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Burt
Lauten is a native of the town of Fombell in Beaver
County and a 1995 graduate of Riverside High School,
where he earned varsity letters for four years in
baseball and basketball. Burt knew that he wanted to be
involved in sports in his professional life, but his
dream of being a broadcaster changed in his senior year
at Westminster College when he interned with the
college's sports information office.
After graduating from Westminster in
1999, Burt began his sports media career in the Sports
Information Office of Miami University of Ohio. In 2001,
Burt was hired by the University of Pittsburgh as an
assistant athletic media relations director, assisting
with the Panthers' football, baseball, and women's
basketball teams. Burt assisted in the promotion of Pitt
wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who in 2003 won the
Biletnikoff Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year
Award and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting. Burt
accompanied Pitt's football team to the 2002 Insight
Bowl, 2003 Continental Tire Bowl, and 2005 Tostitos
Fiesta Bowl.
Since 2005, Burt has been a member of
the Pittsburgh Steelers Communications Department. After
serving as the team's Public Relations/Media Manager for
six years, Burt was promoted to Director of
Communications. Burt serves as the team's spokesman on
all football and organizational matters. In addition to
handling all day-to-day operations of the Steelers'
Communications Department, Burt works to develop
year-round public relations plans for all of the
organization's messages and handles all media inquiries
involving players and executives, including Team
President Art Rooney II, Head Coach Mike Tomlin, and
General Manager Omar Khan, as well as former General
Manager Kevin Colbert, who remarked that "Burt is not
only appreciated by his Steeler Family, but he is also
recognized and appreciated by all his colleagues in the
NFL and its media partners across the country. Most
importantly, Burt has always cherished his Beaver County
roots and identity throughout the process".
Burt has been a member of the
Steelers' communications staff for three Super Bowls,
including wins in Super Bowl XL and XLIII. Burt has
worked eight Super Bowls, including assisting the NFL in
five such games during his time with the Steelers. In
2014, the Pro Football Writers Association honored Burt
and his staff with the Pete Rozelle Award, given
annually to the NFL's PR staff that consistently strives
for excellence in its dealings and relationships with
the media. In 2018, Burt received the Public Relations
Society of America Pittsburgh Renaissance Communicator
of the Year Award.
Burt spearheads all the franchise's
football communications efforts and works closely with
the team's business and community partners to help
maximize the team's media attention on a local and
national stage. Burt assists in the management of the
Steelers' social media initiatives and coordination of
publicity across the team's digital platforms, and Burt
oversees corporate communications for the Steelers
relating to Acrisure Stadium, Stage AE, and the North
Shore development.
Burt currently lives in Mars, PA. He
and his wife Amy have one daughter, Paige. |
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