Pitt athletics stayed busy over Thanksgiving break, with all its fall and winter sports continuing in action. Volleyball clinched a share of the ACC title and both men’s and women’s soccer battled in the NCAA tournament.

As the semester winds down, Pitt baseball is heating up. The team continued a hot run through conference play with a 2-1 series win over No. 6 Virginia, headlining the weekend in Pitt athletics.

A trial for former Pitt strength and conditioning coach Tim Beltz’s civil lawsuit against Pitt is set for Oct. 17 at the federal courthouse Downtown.

Leading figures from the Pittsburgh sports community and Pitt athletics came together to express messages of grief and appreciation for Dr. Freddie Fu, the pioneering orthopedic surgeon who passed away last weekend at the age of 70.

Pitt athletics announced updated COVID-19 regulations for spectators at on-campus sporting venues — the Petersen Sports Complex and the Fitzgerald Field House — last Tuesday afternoon.

Since its inception, the NCAA has held that college athletes cannot and will not be paid for their name, image or likeness. Athletes were ineligible to accept endorsements or receive payment for their performance — all to maintain the amateurism surrounding college athletics. But new rules and regulations regarding name, image and likeness benefits for college athletes will change this long-standing rule.

Many teams emerged gracefully from the COVID-19 pandemic, but few are equipped to renew their success this year. Volleyball and men’s soccer are poised for historic seasons, while baseball will need to reload before it is back to competing on a national stage.

Pitt Athletics alumni said they saw the athletic department bring attention to Black History Month this year for the first time in a significant way, but shared many concerns they hope the department will address in the future.

As Pitt Athletics has undergone changes in staff, facilities and athletes over the past 28 years, custodian Lance Aiken has remained.

Pitt fans are all too familiar with Pitt sports’ heartbreaking habit of dropping close losses and, conversely, the kind of alcohol that may help them forget about that heartbreak. But each of these sports offers their own experience, each different from their counterparts, and I’ve chosen alcoholic drinks to match.