Heather Lyke

[ThePanthers]

It was down before Covid. They just haven’t been able to replace the major donors who’ve passed away.

This is where she is going to have to earn her money then. You probably know more of the details, but it seems Pitt has to consistently go to the same well over and over again for anything major and has for decades. Now that these individuals are passing away, and it seems past ADs have failed to cultivate new major donors, we are behind the 8 ball.

Honestly, this to me is #1 on whether she is a success or not. Donors, especially major ones, are the lifeblood of college athletics. We (in a conference) are all on even footing with media rights revenue, etc, it's donors that set apart.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

This is where she is going to have to earn her money then. You probably know more of the details, but it seems Pitt has to consistently go to the same well over and over again for anything major and has for decades. Now that these individuals are passing away, and it seems past ADs have failed to cultivate new major donors, we are behind the 8 ball.

Honestly, this to me is #1 on whether she is a success or not. Donors, especially major ones, are the lifeblood of college athletics. We (in a conference) are all on even footing with media rights revenue, etc, it's donors that set apart.

And as we know, Pitt football and basketball games are AARP conventions. We are turning very few Pitt grads into football and basketball fans/donors. Who the heck is going to replace the old donors as they die off?

Honestly, I thought she would land a major gift for the volleyball arena but hasn't which is why we have finance the whole thing. I don't know what the answer is but fundraising is Pitt is extremely difficult. The main reason is that students who choose to go to Pitt, are, on the average, not your big college sports fanboys. Those kids go to Penn State, Ohio State, etc. Also most sports fans who go to Pitt are diehard Steeler and Penguins fans coming in. They may pay attention to Pitt when they're on campus and go to games but its their 3rd team and I've always had the theory that a person can only truly LOVE/be invested in 2 teams. Its difficult for Pitt to ask diehard Steeler/Penguin fans for donations.

 

[WannyandWalt]

My son is 26, a new doctor , donor, been going to games since he could walk, just like my dad did with me. The difference there are as not as many parents like me left, I got to see good football , he has not , so there is not much excitement in these last few generations and I do blame Pitt administration for much of this. Sorry

 

[bwh05]

This is where she is going to have to earn her money then. You probably know more of the details, but it seems Pitt has to consistently go to the same well over and over again for anything major and has for decades. Now that these individuals are passing away, and it seems past ADs have failed to cultivate new major donors, we are behind the 8 ball.

Honestly, this to me is #1 on whether she is a success or not. Donors, especially major ones, are the lifeblood of college athletics. We (in a conference) are all on even footing with media rights revenue, etc, it's donors that set apart.

I agree. All the other things are well and good, but we need to raise money. I know it's not an easy thing to do, but that's why she's getting paid a lot of money.

 

[thebadby2]

You get it and are very level headed, I am done level with this staff I have to admit. I also admit I once supported Duzz, no more, he is a bumbling fool on Saturdays and Salem is a moron on the recruiting trail. Just how I feel since 2018

For clarification, I do not share your extreme views on these subjects. It's not all one big $hit sandwich in my view. All I'm saying is that I genuinely believe that Pitt football can do meaningfully better on a consistent basis than it has been doing for decades now, and that after the last 6 years of pretty much the same old same old I'm confident this is not the coach that's going to make that happen. If he pulls a 9 or even 10 win season off this one year--his seventh--but falls back to 6-8 next year, that wil not change my perception in any way.

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

H the

But a lot of unfair criticisms and undue praise being tossed around too.

You just described the core essence of Pantherlair discourse on any topic. The handful of reasonable and objective posters in the middle are too few to warrant mention.

How are those in the middle reasonable and objective? That’s an incredibly biased point of view.

Also, I am sure you consider yourself part of the wise middle?

 

[IRoar4Pitt]

This. Also shows she is a wanted asset and not some dud some Pitt fans believe her to be. It would be a big loss if she left, especially right now IMO.

Amen to that!

 

[TD_6082]

For clarification, I do not share your extreme views on these subjects. It's not all one big $hit sandwich in my view. All I'm saying is that I genuinely believe that Pitt football can do meaningfully better on a consistent basis than it has been doing for decades now, and that after the last 6 years of pretty much the same old same old I'm confident this is not the coach that's going to make that happen. If he pulls a 9 or even 10 win season off this one year--his seventh--but falls back to 6-8 next year, that wil not change my perception in any way.

Pitt, unless the opponent is top 5 caliber, is competitive most of the time with a chance to win in the 4th qtr. That should be good enough to keep a job at Pitt.

I don't see how you expect any coach to win 9 or 10 games & finish in the top 25 consistently at Pitt when Pitt struggles to recruit Top 20 to 30 type classes. Mediocre rosters yend to produce mediocre results & we have fielded a very talented team in over 30 years.

SMF has a point about donors. In this day and age,, what's the difference between winning 7, 8, 9, or 10 at a place like Pittsburgh? It's not like 10 wins and a non-playoff bowl birth would generate much excitement.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

For clarification, I do not share your extreme views on these subjects. It's not all one big $hit sandwich in my view. All I'm saying is that I genuinely believe that Pitt football can do meaningfully better on a consistent basis than it has been doing for decades now, and that after the last 6 years of pretty much the same old same old I'm confident this is not the coach that's going to make that happen. If he pulls a 9 or even 10 win season off this one year--his seventh--but falls back to 6-8 next year, that wil not change my perception in any way.

Pitt football meaningfully better on a consistent basis than it has been doing for decades now

Agree, but to do it consistently you have to at least do it once (whomever the coach). There's a list of similiar programs that have. That's where I'm at. At least show me once or twice in a row and maybe more hope (money) will start to follow. Right now I have 2 Top20 finishes, 1 3 loss season, 1 four way BE tie and 1 unranked Coastal since 1989....tough sell to convince to be bullish.

 

[TD_6082]

Pitt football meaningfully better on a consistent basis than it has been doing for decades now

Agree, but to do it consistently you have to at least do it once (whomever the coach). There's a list of similiar programs that have. That's where I'm at. At least show me once or twice in a row and maybe more hope (money) will start to follow. Right now I have 2 Top20 finishes, 1 3 loss season, 1 four way BE tie and 1 unranked Coastal since 1989....tough sell to convince to be bullish.

2 BE Titles (co-champs) and 1 ACC Coastal title. Both years they put Big East hardware in the trophy case, the coach was fired.

I don't think we've even had one top 10 recruiting class since the 80s.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

View embedded media

Does that kill the raise?

 

[pittmeister]

Does that kill the raise?

Nope. It only gives Heather less leverage. She will get a new contract sometime after the first of the year

 

[FallingRun84]

Kind of arrogant and aggressive for ADHL to release her statement when the contact could not have gone much further than an inquire. Or maybe she already has the desired results from Pitt, they are not announced, and she told MSU she will not be a candidate.

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

Kind of arrogant and aggressive for ADHL to release her statement when the contact could not have gone much further than an inquire. Or maybe she already has the desired results from Pitt, they are not announced, and she told MSU she will not be a candidate.

That is the new corporate culture. After all, they are all spending someone’s money on each other.

 

[pittdan77]

Kind of arrogant and aggressive for ADHL to release her statement when the contact could not have gone much further than an inquire. Or maybe she already has the desired results from Pitt, they are not announced, and she told MSU she will not be a candidate.

You're assuming that it was MSU's decision. She could have gotten some assurances from Pitt and pulled her name.

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

You're assuming that it was MSU's decision. She could have gotten some assurances from Pitt and pulled her name.

Could be true also. But it still can have a bad appearance for those who don’t like the politics of academia.

 

[pittdan77]

Could be true also. But it still can have a bad appearance for those who don’t like the politics of academia.

Hey, we're all out here looking out for our own interests. I think leveraging someone else's offer is just how things work in certain industries.

 

[FallingRun84]

You're assuming that it was MSU's decision. She could have gotten some assurances from Pitt and pulled her name.

That is what I implied with the statement after the Or

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I don't see how you expect any coach to win 9 or 10 games & finish in the top 25 consistently at Pitt when Pitt struggles to recruit Top 20 to 30 type classes.

But part of the reason that Pitt struggles to get top 20-30 classes is that Pitt continually hires coaches who turn out to be thoroughly mediocre, both with game day coaching and on the recruiting trail. It's not like 35 or 40 is the absolute best that Pitt could do in recruiting. I mean it might Narduzzi's ceiling in most years, but lets not pretend he's some sort of dynamic recruiter.

Sure, if you want to say that Pitt isn't going to be a national championship contender then yeah, absolutely, that's not going to happen. But to argue that Pitt simply can't do any better than what they have done isn't reflected in reality. Because others actually HAVE done it.

 

[thebadby2]

But part of the reason that Pitt struggles to get top 20-30 classes is that Pitt continually hires coaches who turn out to be thoroughly mediocre, both with game day coaching and on the recruiting trail. It's not like 35 or 40 is the absolute best that Pitt could do in recruiting. I mean it might Narduzzi's ceiling in most years, but lets not pretend he's some sort of dynamic recruiter.

Sure, if you want to say that Pitt isn't going to be a national championship contender then yeah, absolutely, that's not going to happen. But to argue that Pitt simply can't do any better than what they have done isn't reflected in reality. Because others actually HAVE done it.

It’s there for the taking in the Coastal. Nobody will expect a win over Clemson but wins over the rest of the dogs in that league should be expected every week. And I don’t care if it’s some rising guy from a lower level that will only stay at Pitt until he gets the big job. I’d rather have the young Brian Kelly, Jim Tressel, Urban mid-major ass kicker type while they’re on their upward trajectory for 3-4 years and have the Pitt program make some loud noise than just the same old lackluster results consistently for a long term.

 

[WannyandWalt]

But part of the reason that Pitt struggles to get top 20-30 classes is that Pitt continually hires coaches who turn out to be thoroughly mediocre, both with game day coaching and on the recruiting trail. It's not like 35 or 40 is the absolute best that Pitt could do in recruiting. I mean it might Narduzzi's ceiling in most years, but lets not pretend he's some sort of dynamic recruiter.

Sure, if you want to say that Pitt isn't going to be a national championship contender then yeah, absolutely, that's not going to happen. But to argue that Pitt simply can't do any better than what they have done isn't reflected in reality. Because others actually HAVE done it.

I am anti Duzz as much as he is pro Duzz like a poster said , both have clouded views, I admit it , he doesn't

 

[TD_6082]

But part of the reason that Pitt struggles to get top 20-30 classes is that Pitt continually hires coaches who turn out to be thoroughly mediocre, both with game day coaching and on the recruiting trail. It's not like 35 or 40 is the absolute best that Pitt could do in recruiting. I mean it might Narduzzi's ceiling in most years, but lets not pretend he's some sort of dynamic recruiter.

Sure, if you want to say that Pitt isn't going to be a national championship contender then yeah, absolutely, that's not going to happen. But to argue that Pitt simply can't do any better than what they have done isn't reflected in reality. Because others actually HAVE done it.

I consider Wanny a dynamic recruiter & his classes were nothing more than mediocre.

Pitt can't do significantly better than they are now. They can do a lot worse.

Recruiting has been terrible since the Gottfried years.

 

[pittiswhereiamfrom2]

Hey, we're all out here looking out for our own interests. I think leveraging someone else's offer is just how things work in certain industries.

Not all of us live life taking advantage of every opportunity to “leverage” everything for ourselves. That is called selfishness and when that becomes the prevailing attitude, societies fail.

The whole world is not like that. But the whole world is being influenced negatively by the modern American way.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Kind of arrogant and aggressive for ADHL to release her statement when the contact could not have gone much further than an inquire. Or maybe she already has the desired results from Pitt, they are not announced, and she told MSU she will not be a candidate.

I don't think it was at all. Thought MSU would be in overpay mode with their situation and she would be gone.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

But part of the reason that Pitt struggles to get top 20-30 classes is that Pitt continually hires coaches who turn out to be thoroughly mediocre, both with game day coaching and on the recruiting trail. It's not like 35 or 40 is the absolute best that Pitt could do in recruiting. I mean it might Narduzzi's ceiling in most years, but lets not pretend he's some sort of dynamic recruiter.

Sure, if you want to say that Pitt isn't going to be a national championship contender then yeah, absolutely, that's not going to happen. But to argue that Pitt simply can't do any better than what they have done isn't reflected in reality. Because others actually HAVE done it.

Duzz has to be one of the most consistent coaches in the country. Solidly, mediocre. His team will finish with between 4 and 6 regular season losses and his recruiting class will be ranked 35-50. It doesn't get more average than that. We can certainly do worse that but my feeling is he has 2 years left. He's got to win 9 games this year or next year. Maybe 8 buys him another but he can't go 7-5 and 6-6 these next 2 years.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

Kind of arrogant and aggressive for ADHL to release her statement when the contact could not have gone much further than an inquire. Or maybe she already has the desired results from Pitt, they are not announced, and she told MSU she will not be a candidate.

This is leverage 101 and everyone uses this in business at one time or another....including me!

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

I’m glad she is staying. Who in their right mind wants Gallagher to make another AD hire?

 

[pittdan77]

Not all of us live life taking advantage of every opportunity to “leverage” everything for ourselves. That is called selfishness and when that becomes the prevailing attitude, societies fail.

The whole world is not like that. But the whole world is being influenced negatively by the modern American way.

I don't know enough about her situation to know if it's selfishness or not. I get your point and don't necessarily disagree. I just don't see an AD at Pitt being nearly as dangerous as someone "squirling" away their next billion dollars on the backs of someone else. I'm sure we have some philosophical differences but I understand your point.

 

[pittchagg]

I’m glad she is staying. Who in their right mind wants Gallagher to make another AD hire?

The last one he made was pretty darn good. Gallagher's been an excellent chancellor at Pitt, and it's okay to have full confidence in his hiring abilities.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

The last one he made was pretty darn good. Gallagher's been an excellent chancellor at Pitt, and it's okay to have full confidence in his hiring abilities.

Full confidence? I wouldn't say that. Heather has been good for Pitt, but what Gallagher did to basketball outweighs the Lyke hiring. What he's done for academics I don't care about.

 

[HailToPitt725]

I’m glad she is staying. Who in their right mind wants Gallagher to make another AD hire?

Where has it been reported that she’s staying? Sorry, haven’t gone through this whole thread.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

Where has it been reported that she’s staying? Sorry, haven’t gone through this whole thread.

MSU hired a guy internally.

 

[thebadby2]

I don't think it was at all. Thought MSU would be in overpay mode with their situation and she would be gone.

I don’t believe she was ever a serious candidate there and her contact with MSU was through MSU’s search service—the very same search service that brought Stallings to Pitt. MSU hired one of their own from within which I suspect was the plan all along, the “search” was just for the sake of window dressing as is necessary these days. Frankly I think Heather is better qualified for the job than the guy they hired, as are a couple of other of the names mentioned in connection with the job. But Haller is a MSU lifer and has been waiting his turn there for a very long time.

 

[TD_6082]

It’s there for the taking in the Coastal. Nobody will expect a win over Clemson but wins over the rest of the dogs in that league should be expected every week. And I don’t care if it’s some rising guy from a lower level that will only stay at Pitt until he gets the big job. I’d rather have the young Brian Kelly, Jim Tressel, Urban mid-major ass kicker type while they’re on their upward trajectory for 3-4 years and have the Pitt program make some loud noise than just the same old lackluster results consistently for a long term.

The rising guy from a lower level? Didn't Pitt go that route in Mike Haywood/Todd Graham? Weren't these guys considered the mid-major ass kicking young up-and-comers recently?

Opening a revolving door trying to find the next Urban Meyer is basically like trying to buy a lottery ticket. It's easy to drive the program into the ground trying to find that guy. And imo, I don't think Kelly or Tressel would produce anything much better than what we have had at Pitt. Kelly is upper-level mediocrity personified. 15 years coaching major college football & he's yet to win a major bowl game. If his team is playing elite competition, you have a guaranteed ass-beating with Kelly providing the ass. The lone exception was game vs Clemson last year when Trevor sat. The Irish were back to form in the ACC Championship game.

Tressel was basically John Cooper with a lucky PI call.

 

[LeftCoastPanther]

Tressel was a hellava lot better than Cooper. Jimmy T started the trend of beating Michigan and winning bowl games, the opposite of Cooper. I give Cooper credit though, he elevated Ohio State's recruiting.

 

[thebadby2]

The rising guy from a lower level? Didn't Pitt go that route in Mike Haywood/Todd Graham? Weren't these guys considered the mid-major ass kicking young up-and-comers recently?

Opening a revolving door trying to find the next Urban Meyer is basically like trying to buy a lottery ticket. It's easy to drive the program into the ground trying to find that guy. And imo, I don't think Kelly or Tressel would produce anything much better than what we have had at Pitt. Kelly is upper-level mediocrity personified. 15 years coaching major college football & he's yet to win a major bowl game. If his team is playing elite competition, you have a guaranteed ass-beating with Kelly providing the ass. The lone exception was game vs Clemson last year when Trevor sat. The Irish were back to form in the ACC Championship game.

Tressel was basically John Cooper with a lucky PI call.

There's too much in that post that I fundamentally disagree with to waste my time trying. I'll leave it at this--you can have your annual 7-5 season and Irrelevance Bowl loss, I'm glad that works for you. I not only believe Pitt can be better than that, I know it can be.

 

[TD_6082]

There's too much in that post that I fundamentally disagree with to waste my time trying. I'll leave it at this--you can have your annual 7-5 season and Irrelevance Bowl loss, I'm glad that works for you. I not only believe Pitt can be better than that, I know it can be.

I totally agree with you that Pitt can be better than that. I not arguing that.

 

[TD_6082]

Tressel was a hellava lot better than Cooper. Jimmy T started the trend of beating Michigan and winning bowl games, the opposite of Cooper. I give Cooper credit though, he elevated Ohio State's recruiting.

Tressel was more consistent. More importantly, he beat Michigan. That said, I think Cooper had 3 teams that were better than any tOSU team Tressel had. (1995, 1996, and 1998) If there were a 4 team playoff back then, I think he would have a couple of titles.

It was a disgrace that FSU was selected for the BCS title game in 1998 over tOSU. FSU had a blowout loss to NC State early in the year, while tOSU choked a 2 TD lead away to Sparty. FSU had a freaking walk-on QB going into the title game. That tOSU team would have walked the dog on either Tennessee or FSU.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The rising guy from a lower level? Didn't Pitt go that route in Mike Haywood/Todd Graham? Weren't these guys considered the mid-major ass kicking young up-and-comers recently?

Wait, you thought that Mike Haywood, 10-15 record in two seasons coaching in the MAC was a "mid-major ass kicker" and a "young up-and-comer"?

Well that certainly explains a lot.