Aug. 16, 2008

PITTSBURGH—One of the greatest players in college football history, Mark May will help celebrate the start of the 2008 season as the keynote speaker for the Pitt Football Kickoff Luncheon on Friday, Aug. 29, at the Pittsburgh Hilton.

A College Football Hall of Fame inductee, May starred at Pitt from 1977-80 before going on to an outstanding career in the NFL. Now a popular college football analyst for ESPN, May will join Pitt head coach Dave Wannstedt and select Panther players for this year’s Kickoff Luncheon, which will begin at 11:30 a.m.

“After a Hall-of-Fame playing career, Mark May has truly become one of the most important faces and voices in college football,” Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said. “We are so proud to call him one of our own and it will be a tremendous honor to have him back in Pittsburgh.”

The 1980 Outland Trophy winner, May was a vital cog on some of the greatest teams in Panthers history.  Pitt retired May’s No. 73 jersey in 2001, making him just the eighth player to be so honored.

Nicknamed “May Day” for the distress he would cause defensive tackles, the Oneonta, N.Y., native was a member of perhaps the greatest recruiting class in Pitt history in 1977, joining such standouts as Hugh Green, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm and Greg Meisner. He and his teammates went on to lead Pitt to a four-year record of 39-8-1, including four bowl games and three Top 10 finishes.

Pitt went 11-1 in May’s senior season in 1980, finishing No. 2 in the Associated Press and United Press International polls. The New York Times computer poll, however, ranked the Panthers as the best team in the country at year’s end.

May, who did not give up a sack his final two collegiate seasons, was named a unanimous All-American and winner of the prestigious Outland Trophy (outstanding interior lineman) in 1980. He remains Pitt’s only Outland winner to this day.

Following his senior season May played in the Hula Bowl and Japan Bowl all-star games. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft and achieved fame as a standout member of the team’s “Hogs” offensive line.

May helped the Redskins to three Super Bowls (1982, 1983 and 1987), including world championships in ‘82 and ‘87. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl following the 1988 season. That year he gave up just one sack and was the only Washington offensive player to start every game.

May’s career with the Redskins spanned from 1981-90. He played for the San Diego Chargers in 1991 and Phoenix Cardinals in 1992-93.

Upon retiring from the NFL, May embarked on a highly successful broadcasting career and has been with ESPN as a studio host and color analyst for the network’s college football coverage since the 2001 season. Previously he worked with CBS and TNT, providing analysis for their NFL broadcasts.

May actually broke into broadcasting in 1994 when he joined play-by-play announcer Bill Hillgrove for Panther radio broadcasts after longtime color man Johnny Sauer retired.