Most of you have probably read about it by now, but new Pitt AD Scott Barnes had a thorough interview session with four reporters Thursday at the Petersen Events Center. I was there, so I just wanted to drop in and give some miscellaneous thoughts after doing a little bit of talking but a lot more listening to the man who is now at the head of the athletic department. He'd already met a couple of the other journalists in attendance, but it was the first time for me, and he definitely seems like a sharp guy.
* The media opportunity was primarily to promote Pitt's recently announced Panther Fans Experience Committee, so naturally that was the jumping off point for the discussion. I think Barnes was pretty frank in his assertion that the athletic department needs to do a better job of listening to Pitt fans and legitimately taking into account their suggestions. I guess we'll find out just how much this committee will mean in terms of creating a true dialogue between the fans and administration, as opposed to how much of it is just a way to placate people who want to see success on the field/court. Barnes said Pitt football has 3,500 new season-ticket holders for this upcoming year, and obviously he wants to see that number grow even more.
* When asked about how he's going to begin to improve things and implement his plan, Barnes mainly hit on three corporate/management-type phrases: SWOT analysis, benchmarking and gap analysis. While the first one of those mainly just made me think of a very funny scene from the HBO show Silicon Valley (SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, for those unfamiliar), the second two pretty much deal with evaluating the program in comparison to the competition. One thing that apparently has already been brought to light by this is a greater need for private charter flights to help Pat Narduzzi and Jamie Dixon be more efficient in recruiting.
* Barnes was careful to note when going into some detail about his own strategies for his department, that he can't really stray too far from what the university is doing in general. "That’s a big ship that moves much slower than just athletics," he said, but then added, "but I think that in my first hundred days we’ll have a real clear idea of exactly what our priorities are."
* Any close follower of Pitt's sports — not just football and basketball, but the Olympic sports, too — probably has a pretty good idea of where most of them stand versus the rest of the ACC. Naturally, some are in better shape than others, a reality Barnes didn't shy away from. While he did say the ultimate goal for every program is to compete for championships (and of course maintain a high graduation rate), he made it clear that "for one sport, it may take seven years to get to where we want. Another sport, it may take three." He also added that comparing Pitt to a Florida State or a Louisville isn't apples to apples, and Pitt may not be able to the same staff salaries and things of that nature, but they'll do their best to try to close those gaps in other ways.
* I know a common topic of interest mentioned on here is whether Pitt will be able to improve the overall facilities, and Barnes said there will be a "master plan" for that over the next 10 years. He didn't really go into specifics on that, but mentioned that it could include some maintenance in addition to completely new facilities. Petersen Events Center and Heinz Field are two he singled out as being very happy with, but some practice and training facilities, not so much.
* Shortly before meeting with us, Barnes "sent out" his first tweet. I put that in quotes because he certainly wasn't sitting there setting up his own new Twitter account, but along those lines, he seems to understand the changing social media landscape as it pertains to sports. "It’s how you reach many constituents nowadays, so if we’re not utilizing that and being strategic about how we utilize that, whether it’s recruiting, reaching our fans, our donors, then we’re behind," he said. Obviously he has a football coach who certainly "gets it" when it comes to social media.
* Lastly, one of the bigger pieces of "news" more or less to come out of the meeting was what Barnes had to say about football scheduling. He was specifically asked first about West Virginia, but directed the conversation more toward Penn State. I suppose the money quote from that was Penn State is "a priority for us" while West Virginia is "an important factor, as well."
* Given that it's late June and Pitt football is much more on people's minds at this juncture than basketball, Barnes didn't have too much to say about the latter. He hasn't had as many talks with Jamie Dixon as he has with Narduzzi, but as far as scheduling on the basketball side (which is probably a valid concern), Barnes touched on the need to build fan interest but also be strategic in building your resume, your RPI, etc. And being the most recent chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, he certainly knows all about that.
If anyone has any other questions about what was discussed or even just some general stuff related to Barnes or whatever, feel free to ask.
* The media opportunity was primarily to promote Pitt's recently announced Panther Fans Experience Committee, so naturally that was the jumping off point for the discussion. I think Barnes was pretty frank in his assertion that the athletic department needs to do a better job of listening to Pitt fans and legitimately taking into account their suggestions. I guess we'll find out just how much this committee will mean in terms of creating a true dialogue between the fans and administration, as opposed to how much of it is just a way to placate people who want to see success on the field/court. Barnes said Pitt football has 3,500 new season-ticket holders for this upcoming year, and obviously he wants to see that number grow even more.
* When asked about how he's going to begin to improve things and implement his plan, Barnes mainly hit on three corporate/management-type phrases: SWOT analysis, benchmarking and gap analysis. While the first one of those mainly just made me think of a very funny scene from the HBO show Silicon Valley (SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, for those unfamiliar), the second two pretty much deal with evaluating the program in comparison to the competition. One thing that apparently has already been brought to light by this is a greater need for private charter flights to help Pat Narduzzi and Jamie Dixon be more efficient in recruiting.
* Barnes was careful to note when going into some detail about his own strategies for his department, that he can't really stray too far from what the university is doing in general. "That’s a big ship that moves much slower than just athletics," he said, but then added, "but I think that in my first hundred days we’ll have a real clear idea of exactly what our priorities are."
* Any close follower of Pitt's sports — not just football and basketball, but the Olympic sports, too — probably has a pretty good idea of where most of them stand versus the rest of the ACC. Naturally, some are in better shape than others, a reality Barnes didn't shy away from. While he did say the ultimate goal for every program is to compete for championships (and of course maintain a high graduation rate), he made it clear that "for one sport, it may take seven years to get to where we want. Another sport, it may take three." He also added that comparing Pitt to a Florida State or a Louisville isn't apples to apples, and Pitt may not be able to the same staff salaries and things of that nature, but they'll do their best to try to close those gaps in other ways.
* I know a common topic of interest mentioned on here is whether Pitt will be able to improve the overall facilities, and Barnes said there will be a "master plan" for that over the next 10 years. He didn't really go into specifics on that, but mentioned that it could include some maintenance in addition to completely new facilities. Petersen Events Center and Heinz Field are two he singled out as being very happy with, but some practice and training facilities, not so much.
* Shortly before meeting with us, Barnes "sent out" his first tweet. I put that in quotes because he certainly wasn't sitting there setting up his own new Twitter account, but along those lines, he seems to understand the changing social media landscape as it pertains to sports. "It’s how you reach many constituents nowadays, so if we’re not utilizing that and being strategic about how we utilize that, whether it’s recruiting, reaching our fans, our donors, then we’re behind," he said. Obviously he has a football coach who certainly "gets it" when it comes to social media.
* Lastly, one of the bigger pieces of "news" more or less to come out of the meeting was what Barnes had to say about football scheduling. He was specifically asked first about West Virginia, but directed the conversation more toward Penn State. I suppose the money quote from that was Penn State is "a priority for us" while West Virginia is "an important factor, as well."
* Given that it's late June and Pitt football is much more on people's minds at this juncture than basketball, Barnes didn't have too much to say about the latter. He hasn't had as many talks with Jamie Dixon as he has with Narduzzi, but as far as scheduling on the basketball side (which is probably a valid concern), Barnes touched on the need to build fan interest but also be strategic in building your resume, your RPI, etc. And being the most recent chair of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, he certainly knows all about that.
If anyone has any other questions about what was discussed or even just some general stuff related to Barnes or whatever, feel free to ask.
