Tull Family Foundation awards over $2M to boost high school athletics

Augustine Hanover spent last season with the Obama Academy boys soccer team practicing on a beat-up baseball field pocked with holes.

“We have 10-year-old jerseys and not enough soccer balls,” said Hanover, a Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy student.

On Friday, the 16-year-old joined dozens of student-athletes in the school’s packed gymnasium as officials announced more than $2 million in grants to support local high school athletics.

Billionaire founder of Legendary Entertainment Thomas Tull alongside his wife, Alba, founded the Tull Family Foundation, which started the new “Team UP” initiative to give nine local school districts grants to assist with athletics.

“Sports is a lifeline, or it was for me, looking forward to the game Friday night, having a way to weigh and measure yourself, feeling like you’re part of something, so that no matter how challenging things are at home … sports, to me, was the through line,” Tull said.

Tull has been a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise since 2009.

The following nine Allegheny County school districts received Team UP grants based on the number of children in each district: Brentwood, $100,000; Clairton City, $100,000; East Allegheny, $250,000; McKeesport, $250,000; Penn Hills, $250,000; Pittsburgh Public Schools, $500,000; Sto-Rox, $100,000; West Mifflin, $250,000; and Woodland Hills, $250,000, according to a news release.

Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Wayne Walters said he’s seen that students who participate in athletics tend to be stronger students overall — with better attendance, higher grades, deeper engagement and greater self-confidence.

“Athletics teach teamwork, resilience and leadership skills that shape who our young people become after the final wisdom, this partnership allows us to expand those opportunities,” Walters said.

Brentwood director of athletics Roger Gaughan said the grant will help grow the boys and girls volleyball teams, which are new within the district, as well as the flag football program.

“This grant will provide the opportunity to make equipment, programs and some facility enhancements in all our sports,” he said in a news release. “The flag football program has doubled its number of participants since being launched last year. That growth, in addition to rule changes, has brought on additional costs related to equipment and uniform and this donation will be of great assistance for that team and all our programs.”

Backing the initiative at the Friday morning news conference were several local celebrities and beloved Pittsburgh athletes, including former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, retired running back Jerome Bettis, David Bednar, Mel Blount, James Harrison, Charlie Batch and actor Joe Manganiello with his dog Bubbles.

Administrators from each district rose as their schools were named grant recipients during the star-studded event, while student-athletes erupted in screams and cheers for their sports heroes.

“If it wasn’t for sports, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have gone to college. We didn’t have the money to go … I played football, basketball, baseball all the way to my senior year. And if I wasn’t able to do that, I wouldn’t have gone to Miami (Ohio),” Roethlisberger said. “I wouldn’t have won two Super Bowls. I wouldn’t be in Pittsburgh and I wouldn’t be standing here.”