Pat Narduzzi speaks on subjects ranging from players’ financial investments to Matt Canada’s time at Pitt
Talk was scattered in many different directions Thursday in the conference room adjacent to Pat Narduzzi’s office, where he presided over his final news briefing of the week. The weekly sessions are not exactly akin to FDR’s fireside chats from the 1930s and 1940s, but it’s an opportunity for reporters...
Cat Flood relishes her role with Pitt women’s volleyball as team vies for national championship
Cat Flood has become one of the most popular players on the top-ranked Pitt volleyball team, particularly among the younger crowd. Maybe it’s her trademark two-tone hair, something she did on a teammate’s dare a couple of years ago, and it has stuck. She tried going back to one hair...
Hoping to look like Fred Rogers, Pat Narduzzi invites his ‘neighbors’ to Pitt’s game at Acrisure StadiumVideo
Pat Narduzzi has been known to make an occasional show on Pitt’s sideline, whether it’s having an animated conversation with an official or even kissing a player on the cheek. (Chris Blewitt remembers that one.) After Getting Kiss from Pat Narduzzi, Pitt Kicker Chris Blewitt Boots Field Goal to Upset...
Pitt women’s volleyball team sweeps No. 15 SMU
The Pitt women’s volleyball team finally dropped a set. That happened Oct. 4, when the top-ranked Panthers, who won their first 12 matches of the year via 3-0 sweeps, lost the opener at Boston College. The unbeaten streak, however, remains intact. The Panthers (15-0, 5-0 ACC) took care of 15th-ranked...
Pitt linebacker crew will confront stiff test when speedy California running backs come to town
Like his head coach two decades before him, Pitt linebackers coach Ryan Manalac played middle linebacker to some distinction. A walk-on when he first enrolled at the University of Cincinnati, he ended up with a scholarship, four letters, a starting job for two seasons and nearly 200 tackles. Manalac has...
Pitt coach Jeff Capel hopes to grow the same culture that led to 46 victories past 2 seasons
Approaching his seventh season as Pitt’s men’s basketball coach and 16th overall, Jeff Capel has many reasons to be proud. There are the 259 victories, advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with Oklahoma, becoming a trusted advisor to Mike Krzyzewski and sending seven players into the NBA...
Yes, Pitt tight end Gavin Bartholomew can catch, but he also contributes in other ways
While climbing the status ladder among the best quarterbacks in college football, Pitt redshirt freshman Eli Holstein has learned to be an equal opportunity dispenser. Six pass catchers have at least 14 receptions for at least 117 yards each. Already, seven have caught touchdown passes. Meanwhile, Holstein has thrown for...
While Pitt’s offense continues to click, don’t forget how defense steps up on the money downs
Back when Pat Narduzzi was playing linebacker for Youngstown State and Rhode Island, he knew a third-down stop meant success. Series over, offense trudging to the bench, punt or field-goal try upcoming. That was in the 1980s and even into the next century, to be honest, which might as well...
Pitt ranked No. 22 in AP poll, but improvements on defense could lead to greater heights
Not unlike every coach before him, each of his colleagues across the nation and anyone who will walk a sideline in the future, Pat Narduzzi insists on playing games one at a time. His credo: Try to go 1-0 every week and at the end of the season, look up...
Eli Holstein, Pitt stay unbeaten with victory against North Carolina in ACC opener
Pat Narduzzi admitted to being witness to a bit of “dancing and celebrating” in Pitt’s Kenan Stadium locker room after the 34-24 victory against North Carolina. He even made mention on his postgame interview — via 93.7 FM — of the subject he repeatedly avoided in the days leading up...
First Call: Najee Harris responds as Zaire Franklin doubles-down on criticism; Steelers-Cowboys primetime historyVideo
Friday’s “First Call” has Najee Harris’ response to Zaire Franklin’s criticism. We recap the brief history of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Dallas Cowboys in regular season primetime games. Pitt looks to extend its unbeaten streak while hoping to shake some frightening history in North Carolina. Penn State renews some long-dormant...
Pitt Take 5: Winless in Chapel Hill, unbeaten Panthers return for ACC opener
Pitt’s 0-7 record against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., is a meaningless bit of trivia. For the record, Pat Narduzzi shares those losses with former Pitt coaches Paul Chryst and Walt Harris, even Jackie Sherrill and Johnny Majors. As expected and as he should, Narduzzi scoffed at the stat....
No. 1 Pitt women’s volleyball recovers from season’s 1st set loss, defeats Boston College
Pitt’s No. 1 women’s volleyball team lost its first set of the season after a program-record 36 consecutive victories, but in the end, it didn’t matter. Pitt (13-0, 3-0 ACC) defeated Boston College (7-8, 0-3), 23-25, 25-7, 25-9, 25-20, on Friday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Olivia Babcock set an...
Pitt reinstates RB Rodney Hammond after he was declared ineligible for 2024 season
Pitt senior running back Rodney Hammond, who was expected to carry a significant workload before he was declared ineligible for the season the day before the opener, has been reinstated and will be available Saturday when the Panthers visit North Carolina. “It was something we were hoping (for),” coach Pat...
Steelers’ L.C. Greenwood, Andy Russell, Pitt’s Bill Fralic advance in Hall of Fame seniors balloting
A pair of standout defensive players from the Super Steelers of the 1970s — lineman L.C. Greenwood and linebacker Andy Russell — are among 60 former NFL players from past generations who advanced in balloting to be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s induction Class of 2025. Former...
Pitt men’s soccer stretches winning streak to 6 in 8-1 victory against Howard
Pitt men’s soccer, the No. 1 team in the nation, hit three milestones Wednesday night in an 8-1 victory against Howard at Ambrose Urbanic Field. • The Panthers (9-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC) have won six matches in a row, the longest winning streak in the nation. • Pitt scored eight goals,...
After the football is snapped, Pitt offensive linemen’s goal is to survive ‘6 seconds of hell’
At first, Pitt center Lyndon Cooper was too much of a gentleman to accurately describe what happens when the football is snapped and 300-pound men start crashing into each other. In the end, there were no other words. “Six seconds of hell, if I can say that,” he said. “Block...
Pitt’s George raising funds in late teammate’s honor to support families of young cancer victims
In his nearly 24 years, Pitt senior middle linebacker Brandon George has been on the football field for many punt returns. Some are special, such as the blocked punt he scooped up and returned for a touchdown against West Virginia. Most are routine, forgettable. Anthony Myers’ 80-yard punt return six...
Pitt, coach Pat Narduzzi gear up for 1st ACC game at North Carolina
During his regular Monday news conference, Pat Narduzzi was as welcoming as you might expect from any undefeated coach, especially when his most recent game was a 73-17 victory nine days ago. “Good to see you again, missed having you guys in here (last week). I did,” Pitt’s coach told...
Top-ranked Pitt women’s volleyball, men’s soccer record road victories
Pitt’s two top-ranked teams in the national polls continued to dominate away from home when women’s volleyball defeated No. 13 Georgia Tech on Sunday after men’s soccer shut out No. 17 Virginia Tech. Pitt volleyball (12-0, 2-0 ACC) won 25-11, 25-17, 25-8 to raise its streak of undefeated sets to...
Pat Narduzzi, Geoff Collins again will share same turf when Pitt visits North Carolina
Pitt’s promising 2024 season resumes Saturday at North Carolina, with a subplot that could turn out to be significant: Pat Narduzzi vs. Tar Heels defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. You might recall the way Collins, then head coach at Georgia Tech, all but ignored Narduzzi at their postgame handshake in the...
After last season’s disappointment, Pitt men’s soccer team returns to national title picture
Pitt men’s soccer coach Jay Vidovich insists that he and women’s volleyball coach Dan Fisher haven’t made a wager regarding which program finishes with a higher ranking. Fisher’s team is No. 1 in the country for the third week in a row, and Vidovich’s group ascended to the top of...
Pitt freshman guard Amsal Delalic injures right hand in practice, may miss opener Nov. 4
Pitt basketball experienced its first dose of adversity when wing guard Amsal Delalić, a freshman who arrived on campus as a top-30 European prospect, suffered a right hand injury during practice Wednesday afternoon. He is expected to miss six weeks and, potentially, the first game of the season Nov. 4...
Ex-Pitt AD Heather Lyke named acting president, CEO of FBS Athletics Directors Association
Relieved of her duties as Pitt’s athletic director only 16 days ago, Heather Lyke is back in the game. On Wednesday, Lyke was named acting president and chief executive officer of the FBS Athletics Directors Association, which represents athletics directors of the FBS’ 134 member schools. The advocacy group was...
Pitt men’s basketball’s 20-game ACC schedule includes a game New Year’s Day, no trips to West Coast
After a difficult stretch on the road early in the season, Pitt men’s basketball will start the new calendar year with three games against ACC opponents at Petersen Events Center during the first 11 days of 2025, commencing New Year’s Day. The ACC released its 20-game schedule for each team...
