14 at Beaver Stadium. The game is the last of a four-game series between the schools. Penn State won two of the first three, 33-14 in 2017...
Super Bowl loss, other factors drive Aaron Donald
To stay a cut above the competition, Aaron Donald again trained this offseason by dodging knives. Fake blades, of course. But the results from the reaction exercises have certainly been real. The two-time reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year for the Los Angeles Rams by way of Pitt and...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel offers up-close insight on NBA Draft
Jeff Capel’s interest in this year’s NBA Draft goes beyond that of most Pittsburghers, actually most people in general. Before he became Pitt’s coach, Capel was directly involved in recruiting Duke stars Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish. When the NBA Draft opens June 20, Williamson is the likely...
Injuries don’t slow down Hampton grad Nate Sloan on Pitt track team
Nate Sloan has battled adversity for the majority of his college career. So on what could have been his last day of it, he was going to take some chances. The Hampton graduate challenged — and nearly defeated — indoor track and field national champion Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame...
Pitt adds graduate transfer linebacker Kylan Johnson to roster
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi added experience to his linebacker group Wednesday when graduate transfer Kylan Johnson officially joined the team from the University of Florida. Johnson earned three letters for the Gators, starting a total of nine games over three seasons (2016-18). His career totals include 83 tackles, 5 1/2...
Karim Coulibaly signs with Pitt, becomes 4th member of Jeff Capel’s class
Forward Karim Coulibaly, who verbally committed to Pitt on Feb. 15, signed his scholarship agreement Tuesday and will join the team this season. Coulibaly (6-foot-8, 220 pounds) is the fourth member of coach Jeff Capel’s 2019 recruiting class to sign. All four members of Pitt’s 2019 class have signed with...
Junior college guard signs papers to join Pitt basketball
Ryan Murphy made his commitment to Pitt official Friday when the former junior college guard signed his aid agreement. He had verbally committed to the Panthers on May 8. Murphy, who has played at Charlotte and New Mexico Junior College, will get an opportunity to become the 3-point shooter Pitt...
Pitt isn’t only school with a morning kickoff
Tailgaters may have to rise a bit earlier than they might like on a Saturday morning, but Pitt won’t be the only school with an 11 a.m. start time this season. The newly formed ACC Network, which will launch Aug. 29 with a telecast of Georgia Tech’s game at defending...
ESPN puts Pitt football under the lights for 2 more games
Pitt will play at least three of its 12 regular-season games under the lights after ESPN announced Thursday it will televise Panthers games nationally Oct. 18 (Friday) and Nov. 14 (Thursday). Pitt will play at Syracuse’s Carrier Dome on Oct. 18 with a 7 p.m. kickoff and against North Carolina...
Morning and night, Pitt goes nearly round the clock for is first two games
The ACC has announced start times for Pitt’s first two football games — one late, one early. Pitt goes under the lights at Heinz Field for its opener Aug. 31 vs. Virginia. 7:30 p.m. kick. Also, there's an 11 a.m. kick for the Ohio game Sept. 7, also at HF....
Pitt coach Mike Bell finds hope in 9-4 loss to West Virginia at PNC ParkVideo
Pitt’s game with West Virginia on Tuesday night had been all but officially decided by the eighth inning when catcher Cole MacLaren came to the plate. The Panthers were on their way to a 9-4 loss to the Mountaineers in the baseball version of the Backyard Brawl, but the significance...
Pitt basketball loses out on juco big man Khadim Sy
Pitt coach Jeff Capel missed on landing a desperately needed big man Monday night when Khadim Sy, a 6-foot-10 power forward from Daytona (Fla.) Community College, announced on his Twitter account he plans to enroll at Ole Miss. He chose from three finalists, the others being Pitt and East Carolina....
Pitt baseball readies for 1st game at PNC Park in 10 years
Mike Bell, Pitt’s first-year baseball coach, was pleased to see his team rise up and win a weekend series against then-No. 14 North Carolina. But he wasn’t surprised. That emotion would go against everything he has preached since the first day he met with his team a year ago. “It...
South Carolina newspaper ranks Pitt’s Narduzzi 9th among 28 ACC, SEC coaches
When you consider he’s competing against three coaches who have won nine national championships, Pat Narduzzi’s ninth-place finish in the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier’s ranking of all 28 SEC and ACC coaches shows a measure of respect for the Pitt coach. Among ACC coaches, he was fourth behind only...
Pitt scores second consecutive upset of nationally ranked North Carolina
Pitt recorded its second consecutive stunning victory against a nationally ranked North Carolina team Friday, defeating the No. 11 Tar Heels, 7-1, at Charles L. Cost Field. The game was the first between the teams since Pitt upset then-No. 5 North Carolina in the 2018 ACC Tournament. “It was another...
