Josh Shapiro is the latest politician to dive headfirst into sports.
The Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania has already made headlines for taking on the Trump administration from his own backyard. Now, he’s taking on a new challenge — sports media. Shapiro made waves when he called into Philadelphia’s 94WIP as “Josh in Abington” after the Eagles won Super Bowl LIX.
Now, he’s trying his hand at commentary.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Shapiro will join the live radio broadcast of Tuesday night’s Pitt-Syracuse men’s basketball game on 93.7 The Fan alongside longtime play-by-play voice Bill Hillgrove and analyst Curtis Aiken.
Aiken, now in his 15th season as a radio analyst for Pitt, has more than just a broadcasting connection to Shapiro. The governor tapped him for his administration’s transition leadership board in 2022 and later appointed him to the University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees in January 2024.
Josh Shapiro has not only resonated with the Steel City’s voter base, but his daughter also graduated from the city’s foremost University. The ties don’t end there, as Shapiro also has basketball roots that aren’t directly rooted to Aiken.
He was captain of the Akiba Hebrew Academy High School team in suburban Philadelphia in high school. He attended the University of Rochester and aimed to contribute to the Division III program but was cut from the team. That’s when he decided to enter politics.
A few decades after being cut from his college team, Josh Shapiro is finally getting his shot — just with a headset instead.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.