Pitt Teammates, Coaches to Attend Funeral Services for Mason Alexander

At the beginning of March, Pitt football was hit with the tragic news and death of Mason Alexander, an early enrollment cornerback who was killed in a car accident back in his hometown of Fishers, Ind.

On Tuesday, March 25, friends, family, coaches and teammates will have an opportunity to remember and celebrate the life of Alexander at Lavenia & Summers Home for Funerals. A viewing will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Then, a celebration of life will follow at the Fishers Events Center.

In honor of Alexander, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi moved the program’s previously scheduled Tuesday practice up to Monday to allow for teammates and members of the program to attend the services.

Narduzzi stated that several coaches have already traveled out to Indiana and he will make the trip once all team activities are complete on Monday.

“I’ll be out there today and tomorrow to see the family. To me it was important to get there today as well. Tomorrow will be a rush,” he said Monday.

Pitt players and teammates of Alexander will travel tomorrow to pay their respects.

“We got probably 60 guys going out tomorrow as far as on the team and then a bunch of coaches and support staff,” Narduzzi said.

Earlier this month, Narduzzi took the opportunity during his first media press conference of the spring to honor and remember Alexander.

“That phone call is a phone call that no coach, no parent would ever want to get,” he said. “Not only were our players in denial, our coaches were in denial like, ‘There’s no way this can happen, could happen, did happen.’ It put us all in shock.”

“Mason, in the short time he was here with our family — he’ll be a Panther forever — we’ll never forget what he was, who he was. Just a tremendous football player,” Narduzzi added.

Alexander, 18, was a passenger in a fatal crash on Florida Road, near Southeastern parkway and Interstate 69, around 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, according to a press release from the the Hamilton County (Ind.) sheriff’s office.

Alexander was a four-star cornerback recruit out of Hamilton Southeastern High School and enrolled early to the University of Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh media spoke with Alexander for the first time three days prior to he death, and he said his goal was to make it to the NFL.

The Lavenia & Summers Home for Funeral provided the following statement in a news release:

“Mason Alexander was known for his dedication, talent, and leadership both on and off the field. A beloved son, friend, and teammate, he made a lasting impact on those around him. He had recently joined the University of Pittsburgh football team. His family wishes to honor his memory by bringing together those who loved and supported him.”