‘It means a lot’: Pitt men’s basketball managers face off against West Virginia counterparts

Everyone knows about the Backyard Brawl. Whether on the football field or the basketball court, the rivalry between Pitt and West Virginia runs deep. The close proximity of just 67 miles makes for split families, tension-filled tailgates and endless banter.

But few know about the Manager Brawl. 

A student manager’s job is pretty simple — facilitate and organize the daily operations of the team. Their day-to-day consists of helping with drills, organizing the locker room, helping with hydration or hyping up the team. The student managers are some of the hardest-working members of the program. 

The Manager Games exists to simultaneously give student managers a break from work and keep them connected to the game that they love.

The Manager Games, founded by Ian May, Andrew Novak, Kevin Pauga and Thomas Northcutt, is a way for the managers to get in on the basketball fun. The Manager Games is an official league for previously unofficial exhibition matches played between two teams’ opposing managers the night before the teams play each other.

As Pitt hosted the Backyard Brawl at home this year, it also hosted the Manager Game brawl, giving them a chance to put a notch in the win column for the Panthers before the game the following night.

The games aren’t just for fun. Each season has a postseason tournament with 64 manager teams. The last eight teams qualify for the Manager Games National Championship at the NCAA Final Four Fan Fest in each season’s host city. 

The Pitt managers, led by former Pitt varsity player KJ Marshall, defeated their West Virginia counterparts 61-59.

“School spirit, we’re going to come out here,” Marshall said. “We want to compete at the same time. We put a lot of work in day to day, and getting an opportunity to come out here and carry that to the Backyard Brawl.”

Pitt sophomore and men’s basketball manager Ben Swason said that playing in the Manager Game was special.

“It means a lot, you know,” Swanson said. “We get to watch those guys compete every day and get after it, so it’s always a good time to get after it ourselves. Get a little bit of energy out.”

Swanson was proud of the turnaround Pitt had from the loss it suffered in West Virginia last season.

“We went down last year, and they shot the lights out of the ball,” Swanson said. “We have been waiting for this one, so this one feels a bit better than most.”

Pitt men’s basketball capped off a successful weekend for the team, blowing out West Virginia 86-62. While fewer people knew about the Manager Games, it meant just as much for those involved.