Pros come to Pitt to play different kind of ball

While its level of play won’t come close to that of the game pitting Pitt against Colorado in the NCAA Tournament this afternoon, a noteworthy game of basketball took place on Pitt’s campus Wednesday night.

Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers and 14 student representatives from Pitt volunteered to participate in a charity basketball game at 8 p.m. last night at the Fitzgerald Field House to help fund the Outside the Classroom Curriculum’s Pitt Advantage Grant.The Steelers came out on top with a final score of 56-44 after four eight-minute quarters of play.

The grant, according to the Office of Student Affairs website, “provides undergraduate students who have completed the OCC assistance for a summer 2014 study abroad experience, an unpaid internship or service-learning project.”

Tickets for the event cost $7 during the presale period leading up to the game and were $10 at the door. Student Affairs provided the student representatives with 40 tickets each to sell at a discounted price of $5 in the days before the event.

Steve Anderson, associate dean and director of Residence Life at Pitt, led the effort to organize the event. He said between 500 and 600 people attended the event, which he considers a success.

Anderson previously served as associate dean of student life at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., before coming to Pitt earlier this year. There, he helped organize a similar annual charity game involving Steelers players and students for the past four years.

“It’s definitely something we’d try to pursue for next year,” Anderson said. “We’ll talk to students and see how they liked it and see how we can improve so we can do it again.”

The Pitt Advantage Grant exists to enhance students’ college experiences and to help students gain a competitive edge for the job marketplace and graduate or professional schools by providing study abroad and internship opportunities.

To be eligible for a grant, undergraduate students must be of full-time status for no less than two terms, be in good academic standing and be returning to the University as a full-time student the semester following the learning experience. Students also must have fully completed all goals and requirements of the OCC. Grants are awarded at $1,500 each, and applications for the coming summer term are currently being accepted.

“Typically when students go out to get jobs, [employers] want to see these diverse experiences from job applicants,” Anderson said. “We want to provide these types of experiences for students at Pitt.”

Brian Terreri, a junior pharmacy major and president of the Panther Pitt, Pitt’s official student cheering section at football games, participated in the event as a player for the Panthers.

“As a Philadelphia [Eagles] fan, this gave me an opportunity to talk a little smack,” he said.

The Steelers roster featured notable players such as wide receiver Antonio Brown, running back Le’Veon Bell, defensive end Cameron Heyward and former quarterback Charlie Batch.

Terreri said that at a team practice held for Pitt’s players on Monday, the teammates got to gel and spend time getting to know each other.

He also spoke about the increasing intensity of the game as the minutes on the clock ticked by.

“At the beginning, they were going pretty soft, but I gotta say, they’ve turned it up. I got whacked by Le’Veon.”

According to Brown, Charlie Batch was the most vocal in rallying the troops to join the event.

“We get to be a part of the community,” Brown said. “I love Pitt and this is a great atmosphere.”

Anderson spoke about the diversity of participants from the Panthers’ side and said that among the players were students from the Oakland Zoo, Pathfinders, the Panther Pitt and a women’s soccer player.

Jen Walsh, a senior in Pitt’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, attended to event to support fellow Pathfinder Pat O’Donnell, who was playing in the game. She said the event demonstrated the ties between the city and the University.

“It’s like a city-meets-school kind of thing,” she said.

Nick Brenner, a junior majoring in marketing and business information systems and vice president of the Oakland Zoo, volunteered to play. Brenner, a Steelers fan, said he enjoyed playing against football players such as Brown and Bell.

“They definitely let us get a couple of baskets there, and they also didn’t play much defense and even cherry-picked a bit,” Brenner said. “They let us get some points but started to turn it up in the end.”

Brenner said he thought the event had a great turnout for its first year.

“My family came out here from [New] Jersey to watch the event,” Brenner said. “It’s all pretty exciting.”

For Walsh, the event’s success was rather unsurprising, given Pittsburgh’s reputation.

“It’s a sports-obsessed city,” she said. “We’re a football town, a basketball school, and this is the two of those passions coming together.”