Athletic tradition
Diana Andreyko: Pitt ’s Volleyball Career Kills Leader
Tony Dorsett: 1976 Heisman Trophy Winner
Alex Volovetski and Jeremy Stultz: back-to-back Big East Divers of the Year
Only Big Dreams “Pitt fans are very passionate about their school and its teams. It’s a special bond that comes from dedicating four years of your life to a school, of spending so much time on the campus and of interacting with members of the athletic teams who also have classes to attend, term papers to write and final exams to study for. Besides athletics, the University of Pittsburgh has so much to offer. Many of its undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs are among the best anywhere.” —Beano Cook, ESPN 1991 Final Four Team
Pat Santoro: Two-time NCAA Wrestling Champion
Sue Heon: 1984 Olympic Swimmer Every athlete dreams, but at Pitt we only dream big. The University of Pittsburgh has a valued, championship athletic tradition. One that, since it’s beginning has thrived off of one thing: big dreams. Big dreams have led our teams to numerous national titles and fueled individual athletes into their own realm of success. While the dreams of our past have been marked in the record books, it hasn’t stopped our current pursuit for even bigger dreams. They are what push our athletes to excel during practice, perfect their routine down to the most minute detail, hit the weight room and exceed their own expectations when there is no audience to impress. So when the right moment comes they are able to quicken their feet as they near the finish line, extend their arms as they reach for that extra inch on a fourth and goal and push themselves to the limit as the clock works its way down to zero. By accepting only big dreams in each endeavor that we take and aspiration we pursue, we get the greatest return: immense successes.
Pitt athletics by the numbers: Football Nine-time national champions (1915, 1916, 1918, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1976) 25 major college bowl game appearances 18 Associated Press poll top-25 finishes Seven undefeated seasons One Heisman Trophy winner (Tony Dorsett, 1976) 10 major individual college award winners Four Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees 26 College Football Hall of Fame inductees 23 NFL First Round draft picks
John Woodruff: U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist
289 NFL players 85 First Team All-Americans
Keith Gavin 2008 NCAA Wrestling Champion
Eight retired jerseys (Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett, Bill Fralic, Marshall Goldberg Hugh Green, Dan Marino, Mark May, Joe Schmidt)
Women’s Swimming and Diving Two Olympians Angie Lopez (1976) and Sue Heon (1984) Four four-year All-Americans 17 total All-Americans (five others earned honorable mention)
C14
1976 National Football Champions
Nine Big East Championships
Jerome Lane shattered backboard in 1988