Pat Cavanaugh
Pat Cavanaugh shined in football and basketball at Grove City High School before a terrific career at Pitt.
At GCHS, he was starting quarterback in football his junior and senior years. In basketball, he scored 371 points and dished out 219 assists as a junior, then averaged 20 points per game while also leading the team in assists. He was named the prestigious Jiggs Wolford Award winner in both sports, a rare feat.
He went on to play football and basketball at West Point Prep (1985-86), before moving on to Pitt where he played both sports. He made the freshman team in football and as a frosh was a contributor to the basketball team, earning a hoop scholarship. That year he scored 13 points and had 3 assists to help the Panthers to their first-ever win in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. A four-year letterman in basketball, he was one of only two players in Pitt history to be named captain two different seasons (Sam Clancy was the other). The two teams he captained were both ranked in the Top 10 in the country.
Concluding his college career, he was offered tryouts with the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, playing two seasons in the NBA Developmental League.
A successful businessman, Pat created the CRONS (Come Ready Or Never Start) youth basketball program in 2006, teaching boys and girls to make positive decisions in life and sports. In 2012, he created the Ready Nutrition brand of performance-based snacks and drinks, with protein bars sold at more than 5,000 locations nationally. His athletic apparel company, The Crons Brand, supplied seven mid-major college conferences and about 500 school and youth programs with non-uniform aparel and gear inscribed with motivational messages.Pat also created the Crons Achievers Program which markets curriculum on how to teach children to set and achieve their goals and manage diversity.