Bill Hillgrove joins Pitt's first Broadcasting class

It was appropriate that the first guest speaker to join the University of Pittsburgh's inaugural Broadcasting class was none other than the legendary "Voice of the Pitt Panthers," Bill Hillgrove.

Mr. Hillgrove not only discussed the evolution of the broadcast industry, but also added pertinent anecdotes from his experiences in the boradcast booth, as well as on the TV set as an anchor for 22 years. He brought his sample game preparation sheets and walked the students through the research aspect and "game prep" required to do play-by-play for both football and basketball games. He also added several hilarious Myron Cope stories.

Mr. Hillgrove is in his 50th season calling Pitt men's basketball games. He recently completed his 45th season behind the microphone for Panther football games and his 25th season as the radio voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In addition to being the 2007 Chris Schenkel Award winner for excellence in college football broadcasting, Mr. Hillgrove (along with Pittsburgh Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange) was named to the 2018 list of Most Popular 'One-Two Play-By-Play Pairs' Across American Markets by Sports Broadcast Journal.

Pitt's inaugural Broadcasting class made its debut Monday. The 16 students in the class will meet twice a week (at the Cathedral of Learning on Mondays at 9 a.m. and at the Petersen Event Center on Wednesdays at 9 a.m.). The new Pitt Studios facility will provide the students with an unparalleled hands-on educational experience.

Industry professionals from the Pittsburgh media market, ESPN, National media members, as well as the University of Pittsburgh Broadcast Department will directly interact with the students throughout the 15 weeks of the course. 

Kevin Smith -