Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 6

In his first high-profile transactional move since he was hired in October, Pitt athletic director Allen Greene on Wednesday extended women’s volleyball coach Dan Fisher’s contract through the 2030 season. Fisher, who was named American Volleyball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year after leading Pitt to its fourth consecutive...

The spring semester started Monday at Pitt, and coach Pat Narduzzi welcomed 11 transfers and 14 early-enrolling freshmen to the football program. The transfers include four from power conferences, with Narduzzi hopeful to get immediate help on both sides of the ball. Sophomore defensive end Jaeden Moore (6-foot-4, 245 pounds)...

If you’re a Pitt fan looking for encouragement after the Panthers’ second loss of a painful proportion this season, know this: No. 4 Duke (13-2, 5-0 ACC) has won nine in a row, its past six by an average of more than 26 points. Almost in line with what happened...

Pitt will open the 2025 football season against Duquesne on Aug. 30 at Acrisure Stadium, bringing together two schools located 2 miles apart for the first time since 1939, both schools announced Tuesday. Kickoff time will be announced at a later date. Because Pitt and Duquesne play football at different...

Jeff Capel paged through his earliest, childhood basketball memories in response to a question presented to him Monday during the ACC coaches’ conference call: What does Duke do to develop such outstanding freshman talent every year and provide a smooth transition from high school to almost immediate stardom in the...

Rachel Fairbanks, the most decorated setter in Pitt volleyball history and a two-time, first-team All-American, has signed a professional contract with the Atlanta franchise in League One Volleyball. She joins former Pitt teammate Valeria Vazquez Gomez, who previously agreed to a deal with the Omaha Supernovas of the Pro Volleyball...

Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi was busy over the weekend, hosting and getting verbal commitments from seven transfers looking to re-start their careers. After landing defensive end Blaine Spires, who previously played at Bowling Green and Utah State, Pitt added six more players to the roster, including a wide receiver, another...

Over the past 21⁄2 seasons, Jeff Capel and his players have raised the profile of Pitt’s basketball program, winning 58 games and standing tall among the best teams in the ACC. Yet in the early days of 2025, there is so much more to prove to exhausted Pitt fans, who...

The beard is coming in nicely, if a bit scruffy in its infancy. So, Pitt junior Guillermo Diaz Graham said he plans to keep the tough-guy look for the foreseeable future. “I’m going to run with it,” he said. Yet the beard was only a small part of the story...

After losing three defensive ends in the transfer portal, including promising freshman Sincere Edwards, Pitt took a step toward restocking the position Saturday when Blaine Spires, formerly of Bowling Green and Utah State, said he plans to enroll. Full Circle! You earned it H2P #1stcommit???? Ant (@anttt88) January 4,...

When Pitt plays Stanford on Saturday at Petersen Events Center, the Panthers (11-2, 2-0 ACC) have a chance for the program’s best start after 14 games since 2015-2016, when the Panthers opened 14-1 in Jamie Dixon’s last season as coach. The formula for success includes Pitt’s ability to score (84.2...

By nature, basketball is largely designed for guards to have success. When the TV analysts talk about teams with the potential to go far in the NCAA Tournament, it’s usually those with strong play at guard. After all, they handle the ball more frequently than anyone else and, as a...

For the first 16 minutes of Pitt’s 86-74 victory Wednesday against California, the Panthers were late to loose balls and rebounds, handled the opponent’s defensive pressure like they were wearing gloves and eventually looked up to see a 16-point deficit on the Petersen Events Center scoreboard. Pitt forward Cam Corhen...

Pitt’s depth at guard will get another serious test Wednesday after coach Jeff Capel ruled senior guard Ishmael Leggett unavailable with a lower body injury for the game against California. Senior guard Ishmael Leggett will miss today’s ACC home opener vs. Cal due to a lower body injury.Leggett is one...

Former Duquesne basketball star Sihugo Green, the only two-time consensus first-team All-America in program history, was named Tuesday to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. During his three-year career (1954-56) with the Dukes, Green averaged a double-double (19.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game) and finished...

After playing only four games through 31 days of December, Pitt basketball gets serious starting Wednesday (New Year’s Day) when the Panthers welcome first-year ACC member California to the league. Tipoff is 2 p.m. at Petersen Events Center. The game is the first of three for Pitt in seven days,...

The steady rebuild of men’s basketball, a seven-game winning streak to start the football season and a fourth consecutive Final Four appearance by women’s volleyball make 2024 sound like a nice year for Pitt athletics. Yet none of those events come close to challenging for the biggest story of the...

Pitt lost two cornerbacks Monday — one a starter — when Ryland Gandy and Tamarion Crumpley announced plans to transfer. Thank you Pitt???????? pic.twitter.com/pIqSyIt4Zc— Ryland Gandy (@iamrdg10) December 30, 2024 Officially in the portal!! pic.twitter.com/hCNypNStrK— M Λ M B Λ (@MAMBAXII) December 30, 2024 Gandy, who was a redshirt sophomore...

Jaland Lowe is accustomed to handing out presents to those closest to him, and he’s doing it this season like almost no other player in the ACC. While averaging 16.7 points per game, Pitt’s sophomore point guard is third in the conference with an average of six assists per game....

Pitt volleyball’s Torrey Stafford, one of the team’s three first-team All-Americans, has entered the NCAA transfer portal, a Pitt athletics spokesperson confirmed. Stafford’s departure will be a major blow to the most successful program on campus after she finished second on the team to AVCA National Player of the Year...

Quarterback Eli Holstein, who led Pitt to a 7-0 start before injuries derailed much of the remainder of his season, and All-America linebacker Kyle Louis said Friday on social media platform X they will return to the team in 2025. Holstein will lead a quarterback room that will include former...

Nothing about Pat Narduzzi’s 10th season should be shocking news for anyone who has followed the passionate coach throughout his time at Pitt. He loves his players. Sincerely, I believe. Many of them love him back, especially the 14 players who have publicly announced their intentions to stay the course...

After Toledo put a painful exclamation point on Pitt’s first six-game losing streak in 26 years, Pat Narduzzi sat between senior co-captains Gavin Bartholomew and Brandon George and tried to put a positive spin on a six-overtime drama. Not an easy task after Toledo (8-5) of the Mid-American Conference walked...