Since 2019 I’ve made it a point to attend the Pittsburgh Pirates home opener of each new baseball season (pandemic-affected seasons aside, of course). This year, however, I had the opportunity to mark the home opener with a Pitt Panthers baseball game thanks to the “Most Valuable Professor” program. This initiative from Pitt athletics lets student-athletes select one of their teachers for attendance and recognition as an “MVP” at a Pitt sporting event. One of the students in my media course this semester is also a player on the Panthers baseball team and very kindly selected me to get recognized ahead of their April 5th afternoon game.
I don’t often make the trip to upper campus so I spent some time walking around before meeting up with the folks from athletics. There’s a flurry of construction activity on the hill including this major work next to the Petersen Events Center.
Despite all the construction fences and scrim there are still dynamite views to be found offering panoramas of Oakland out to the East End.
While exploring upper campus I ran into another one of my students who was on his way to get a workout in. He gave me a quick rundown of some of the facilities and student housing in the immediate vicinity. Another happy outcome of this trip: I realized that the Oak Hill bus can take me from home straight to my dentist’s office on the hill.
Prior to the game we were treated to lunch and got to visit with the day’s other MVPs. It was great meeting new folks from various departments.
Just before game time we headed out to Charles L. Cost Field where we got to meet our student-athletes and throw out a ceremonial first pitch. My throw was low and just a bit outside.
There was a decent crowd in the stands braving the cold and windy weather. We even got a brief bout of snow during the early innings.
The whole event was very nice. It was a treat to get face time with a student who I otherwise have only interacted with remotely for my online class, and great to meet new colleagues from across the university. The MVP program does a great job of recognizing university faculty and staff while also bridging the multiple roles that our student-athletes occupy. Thanks to Gunnar Geyer and all the folks from Athletics and Academic Support Services for putting this together. With another chilly Pittsburgh baseball game in the books this felt like both a brand new experience and an extension of personal tradition.