CBS Analyst Gene Steratore is Featured Speaker for Gardner-Webb Baseball’s First Pitch Celebration on Feb. 1

Event Includes Dinner, Silent Auction and Introductions of the 2025 Division I Roster and Coaching Staff

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Now in its fifth year, Gardner-Webb baseball’s First Pitch Celebration has become a must-attend event. Scheduled for Feb. 1 in Tucker Student Center, the featured speaker is NFL and NCAA Rules Analyst Gene Steratore. A native of Uniontown, Pa., Steratore is a former NCAA and NFL official with 40 years of experience that includes refereeing Sweet-16 games and a Super Bowl.

Head Baseball Coach Jim Chester is excited and grateful to see how this event has grown each year in attendance and scope. “The Gardner-Webb baseball family, friends, and alumni gather in anticipation of the start of the 2025 season,” he shared. “The action-packed evening will not disappoint. We invite everyone to come and get an inside look at the baseball program and the 2025 season!”

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and silent auction starting at 6 p.m. The program begins at 7 p.m. and includes introductions of the 2025 DI roster and coaching staff and Steratore’s remarks.

Chester added, “Steratore is a household name, especially at NFL playoff time. He was and still is at the top of his profession. His story and path to success is unique and motivational. We are excited to welcome him to Gardner-Webb University and Boiling Springs, N.C.”

Tickets start at $50 per person or $375 for a table of eight.

Steratore echoed Chester’s excitement for the evening. He said he looks forward to being on the Gardner-Webb campus and meeting the student-athletes, alumni and supporters. “The University is well-respected, and the student body is the real heartbeat of what makes it a vibrant place,” Steratore assessed. “It’s so exciting to be surrounded by that atmosphere of hope in the future.”

Steratore grew up around the profession, because his father was a referee the Big East when it was formed in 1980. Following close behind his dad, Steratore refereed his first basketball game with the YMCA in Uniontown when he was 13. From there, Steratore officiated church leagues, varsity and finally, colleges. He started officiating NCAA basketball in 1997 and worked in the Big Ten, Atlantic-10 and Big East conferences. After joining the NFL, he continued to referee college basketball, spending 22 years in the profession. Sometimes, he would officiate both sports during the same week.

In the NFL, he started as a field judge before being promoted to referee in 2006. He served as alternate referee for Super Bowl 44 and referee for Super Bowl 52.

Steratore will share some of his experiences as a referee. He will also relate lessons he’s learned in his profession, such as dealing with pressurized situations, balancing his work and personal life, and choosing healthy habits.

When Steratore retired from both sports in 2018, he joined CBS Sports and enhances the coverage of college football, college basketball and the NFL. Away from the world of sports, Steratore is the co-owner of Steratore Sanitary Supply in Washington, Pa., with his brother, NFL back judge Tony Steratore. The brothers founded the company in 1988 and currently supply janitorial products to over 300 companies.

For more information, or if you need a table for more than eight, please email Chester at [email protected].

Event sponsors are Travis Repman/Coldwell Banker/Mountain View Real Estate. 

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event.  Please call 704-406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.