Jun 29, 2019 3 min read

Trinity High School sporting events will take on a different feel very soon.

Thanks to a generous donation, Hiller Field and Hiller Hall will be upgraded with Daktronics LED video boards, and the school plans for that upgrade to be in full effect by the middle of August, in time for the start of the 2019-20 athletic calendar.

The upgrades were made possible by a donation from Mike and Kathy Makripodis, owners of D&M Painting, Makripodis Olive Oil and Bridge the Gap, a nonprofit organization. Head football coach Jon Miller said advertising revenue generated from the scoreboards will go towards “feeding families in our district that struggle to put food on the table.”

According to Miller, the scoreboard at Hiller Field will be 18 feet high and 24 feet wide, while the dimensions of the gym’s new scoreboard will be the same as the old one.

For athletic director Ricci Rich, this upgrade will give Trinity a chance to add to its pride, especially when the time comes for its seniors to play their last games.

“To be able to recognize our Senior Night (pregame ceremonies) really adds school pride in those guys,” Rich said.

The scoreboards, which cost $210,000 according to Rich, will directly impact most of Trinity’s athletic programs, expanding beyond the football and basketball teams. According to Miller, the two sites combine to host approximately 150 events across more than a dozen high school and youth sports as well as band festivals.

To make sure the new boards accommodate these events appropriately, Miller said the school is looking for participation from its students and the surrounding community.

“I think those opportunities (for students), really is going to be pretty neat,” Miller said. “We’re hoping to have a lot of community involvement as well.”

The workings of the video boards will be entirely student-run, Miller said, and those interested in being involved will learn about the operations through a new portion of a sports marketing course offered at Trinity.

Along with enhancing in-game experience, Miller said, the improvements also will provide students who aren’t playing on a field or court a different way to showcase their talents in an athletic setting.

“There are kids out there who can’t compete on Friday night or that can’t compete on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” he said. “This gives kids the opportunity to highlight the things that they’re good at.”

In upgrading its scoreboards, Trinity is following schools in Washington County and across the WPIAL. Canon-McMillan made a similar upgrade to its in-game experience in the fall of 2016. Outside of Washington, Rich cited schools from the WPIAL, such as West Allegheny and North Allegheny, as helpful in getting the idea for a jumbotron off the ground.

In Greene County, West Greene will be upgrading its football scoreboard, though it won’t provide video.

Trinity plans on having the scoreboards ready in plenty of time for the football team’s home opener Aug. 30 against Greensburg Salem. Overall, Miller expects the game experience in 2019 to be better than in years past.

“There’s a lot of potential to create a game experience on Friday night that people will enjoy,” Miller said. “It’s going to be pretty exciting for our community, and especially our students.”

Rich and Miller were grateful to the Makripodises for their generosity.

“We’re just extremely appreciative to the Makripodis family for their generous donation,” Rich said.