..over PSU.
There are many reasons why a recruit picks the school they are going to go to.... but it seems the BWI folks think the thing that matters more than all else is how many butts are in the seats. If I were to list the pros and cons of picking Pitt vs PSU, there are many compelling arguments in Pitt's favor.
Practice Facility and Related:
Pitt players practice in a state-of-the-art facility 1 mile from campus alongside the greatest NFL franchise in history. While Pitt players are practicing, often just a few yards away are Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger, Leveon Bell, etc. That's what the Pitt players see at practice everyday. Before and after practice, they might cross paths with them in the lobby, at the cafeteria, etc.
At Penn State, when the player look a few yards away to see what's going on next to them at practice.... they see fields. They see cows. Lots of them. When they go the Lasch building to workout or shower after practice, does some small part of the back of their brain think about the atrocities that happened in the very showers they're standing in? Does that give them the heebie-jeebies?
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Education:
Both Pitt and Penn State are world-class institutions of higher learning. Both are routinely rated in the Top 50 or 75 universities in the world by publications that rate such things. Both have extremely high reputations for academic excellence.
ADVANTAGE: Tie
Chance to Compete for Championships:
Pitt plays in the ACC, which has sent a team to the National Title game in two of the past three years, and to the playoffs each of the past three years. Fortunately for Pitt, they are not in the division with either of those two teams. Pitt has a realistic chance to compete for Coastal Division Titles (and therefore, ACC Titles).
PSU plays in the Big Ten, which has a sent a team to the playoffs each of the past two years. Unfortunately for PSU, those two teams reside in the same division as them. There is no realistic chance for PSU to surpass Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan in their division in order to compete for Big Ten Titles anytime soon.
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Chance to Advance to the NFL:
Both Pitt and PSU have put several players into the NFL over the past several years. In Pitt's case, over the past 15 years, they have produced one of the best wideouts and a likely hall-of-famer at WR (Fitzgerald), one of the best RBs in the game today (McCoy), one of the best DBs in history and a likely hall-of-famer (Revis), the current best defensive player in the NFL (Donald). All of those players, each with multiple pro-Bowls and at the very top of their profession, passed through Pitt over the past 15 years.
In addition, Pat Narduzzi has gained a reputation of getting 2- and 3-star recruits, especially DBs, into the NFL as high draft picks.
Penn State has produced lots of NFL talent as well... actually more NFL players, but fewer superstars and potential all-time NFL greats. In Franklin's career at both Vanderbilt and PSU, he has not yet garnered the reputation of "coaching players up" to make them NFL-caliber draft picks.
ADVANTAGE: Slightly to PITT
Social Life and Life Experiences Outside of Football:
Let's face it. As soon as football season is over at PSU, there is not much to do to excite young people on weekends and such. A handful of college bars and a bunch of fraternities that really know how to party. That's about it.
At Pitt... there is ALWAYS something to do. The bar scene on the southside blows away anything that happens out in State College (and this is sometimes a detriment to Pitt football, as we saw during the Walt and Wanny years). Major musical acts come to perform in Pittsburgh that simply don't make stops in State College. There are Bucco games, Pens games, Steeler games, etc. for the sports fan. And in the offseason on campus, there is a basketball team that, more often than not, is relevant. If you're a student at Pitt and you get bored on weekends, that's on you.
As someone who has had a daughter go to both Pitt and PSU, I can tell you that - even though Pitt is closer - my daughter didn't come home on weekends complaining that she was bored. My daughter at PSU came home many weekends because there was simply NOTHING to do at PSU once football season was over.
For players of color, Pitt has a much more diverse student body that might make them feel more comfortable. Other than the sports teams at PSU, the student body and surrounding areas are lilly white. Not that there's inherently anything wrong with that, it is the nature of the demographics. It definitely could cause some recruits to wonder how they'll fit in, however. Culture shock.
As for the girls.... there are plenty of beautiful young ladies at both schools..... but Pitt's student population is nearly 60% female (due in large part to the large Nursing program) and PSU's population is almost 50-50. Not a big difference, but a difference.
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Gameday Experience:
Most Pitt home games the past few years have had 35,000 to 45,000 fans. Never below 35k, and only above 45k for matchups with Notre Dame or FSU. In a 68,000-seat stadium with bright yellow seats... 35,000 looks like 20,000. Admittedly, this is a problem. But as the 2003 season showed, when Pitt averaged 55,000 at Heinz and sold out 3 of the 6 games.... when there's a winner or something special going on, Pitt fans turn out. Narduzzi has generated excitement around the program and ticket sales are going up. Having 15,000 Pitt fans go to Annapolis for the Military Bowl was a big sign that the fan base is getting engaged again after years of upheaval that led to apathy. Next season, Pitt will average over 50k.... and yes, there will be 68,000+ at the PSU game - 20,000 of which will be PSU fans.... but there will be 45-55k at the other games.
PSU has a monster stadium that holds 107,000. Typically, they only have 85-90k at the games unless they are playing Michigan or Ohio State.... but still.... 85K is a huge crowd - and with bleacher-style seating in which the fans can spread out, 85K doesn't show the 20K empties as much. They have a very large student section, because they have 40,000 students on campus. Still, it is an atmosphere that is better than Pitt's currently - and that is something the Nits hang their hat on.
ADVANTAGE: PSU
Coaching Staff:
Narduzzi has shown himself to be a coach that players want to play for. He has also surrounded himself with a group that are relentless and excellent recruiters. James Franklin has also shown a great ability to sell his program to recruits, but the shine is wearing off already. His best assistant left for a lateral position and was replaced by someone who has never been a coordinator before. He has shown himself to be a subpar gameday coach. His handling of 5-star QB Christian Hackenberg has proven to be a huge negative recruiting point that opposing coaches can use against him.
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Summary:
It is very understandable why PSU fans harp on attendance, attendance, attendance, yellow seats, yellow seats, yellow seats. That's because it is really the ONLY advantage they have over Pitt. And they know it. It's why it is all they talk about.
They can't argue that the Big Ten is much better than the ACC. On Field results the past few years show the two conferences to be pretty even.
They can't argue that PSU is a surer path to the NFL than Pitt. That's been demonstrated to be untrue over the past few years.
They can't argue that they have a more stable coaching situation anymore. James Franklin can't hold on to his lieutenants... and according to objective observers outside of both Pitt and PSU, he'll be on the hot seat by the end of next year if he has another 7-win or less season. Narduzzi has stabilized the Pitt coaching situation and if there were betting odds on such things, Narduzzi would be likely to be at Pitt longer than Franklin is at PSU.
They talk about attendance, because that is all they have. They think it is all that matters to recruits, because it is all that matters to them.
There are many reasons why a recruit picks the school they are going to go to.... but it seems the BWI folks think the thing that matters more than all else is how many butts are in the seats. If I were to list the pros and cons of picking Pitt vs PSU, there are many compelling arguments in Pitt's favor.
Practice Facility and Related:
Pitt players practice in a state-of-the-art facility 1 mile from campus alongside the greatest NFL franchise in history. While Pitt players are practicing, often just a few yards away are Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger, Leveon Bell, etc. That's what the Pitt players see at practice everyday. Before and after practice, they might cross paths with them in the lobby, at the cafeteria, etc.
At Penn State, when the player look a few yards away to see what's going on next to them at practice.... they see fields. They see cows. Lots of them. When they go the Lasch building to workout or shower after practice, does some small part of the back of their brain think about the atrocities that happened in the very showers they're standing in? Does that give them the heebie-jeebies?
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Education:
Both Pitt and Penn State are world-class institutions of higher learning. Both are routinely rated in the Top 50 or 75 universities in the world by publications that rate such things. Both have extremely high reputations for academic excellence.
ADVANTAGE: Tie
Chance to Compete for Championships:
Pitt plays in the ACC, which has sent a team to the National Title game in two of the past three years, and to the playoffs each of the past three years. Fortunately for Pitt, they are not in the division with either of those two teams. Pitt has a realistic chance to compete for Coastal Division Titles (and therefore, ACC Titles).
PSU plays in the Big Ten, which has a sent a team to the playoffs each of the past two years. Unfortunately for PSU, those two teams reside in the same division as them. There is no realistic chance for PSU to surpass Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan in their division in order to compete for Big Ten Titles anytime soon.
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Chance to Advance to the NFL:
Both Pitt and PSU have put several players into the NFL over the past several years. In Pitt's case, over the past 15 years, they have produced one of the best wideouts and a likely hall-of-famer at WR (Fitzgerald), one of the best RBs in the game today (McCoy), one of the best DBs in history and a likely hall-of-famer (Revis), the current best defensive player in the NFL (Donald). All of those players, each with multiple pro-Bowls and at the very top of their profession, passed through Pitt over the past 15 years.
In addition, Pat Narduzzi has gained a reputation of getting 2- and 3-star recruits, especially DBs, into the NFL as high draft picks.
Penn State has produced lots of NFL talent as well... actually more NFL players, but fewer superstars and potential all-time NFL greats. In Franklin's career at both Vanderbilt and PSU, he has not yet garnered the reputation of "coaching players up" to make them NFL-caliber draft picks.
ADVANTAGE: Slightly to PITT
Social Life and Life Experiences Outside of Football:
Let's face it. As soon as football season is over at PSU, there is not much to do to excite young people on weekends and such. A handful of college bars and a bunch of fraternities that really know how to party. That's about it.
At Pitt... there is ALWAYS something to do. The bar scene on the southside blows away anything that happens out in State College (and this is sometimes a detriment to Pitt football, as we saw during the Walt and Wanny years). Major musical acts come to perform in Pittsburgh that simply don't make stops in State College. There are Bucco games, Pens games, Steeler games, etc. for the sports fan. And in the offseason on campus, there is a basketball team that, more often than not, is relevant. If you're a student at Pitt and you get bored on weekends, that's on you.
As someone who has had a daughter go to both Pitt and PSU, I can tell you that - even though Pitt is closer - my daughter didn't come home on weekends complaining that she was bored. My daughter at PSU came home many weekends because there was simply NOTHING to do at PSU once football season was over.
For players of color, Pitt has a much more diverse student body that might make them feel more comfortable. Other than the sports teams at PSU, the student body and surrounding areas are lilly white. Not that there's inherently anything wrong with that, it is the nature of the demographics. It definitely could cause some recruits to wonder how they'll fit in, however. Culture shock.
As for the girls.... there are plenty of beautiful young ladies at both schools..... but Pitt's student population is nearly 60% female (due in large part to the large Nursing program) and PSU's population is almost 50-50. Not a big difference, but a difference.
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Gameday Experience:
Most Pitt home games the past few years have had 35,000 to 45,000 fans. Never below 35k, and only above 45k for matchups with Notre Dame or FSU. In a 68,000-seat stadium with bright yellow seats... 35,000 looks like 20,000. Admittedly, this is a problem. But as the 2003 season showed, when Pitt averaged 55,000 at Heinz and sold out 3 of the 6 games.... when there's a winner or something special going on, Pitt fans turn out. Narduzzi has generated excitement around the program and ticket sales are going up. Having 15,000 Pitt fans go to Annapolis for the Military Bowl was a big sign that the fan base is getting engaged again after years of upheaval that led to apathy. Next season, Pitt will average over 50k.... and yes, there will be 68,000+ at the PSU game - 20,000 of which will be PSU fans.... but there will be 45-55k at the other games.
PSU has a monster stadium that holds 107,000. Typically, they only have 85-90k at the games unless they are playing Michigan or Ohio State.... but still.... 85K is a huge crowd - and with bleacher-style seating in which the fans can spread out, 85K doesn't show the 20K empties as much. They have a very large student section, because they have 40,000 students on campus. Still, it is an atmosphere that is better than Pitt's currently - and that is something the Nits hang their hat on.
ADVANTAGE: PSU
Coaching Staff:
Narduzzi has shown himself to be a coach that players want to play for. He has also surrounded himself with a group that are relentless and excellent recruiters. James Franklin has also shown a great ability to sell his program to recruits, but the shine is wearing off already. His best assistant left for a lateral position and was replaced by someone who has never been a coordinator before. He has shown himself to be a subpar gameday coach. His handling of 5-star QB Christian Hackenberg has proven to be a huge negative recruiting point that opposing coaches can use against him.
ADVANTAGE: PITT
Summary:
It is very understandable why PSU fans harp on attendance, attendance, attendance, yellow seats, yellow seats, yellow seats. That's because it is really the ONLY advantage they have over Pitt. And they know it. It's why it is all they talk about.
They can't argue that the Big Ten is much better than the ACC. On Field results the past few years show the two conferences to be pretty even.
They can't argue that PSU is a surer path to the NFL than Pitt. That's been demonstrated to be untrue over the past few years.
They can't argue that they have a more stable coaching situation anymore. James Franklin can't hold on to his lieutenants... and according to objective observers outside of both Pitt and PSU, he'll be on the hot seat by the end of next year if he has another 7-win or less season. Narduzzi has stabilized the Pitt coaching situation and if there were betting odds on such things, Narduzzi would be likely to be at Pitt longer than Franklin is at PSU.
They talk about attendance, because that is all they have. They think it is all that matters to recruits, because it is all that matters to them.
