With two play-in games completed and fans across the country making last-minute adjustments to their brackets, it’s clear that March is here and the world of college basketball is set to descend into madness. And while Pitt will not take part in any postseason tournaments this year, Panthers head coach Jeff Capel will take on a prominent role in the coverage of this season’s NCAA tournament.
The Pitt coach will head to Atlanta this week to serve as an analyst for CBS and Turner Sports during their coverage of the 2019 NCAA tournament. On Thursday and Friday, he will join a studio team that includes Casey Stern, Brendan Haywood, Candace Parker and Seth Davis. Their coverage of the tournament will air on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV.
Alan Saunders of Pittsburgh Sports Now first reported the news on Tuesday, and it was confirmed by Pitt on Wednesday morning.
Capel’s first foray into television comes at an opportune time, as he is attempting to raise the profile of his program and attract 2019 recruits. On that front, he recently added Justin Champagnie, Karim Coulibaly and Gerald Drumgoole, each of whom addresses an area of need for the team. However, Pitt still has at least two 2019 scholarships open, and that number could increase with roster turnover.
This is also not a first for the Capel family as a whole, as Pitt assistant Jason Capel, Jeff’s younger brother, previously spent three years working as an analyst for the ACC Network, ESPN and Raycom Sports after a four-year stint as the head coach of Appalachian State.