Gov. Shapiro will be courtside for broadcast of Syracuse/Pitt at Petersen Events Center
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who threw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener in 2023, will be back in town Tuesday night, taking another swing in the sports world.
Shapiro will sit courtside with longtime Pitt broadcasters Bill Hillgrove and Curtis Aiken at Petersen Events Center and call a few minutes of Pitt’s basketball game against Syracuse on 93.7 FM.
Shapiro appointed Aiken to Pitt’s board of trustees in 2024.
Shapiro is no stranger to the basketball court. He was captain of the Akiba Hebrew Academy high school team in suburban Philadelphia and had hopes of a collegiate career.
He attended the University of Rochester, a Division III school, but was cut from the team. At that point in 1991, he decided to enter politics and became the first freshman elected president of the Students’ Association.
At PNC Park two years ago, Shapiro came equipped with his own glove and carried the baseball with him as he left the ballpark. Asked later if he threw a strike, he told TribLive, “You bet I did. I have proof. No scuff marks.”
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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