While sitting beside one another in the Hilton’s Allegheny Room at the 70th Annual Dapper… While sitting beside one another in the Hilton’s Allegheny Room at the 70th Annual Dapper Dan Dinner ‘ Sports Auction, legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno leaned over and placed his hand on Agnus Berenato’s shoulder.

“This kid here,” he said with a smile, “wasn’t even born when I started coaching.”

The 79-year-old Paterno met the Pitt women’s basketball coach for the first time as they accepted their respective awards a week ago — the Lifetime Achievement Award for Paterno and Sportswoman of the Year for Berenato — and he left impressed.

As did Berenato, who thanks to the award and recognition, can feel her staff and program growing as one with the Pitt community.

“I’ve been in Pittsburgh for three years,” she said. “In three short years, I feel like the city has really embraced me as well as our program. Three years ago to the day, we had a press conference at Pitt to announce my hiring.

“My team, my staff and everyone at the university, there aren’t better people in the world. I feel like I should have been born here. I feel like one of you. There’s no better honor than to feel at home in some place you weren’t born.”

Berenato is the first Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year from Pitt, and joins a long list of recipients of Panthers who previously took home one of the awards — the most recent being Sportsman of the Year 2003, Larry Fitzgerald.

Recently retired Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis joined Paterno and Berenato for 2006, taking home the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year award.

“It’s very exciting to see all of this,” Pitt center Marcedes Walker said of the environment. “For everyone in Pittsburgh to notice Coach and what she’s done with our program like this is a great feeling.”

The Pitt women’s team posted its best season during the 2005-06 campaign, tying the school record for wins with 22, while riding a postseason run into the semifinals of the WNIT.

Looking ahead to next season, Pitt will host first- and second-round matchups of the women’s NCAA Tournament in the Petersen Events Center. For Berenato, however, hosting isn’t enough. She wants to participate.

“I don’t just want to run this and fill it,” she said. “To even put a bid in for this three years ago, the University showed a lot of faith in me. I want to be a participant and play at home in front of our community.”

Berenato said that’s the goal of the team next season. Anyone who knows the women’s basketball program at Pitt understands how impressive that is, considering it will be only Berenato’s fourth season at the helm.

“When they called me, to be honest with you, I thought that I was going to retire, get fired or die at Georgia Tech,” Berenato said. “I had no intention of moving my family, but when you come and here and see this campus, it’s breathtaking.

“Every day when I get off the elevator in the Petersen and see our facilities, I just can’t believe that I’m here and that they wanted me. I have to pinch myself to realize I’m the coach of Pitt. It was a big risk for me and it’s all really come around full circle.”

Before ending the conference and heading on to accept their awards, Berenato and Paterno shared stories of their early days in coaching and remembered what it was like to start new jobs and build a program.

And when asked if she would be coaching at the age of 79 like Paterno, Berenato offered a quick response.

“No,” she said, laughing. “I don’t think I’ll be alive at 79.”

But after a look over at Paterno and a glance around the room at where her career has taken her thus far, she added to her answer.

“Do I think I’m going to be coaching at 79? No, I don’t,” she said. “But if the University will still have me, and I’m happy and still have a passion for it then God has blessed me well and I’d be happy to do it.”