Meet the SportsPITTSBURGH Team

Meet Jennifer Hawkins

Q. What is your educational background? 
A. I received a Bachelor's in Kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master's in Sports Administration at Florida State University

Q. How long have you been with SportsPITTSBURGH? 
A. I have been with the team since the inception of the sports market at VisitPITTSBURGH in 2005. I oversaw the creation of SportsPITTSBURGH, the sports division of VisitPITTSBURGH, in 2015.  

Q. Why did you get involved with sports? 
A. I'm a life-long professional spectator with no hand-eye coordination. My only opportunity was to join the business side of sports and events.

Q. What is your favorite Pittsburgh sports memory?
A. My favorite memory is sitting in the 300-level seats at Heinz Field during a snowstorm as Jerome “The Bus” Bettis dominated Brian Urlacher and the Chicago Bears. 

Q. What is your walkout or goal-scoring song?
A. Oh, there are so many – it all depends on my mood! 

• Confident? "Shining" by DJ Khalid and Beyoncé
• Underestimated? "Chun-Li" by Nikki Minaj
• Humbled? "Blessings" by Chance the Rapper
• Need to get hyped-up? "Formation" by Beyoncé

Wow, I really need to update my playlists! 

Q. What are three words that best describe Pittsburgh?
A. Iconic. Proud. Unforgettable.

Q. What is your favorite part of event day? 
A. The part where I am eating...tailgate, concessions, premium lounges or boxed meals. I love all game-day food!

Meet Brady Inners

Q. What is your educational background? 
A. I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Media and Professional Communications and a certificate in Corporate Relations.

Q. How long have you been with SportsPITTSBURGH? 
A. I started in 2018 as a year-long temporary staff member. I have been in my current role as Event Manager since May 2019.

Q. Why did you get involved with sports? 
A. Ever since I was a little kid, sports were my favorite thing. Whether it was playing, watching or just being around them, sports was where I spent my time and energy. Fast forward a couple years to when it was time to decide what I wanted to do as a career - being involved and working in sports was a no-brainer!

Q. What is your favorite Pittsburgh sports memory?
A. As a lifelong Pitt fan, I would say the 2016 Pitt vs. Penn State football game at Heinz Field. It was the first time the teams played in 16 years – and the first game I was able to remember. Pitt won 42-39 in a last-minute thriller against an in-state rival. It is definitely a game I won’t forget!

Q. What is your walkout or goal-scoring song?
A. The Space Jam theme song

Q. What are three words that best describe Pittsburgh?
A. Resilient. Passionate. Loyal.

Q. What is your favorite part of event day? 
A. The few minutes right after the event or game starts. Leading up to that moment, we have done months and months of prep work on the events and know that once the event itself begins, the hardest part is over - it should be smooth sailing from there on. Seeing the fans and student-athletes laugh, smile and enjoy themselves at events we facilitated make the long hours and months of planning worth it!