Golden Panthers

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Pitt like SMU fell prey to the lack of the old guards like at Texas.

SMU was a whole different kettle of fish. At SMU the people paying the players weren't just boosters, they were members of the school's Board of Trustees. And after those Board members got caught paying players and the school was sanctioned the first time, those Board members got together and decided that it just wouldn't be fair to all those players that they had promised to pay for them to stop paying them since they were still playing for the school, so they decided to continue right on paying them as if nothing had happened with the NCAA.

At most schools they are smart enough to not have the people paying the players being the ones who are charged with running the school. I guess SMU figured they were just cutting out the middle man, but I don't think anyone has gotten caught cheating quite the way that they were.

 

[caleco's]

The downfall really started with embezzling: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-10-13-9104020817-story.html

great find thanks for sharing that

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

There is some truth to that. Lol. Let me just say that they got things done by by-passing a lot of the bureaucracy.

And pocketing plenty of the cash

 

[pitt90seven]

SMU was a whole different kettle of fish. At SMU the people paying the players weren't just boosters, they were members of the school's Board of Trustees. And after those Board members got caught paying players and the school was sanctioned the first time, those Board members got together and decided that it just wouldn't be fair to all those players that they had promised to pay for them to stop paying them since they were still playing for the school, so they decided to continue right on paying them as if nothing had happened with the NCAA.

At most schools they are smart enough to not have the people paying the players being the ones who are charged with running the school. I guess SMU figured they were just cutting out the middle man, but I don't think anyone has gotten caught cheating quite the way that they were.

moral of the story: cheat all you want but use middle men. other schools learned that well.

it still drives me nuts that PSU thinks they were clean through all that. i know a kid who got a full gym installed in his house from uncle joe. i mean, he didn't buy it himself but everyone knows where it came from.

 

[TFBaum]

great find thanks for sharing that

The collection of fools that Pitt hired is amazing.

 

[pitt90seven]

The collection of fools that Pitt hired is amazing.

you just wonder how the BOT allowed it. "well, we've had this really great football team and it's done wonders for the school. but let's scrap all of that fun." wonder who was the leader of that nonsense and let it happen. i'd like to confront those people.

 

[pittguy81]

you just wonder how the BOT allowed it. "well, we've had this really great football team and it's done wonders for the school. but let's scrap all of that fun." wonder who was the leader of that nonsense and let it happen. i'd like to confront those people.

Pitt has always had this weird tension between the Academics/Eggheads and Athletic Department when it was experiencing periods of success. It goes all the way to Jock Sutherland who left after winning 5 National Championships because the Chancellor made the decision to de-emphasize football and do away with scholarships. AGE old problem for Pitt

 

[TFBaum]

Pitt has always had this weird tension between the Academics/Eggheads and Athletic Department when it was experiencing periods of success. It goes all the way to Jock Sutherland who left after winning 5 National Championships because the Chancellor made the decision to de-emphasize football and do away with scholarships. AGE old problem for Pitt

There should be a simple rule for schools like Pitt any Chancellor must have played a varsity sport in college. The boneheads at some of these schools hate the fact that they are less valuable then the football coach.

 

[pitt90seven]

Pitt has always had this weird tension between the Academics/Eggheads and Athletic Department when it was experiencing periods of success. It goes all the way to Jock Sutherland who left after winning 5 National Championships because the Chancellor made the decision to de-emphasize football and do away with scholarships. AGE old problem for Pitt

i want names!!!

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

We need Conjuncto to chime in...

One of the best characters in Pitt message board history. I thought he would be like UGA message board legend, 3-year Letterman, who went on to achieve national notoriety. But we haven't seen that yet.

 

[Macchiato]

One of the best characters in Pitt message board history. I thought he would be like UGA message board legend 3-year Letterman who went on to achieve national notoriety. But we haven't seen that yet.

Maybe one day he will have a son emerge so we can have three generations of family lineage leading the way. He was definitely one of a kind. He was undefeated and unscored upon.

 

[Slick Manager of Champs]

J. Dennis O'Connor made such an impression on you that you don't even remember his name.

Or have you just done a good job forgetting that putz?

He's another one that seemed like a perfect hire. Former jock who came from a school that didn't mind bending the rules to win (UNC). Should have known it would be a disaster when upon taking office the first thing he did was spend $90k in remodeling it. We needed strong leadership with the retirements of Bozik & Posvar and instead we got O'Conner & Jaynes. You can't make this stuff up.

 

[pittguy81]

He's another one that seemed like a perfect hire. Former jock who came from a school that didn't mind bending the rules to win (UNC). Should have known it would be a disaster when upon taking office the first thing he did was spend $90k in remodeling it. We needed strong leadership with the retirements of Bozik & Posvar and instead we got O'Conner & Jaynes. You can't make this stuff up.

Bozik was clown shoes. He fired AD Cas Myslinski and removed support from Jackie Sherrill basically inviting him to leave for Texas A&M

 

[Panther Holla]

He's another one that seemed like a perfect hire. Former jock who came from a school that didn't mind bending the rules to win (UNC). Should have known it would be a disaster when upon taking office the first thing he did was spend $90k in remodeling it. We needed strong leadership with the retirements of Bozik & Posvar and instead we got O'Conner & Jaynes. You can't make this stuff up.

Oval. Effing. Jaynes.

 

[CougarClaws]

We desperately need Pitt to start their own slush club fund. The academic gurus have gotten a stranglehold of our athletic dept and that's why it's been mediocre on the football front. Pitt can still resurrect the football program but it will take additional $$$ that isn't college funded. It can be done again but it's more difficult to pull off especially in a city where news travels fast and with social media being king these days. JMO

You need at least 1 big season to get that ball rolling IMO.

 

[pierre93]

You need at least 1 big season to get that ball rolling IMO.

Agree, I'm in after we can win 10+ game season.

 

[HailToPitt1985]

I was a member of the Golden Panthers.....But I am sworn to secrecy!

I was a member, too. If I talked, I'd be at the bottom of the Allegheny River by tomorrow morning.

 

[pierre93]

I was a member, too. If I talked, I'd be at the bottom of the Allegheny River by tomorrow morning.

Lol haha

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

moral of the story: cheat all you want but use middle men. other schools learned that well.

Yeah, exactly. There is no plausible deniability when the people running the school are also the ones who were literally sitting around discussing how much money individual players should get and were also the ones in some cases handing the kids the envelopes with the cash in it.


"What? Some rogue booster was paying our football players behind our backs? Well that's awful but how could we have possibly known that?"

"What? The two guys who always sit next to me at the Board of Trustees meetings and the guy who always sat across the table from them were paying our football players? Well how could we have possibly known, ah, um, er. Never mind."

 

[Panther_in_Kentucky]

Thanks for link. I had forgotten about all of this.

Oval Jaynes.
Again, Pitt run by the dumbest people to walk the face of the earth.

 

[HailtoPitt]

One of the best characters in Pitt message board history. I thought he would be like UGA message board legend, 3-year Letterman, who went on to achieve national notoriety. But we haven't seen that yet.

Which one of you jabronies is really The Conjunto Panther?

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Donations never made it to the “fund” without a cut for the vig

 

[Panther_in_Kentucky]

you just wonder how the BOT allowed it. "well, we've had this really great football team and it's done wonders for the school. but let's scrap all of that fun." wonder who was the leader of that nonsense and let it happen. i'd like to confront those people.

BOT's:. " We'll, we've had this great football program that has gained Pitt national prestige and 20 times more publicity than we've paid for but we have to tear it down because all the Penn State alumni we've hired said it's bad and we need to do it like them! You know Success with Honor! "

Pitt, to this day, run by the Dumbest "Smart" people to walk the face of the Earth. I never understood why the people of Pittsburgh never fully supported Pitt. Now I completely understand.