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Pittsburgh to hold ‘Morning Madness’ to tip off 2013-14 season (VIDEO)

Jamie Dixon

AP Photo

AP

Last season the Pittsburgh Panthers opened up their season in a way that few programs have in recent years: they went outside. To celebrate the school’s 225th year Jamie Dixon’s squad practiced between the Cathedral of Learning and the William Pitt Union on Bigelow Boulevard, a night complete with the head coach dressed up as Jackie Moon from the moving “SemiPro.”

(Note: Dixon didn’t do any singing at the event, and if you’ve seen “SemiPro” you know the song.)

To open things up this season the Panthers will once again play basketball in an unfamiliar environment, this time doing so at Stage AE on September 28 with the action scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Stage AE is a facility that sits adjacent to Heinz Field, which will allow Pitt fans to take in the festivities (including player skits and a dunk contest) prior to the football team hosting Virginia in its annual Homecoming game.

Homecoming’s always a good time to stage such events given how many people make the effort to return to campus to relive their college days and catch up with friends they likely haven’t seen in years, so that should enhance the atmosphere for Pitt’s public practice. Add to that the fact that Dixon’s program will be doing so before a football game against a conference opponent (and the tailgaters should be ready considering the fact that kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. EST), and this has the potential to be an exciting day for Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s announcement of “Morning Madness” also came with a video of Coach Dixon donning “his” Flint Tropics warmups, and it will be interesting to see if Jackie Moon makes an appearance for the second consecutive year. The Panthers, who finished the 2012-13 season with a record of 24-9, will play their first season as an ACC member with three returning starters including forward Lamar Patterson and guard James Robinson.

h/t CBS Sports

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