Duquesne public address announcer remembered for his passion, talent

Brian Klisavage, the official scorekeeper for Duquesne basketball since the 1980s, sat next to public address announcer Dominic Errico during dozens of games over the past seven years.

No one had a better vantage point to feel Errico’s ability to bring a different level of energy to an arena.

From emphasizing a player’s name to putting an exclamation point on an exciting play, Errico put his personality into the job, which made Duquesne athletics that much more unique.

“Some people, they come to work, they earn their pay and then they go home and that’s fine,” Klisavage said. “But then there are people that have passion for things that they do, and he was just so into making the game fun and making sure the players enjoyed the way he stretched out their name or emphasized the syllables. He was just really into doing a good job for Duquesne, and it became part of the game atmosphere.”

Errico died Thursday afternoon after a long battle with covid-19. He was 42.

Errico, who attended Deer Lakes High School, was hospitalized since Jan. 25. He is survived by his wife, Libbie, and sons Nicholas, 10, and Anthony, 5. A GoFundMe account has been started to raise money for the family.

Chrissy Entwisle, who has been a close friend of Errico’s wife Libbie since they were children and organized the fundraiser, said that he was a special type of person who put his all into everything.

“Dominic had emotion in everything that he did,” Entwisle said. “He put himself into everything he did, and if he felt it was worth his time, he was going to put his whole self into it. He was loving and empathetic and caring.”

Errico took pride in announcing for Duquesne sporting events, but that wasn’t the only place his booming voice and endless energy were on display. He was also the public address voice for a multitude of Western Pennsylvania sporting events, including several NCAA competitions, the Freeport International Baseball Invitational and Pittsburgh Power football.

“Dom touched my life in many ways,” Duquesne women’s basketball coach Dan Burt said. “Our conversations ranged from that night’s game to the latest board games he picked up at the second-hand store. Dom was a family man, a proud father and a good friend. I will miss his voice, his stories and his character. He was a great guy.”

Entwisle thought that Errico’s voice, along with the energy that he put into his job, was something that was unmatched and often made an impact on the game.

“His energy would rev up the crowd and rev up the players and it just this domino effect,” Entwisle said. “He had a beautiful voice, and he had a beautiful singing voice too. He loved to sing.”

Klisavage said that the crew that works Duquesne games has been together for a long time.

“We have a pretty experienced crew and most of us have been working together for a while, and it’s always like a family,” Klisavage said. “Dom was definitely a part of that.”

Errico’s passion for his job was something that stood out to Klisavage during their time together.

Not only did Errico put his all into his announcing, but he did the same for his full-time job as a courier for Giant Eagle, which involved shopping and delivering food for people so they did not have to leave their homes during the pandemic.

“When you describe or say people should have passion for their work,” Klisavage said, “Dom would be the first guy that I would think about.”