Pittsburgh Panthers softball | |
---|---|
University | University of Pittsburgh |
Head coach | Jenny Allard (1st season) |
Conference | ACC Coastal Division |
Location | Pittsburgh, PA |
Home stadium | Vartabedian Field in the Petersen Sports Complex (Capacity: 600) |
Nickname | Panthers |
Colors | Blue and gold [1] |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
2015 |
Pittsburgh Panthers softball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate softball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt softball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games at Vartabedian Field in the Petersen Sports Complex.
The inaugural season of Pitt softball was in 1998 with the program guided by its first head coach, Michelle Phalen. [2] The program competed as an independent during its first season in NCAA Division I and then played in the Big East Conference from 1999 to 2013. Phalen guided the program to its first winning season (31-27) and first Big East Tournament appearance [3] in 2006 as well as its first season over .500 in Big East play (12-10) in 2008, [4] a year that saw Pitt upset multiple nationally ranked teams. [5] In 2009, Holly Aprile, and assistant coach in charge of pitchers and catchers under Phalen, [6] took over as the head coach of the program. [7] April began her tenure by leading the team to three consecutive winning seasons, [8] a first for the program to that point, and led the 2011 team to a single season school record of 34 wins [9] that included a victory over national ranked Georgia Tech. [10] On July 1, 2013, Pitt moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference. [11] In 2015, Pitt reached the ACC softball tournament championship game and earned the program's first NCAA tournament appearance on way to an appearance in the Regional Final and a program-best 37–22 record. In 2017, after a 5–0 start to the season, Pitt received the first national ranking in the program's history. [12] Pitt won its first ACC Coastal Division championship in 2018. [13] In August 2018, former Ohio head coach Jodi Hermanek was announced [14] as the Panthers' new head coach following Holly Aprile's departure to become head coach at Louisville. [15]
The team's home field includes the 600-seat Vartabedian Field, a softball ballpark that is part of the Petersen Sports Complex on the University of Pittsburgh campus that open for the 2010–11 school year. Vartabedian Field features a skinned infield with an artificial grass outfield. The stadium includes team dugouts, hitting and pitching practice areas, lighting, and a press box. [16] The first softball game played at Vartabedian Field was a 2-1 Pitt victory over Penn State on March 29, 2011. [17] Prior to the program moving into the Petersen Sports Complex and Vartabedian Field, the team played home games at Trees Field on the Pitt campus. [18]
ACC Coastal Division
During Pitt's time as a member of the Big East Conference, Pitt players garnered 20 All-Big East selections including five First Team All-Big East selections. Two Panthers have also received ECAC All-Star status. [19] Numerous players have also won Big East Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors. [20]
The Panthers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament one time. Their combined record is 2–2.
Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Regional | California Oakland California Michigan | L 3–11 W 6–3 W 6–3 L 3–10 |
The following ten no-hitters have been thrown by Pitt pitchers over the program's history. There have been two perfect games thrown which are designated by bold. [23]
Two former Panthers have played softball professionally in the National Pro Fastpitch league. [26]
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I. ACC football teams compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-seven sports with many of its member institutions held in high regard nationally. Current members of the conference are: Boston College, California, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.
The Backyard Brawl is an American college sports rivalry between the University of Pittsburgh Panthers and the West Virginia University Mountaineers. While historically a rivalry between the two schools' football programs, the term "Backyard Brawl" has also been used to refer to college basketball games played annually or semi-annually and may also be used to refer to other athletic competitions between the two schools. It is a registered trademark for both universities, and refers to the close proximity of the two universities, separated by 75 miles (105 km) along Interstate 79.
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students. Pitt fields 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for American football.
James Patrick Dixon II is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs men's team, where he played college ball. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team from 2003 through 2016.
The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football competition, now termed the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, since the beginning of the school's official sponsorship of the sport in 1890. Pitt competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's basketball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games in the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion twice by the Helms Athletic Foundation and once by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Pitt has reached one Final Four, received 15 First Team All-American selections, appeared in 27 NCAA tournaments through the 2022–23 season, and has recorded 1,674 victories against 1,232 losses since their inaugural season of 1905–06.
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt women's basketball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games in the Petersen Events Center. The university first sponsored women's basketball on the varsity level in 1914 and have appeared in five straight national post-season tournaments between 2006 and 2010.
The Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry is a long-standing American college football rivalry between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Pittsburgh Panthers. The game played in 2019 was the 100th edition of the rivalry game. Penn State has not played more games against any other opponent, whereas Pitt has only played more against West Virginia University. After the rivalry resumed in 2016, it was branded "The Keystone Classic" with Peoples Natural Gas as its corporate sponsor. A four-game series between Pitt and Penn State ended in 2019 and there is no future game planned.
Jennifer Lynn Allard is a former All-American softball player at the University of Michigan and the current head coach of the University of Pittsburgh softball team. Allard played for the Michigan Wolverines softball team from 1987–1990, where she was named an All-Big Ten player four straight years. She was a third baseman as a freshman and sophomore and a pitcher as a junior and senior. In 1989, Allard was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and a nominee for the Honda-Broderick Cup. She has been the head coach at Harvard since 1995, where she led the Crimson to its first Ivy League championship in 1992 and has followed with three more Ivy League crowns. In 1997, Allard told her team that she was a lesbian, becoming one of the first major college coaches to openly announce her homosexuality. In 2008, Allard was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.
Steve Pederson was athletic director (AD) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Pittsburgh. He began his career as a college football recruiting coordinator at Ohio State, Tennessee, and Nebraska, where he assembled No. 1 ranked recruiting classes. He has worked with five College Football Hall of Fame football coaches.
The Petersen Sports Complex (PSC) is a 12.32-acre (4.99 ha) multi-sport athletic facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It houses Charles L. Cost Field, Vartabedian Field, and Ambrose Urbanic Field, the respective home practice and competition venues of the university's NCAA Division I varsity athletic baseball, softball, and men's and women's soccer teams. Known as the Pittsburgh (Pitt) Panthers, these teams compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The complex is located adjacent to the school's Trees Hall and Cost Sports Center near the remainder of the university's other upper campus athletic facilities.
The Pittsburgh Panthers baseball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate baseball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt baseball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays their home games at Charles L. Cost Field in the Petersen Sports Complex. It is the university's oldest recorded sport, dating to 1869. Prior to joining the ACC in 2013-14, Pitt had won both the Big East Conference regular season and Big East Tournament championships. The Panthers have also received four First Team All-American selections, and have appeared in three NCAA championships. 52 Panthers have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.
Pittsburgh Panthers women's volleyball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt volleyball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games in Fitzgerald Field House. Since the founding of the volleyball program in 1974, the Panthers have had a winning season all but four years, have one of the nation's top all-time winning percentages, have appearanced in 22 national championship tournaments, and have won conference championships in 16 different seasons including eleven as a member of the Big East Conference and five since joining the ACC.
The 2010–11 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Jamie Dixon, in his twelfth total year at the university. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and are members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 15–3 in Big East play to capture the regular season conference championship. As the 1 seed in the 2011 Big East men's basketball tournament, they were upset by 9 seed Connecticut in their first tournament game. They received an at-large bid in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the 1 seed in the southeast region. They defeated 16 seed UNC Asheville in the first round before being upset by 8 seed Butler in the second round.
Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's soccer team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's soccer competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field in the university's Petersen Sports Complex. Pitt soccer players have had eight selections as All-Americans and multiple former Panthers have gone on to play professionally. The Panthers have appeared in seven NCAA tournaments and have reached the College Cup twice. The Panthers have been coached by Jay Vidovich since 2015.
Joe Jordano is an American college baseball coach and former collegiate baseball player. He most recently served as head coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers baseball team. He held that position from 1998 season to 2018. Prior to his tenure at Pitt, Jordano was the head coach at Mercyhurst College. Jordano led the Lakers to unprecedented success and left as the winningest coach in Laker history. Upon his departure from Pitt, Jordano earned more wins (588) than any coach, in any sport in Pitt history. His teams re-wrote the Panther Baseball Record Books and had over 70 plus players go on to play professional baseball. Currently, Jordano is the head coach of the National Team/Black at the world-renowned IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
The Pittsburgh–Syracuse football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Pittsburgh Panthers and Syracuse Orange. It began in 1916 and has been played every year since 1955. The Panthers and Orange were both Eastern football independents for most of their history but have shared the same football conference since 1991 when the Big East Football Conference was formed from Eastern football independents. Pitt is the most played opponent for Syracuse and Syracuse is the third most played opponent for Pitt. Sharing membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since 2013, the Panthers and Orange are designated cross-divisional opponents. Beginning in 2023, the ACC eliminated the Atlantic and Coastal divisions, going to one division. The Panthers and Orange were designated primary opponents, ensuring they will meet annually. They have played a total of 80 times, with Pittsburgh leading the series 44–32–3.
The Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team represent the University of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I women's college soccer. The team has never won a conference championship. The Panthers have played in both the ACC and Big East.
Jodi Hermanek is an American softball coach who most recently was the head coach at Pittsburgh.
The 2021 Peach Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2021, with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. EST and televised on ESPN. It was the 54th edition of the Peach Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by restaurant chain Chick-fil-A, the game was officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
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