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.