Lyke has done more good in less time...

[Saboteur]

She inherited a dumpster fire in men's basketball.
She inherited a dumpster fire in women's basketball.
She inherited a dumpster in men's soccer.
She inherited a golf coach masquerading as a swim coach.
She inherited a gymnastics team looking for a leader.
She hired a legendary men's soccer coach who got immediate results.
She fired the men's basketball coach, had the balls to go on the offensive with him, endured and ignored the Pikks burgh media rants over not getting Hurley and hired a coveted coach.
She fired Surly Suzie.
She hired a coach who has the gymnastics team back in the regionals here in Columbus.
This woman has some serious chops!
Post script.
5-4 Pens win !!!

 

[CrazyPaco]

She inherited a dumpster fire in men's basketball.
She inherited a dumpster fire in women's basketball.
She inherited a dumpster in men's soccer.
She inherited a golf coach masquerading as a swim coach.
She inherited a gymnastics team looking for a leader.
She hired a legendary men's soccer coach who got immediate results.
She fired the men's basketball coach, had the balls to go on the offensive with him, endured and ignored the Pikks burgh media rants over not getting Hurley and hired a coveted coach.
She fired Surly Suzie.
She hired a coach who has the gymnastics team back in the regionals here in Columbus.
This woman has some serious chops!
Post script.
5-4 Pens win !!!

Lyke did not hire Jay Vidovich. Barnes did. I don't know what you are talking about with the swimming coach. Hargis was only a year on the job when she arrived.

She did hire a highly regarded women's soccer coach.

 

[Saboteur]

Lyke did not hire Jay Vidovich. Barnes did. I don't know what you are talking about with the swimming coach. Hargis was only a year on the job when she arrived.

She did hire a highly regarded women's soccer coach.

Thanks for the correction. The swim coach, Chuck, wasn't a swimmer, but did play golf in college.

 

[WCSordill]

Thanks for the correction. The swim coach, Chuck, wasn't a swimmer, but did play golf in college.

Regardless, I agree. She has serious chops. I think she is the real deal.

 

[CrazyPaco]

Thanks for the correction. The swim coach, Chuck, wasn't a swimmer, but did play golf in college.

All Chuck Knoles did was win 11 Big East Championships and 6 COY awards over his 26 years, get inducted into the PA swimming HOF, and that was with crap support and without a full complement of scholarships. Yeah, Pitt tailed off and struggled once it entered the much more competitive ACC, but I don't think he's a coach you want to bag on.

 

[Pantherguy4]

Don't forget Keith Gavin as wrestling coach! I believe that to be another excellent hire.

 

[Pitt-Chains]

Don't forget Keith Gavin as wrestling coach! I believe that to be another excellent hire.

I'll make certain to congratulate Heather at the spring game and would encourage others to do the same.

 

[Delpanther]

She inherited a dumpster fire in men's basketball.
She inherited a dumpster fire in women's basketball.
She inherited a dumpster in men's soccer.
She inherited a golf coach masquerading as a swim coach.
She inherited a gymnastics team looking for a leader.
She hired a legendary men's soccer coach who got immediate results.
She fired the men's basketball coach, had the balls to go on the offensive with him, endured and ignored the Pikks burgh media rants over not getting Hurley and hired a coveted coach.
She fired Surly Suzie.
She hired a coach who has the gymnastics team back in the regionals here in Columbus.
This woman has some serious chops!
Post script.
5-4 Pens win !!!

She's hired quite a few new coaches. She will, however, be measured by the success of the coaches she hired and not simply by having axed bad coaches. I would say that she also needs to address and fix the fund raising issue and the FB attendance/atmosphere issues. She deserves, however, a large degree of credit for her decisiveness in terminating the coaches she did.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

All Chuck Knoles did was win 11 Big East Championships and 6 COY awards over his 26 years, get inducted into the PA swimming HOF, and that was with crap support and without a full complement of scholarships. Yeah, Pitt tailed off and struggled once it entered the much more competitive ACC, but I don't think he's a coach you want to bag on.

Wah. Pitt's Athletic Department was a friggin joke. It might as well been Duquesne without football. It is good to see they are taking things seriously.

 

[Saboteur]

All Chuck Knoles did was win 11 Big East Championships and 6 COY awards over his 26 years, get inducted into the PA swimming HOF, and that was with crap support and without a full complement of scholarships. Yeah, Pitt tailed off and struggled once it entered the much more competitive ACC, but I don't think he's a coach you want to bag on.

Sorry, but I call BS. Spend some time in Trees Pool and look at the records and the banners. They stop suddenly in the 1990's. Unless I am mistaken, Pitt does not hold a single pool record (apart from diving perhaps) for either an individual swimmer or any relay.
When the competition was "watered down" in the early days of the Big East, it was easy.

 

[CrazyPaco]

Sorry, but I call BS. Spend some time in Trees Pool and look at the records and the banners. They stop suddenly in the 1990's. Unless I am mistaken, Pitt does not hold a single pool record (apart from diving perhaps) for either an individual swimmer or any relay.
When the competition was "watered down" in the early days of the Big East, it was easy.

Pitt was swimming against relative peer programs in the Big East, until fully funded programs like ND and Louisville joined. And Pitt was still winning through the mid-2000s. You're knocking someone with 11 trophies. You have pretty unrealistic expectations given what these programs were given to work with. Knoles is one of Pitt's most successful coaches in its athletic history.

A Pitt fan with unrealistic expectations. How shocking.

 

[cruzer]

She's hired quite a few new coaches. She will, however, be measured by the success of the coaches she hired and not simply by having axed bad coaches. I would say that she also needs to address and fix the fund raising issue and the FB attendance/atmosphere issues. She deserves, however, a large degree of credit for her decisiveness in terminating the coaches she did.

Couldn't agree more. The moves look very good right now, but let's pump the brakes a bit and see how things actually play out. Firing someone is relatively easy (contract issues notwithstanding). Hiring the right replacement is harder. If the moves are successful, she will get much deserved praise. If not, we'll have wasted more time and money.

 

[barkleyfamily]

Hopefully the baseball program is next on her list.

 

[pittdan77]

I'm not sure success is measured with wins as much as it is measured with money. She is succeeding by doing a very good job by recruiting the right kind of coaches and purging what isn't working. Ultimately, I think she'll be judged on how much money she's able to bring into the department.

 

[4Mark_Marty]

She's hired quite a few new coaches. She will, however, be measured by the success of the coaches she hired and not simply by having axed bad coaches. I would say that she also needs to address and fix the fund raising issue and the FB attendance/atmosphere issues. She deserves, however, a large degree of credit for her decisiveness in terminating the coaches she did.

Do you donate?

 

[Saboteur]

Couldn't agree more. The moves look very good right now, but let's pump the brakes a bit and see how things actually play out. Firing someone is relatively easy (contract issues notwithstanding). Hiring the right replacement is harder. If the moves are successful, she will get much deserved praise. If not, we'll have wasted more time and money.

Disagree. Status quo is the easiest path to take. One more year..

 

[Parkview57]

All Chuck Knoles did was win 11 Big East Championships and 6 COY awards over his 26 years, get inducted into the PA swimming HOF, and that was with crap support and without a full complement of scholarships

I heard Chuck can't swim.

 

[Delpanther]

Do you donate?

For over 30 years...

 

[omega]

She is doing a great job. I hope she stays a very long time.

 

[Panthergrowl13]

Heather one final job remaining is to "Right Size" Heinz Field for Pitt Football Games.

Study the situation this year and follow through in 2019.

HAIL TO PITT!!!!

 

[BuffetParrothead]

Don't forget Keith Gavin as wrestling coach! I believe that to be another excellent hire.

I thought Lyke was a "lightweight" coming in based on her EMU ( what is an EMU) experience and only managing Olympic sports at OSU.

But at this point she is doing a great job managing all sports! We'll see the results a few years down the road which will be the ultimate measurement in addition to fund raising.

The wrestling coach hire is still a lets wait and see. He needs time to get some guys but the teams performance this year was dismal especially the losses to Bucknell and Clarion and the beatings the team took in other matches especially West Virginia.

Wrestling is all about match-ups, getting your team ready to wrestle hard so you get bonus points and don't give up bonus points.

Really good wrestling coaches should be able to motivate average wrestlers to perform at their individual peak level which wasn't evident this season.

PITT wrestlers gave away alot of bonus points and didn't score alot of bonus points in the individual bouts.
Giiving away bonus points in bouts is an indication that the team is really bad or the wrestlers weren't propery coached or trained.

The next two years will tell the story about Gavin.

Wrestling is a unique sport as recruits can come into a program and make an immediate impact. Very few great wrestlers learn alot of different "stuff" in college since they already have a style that they developed since they were 5 years old.

I wrestled in college and our kids were on PA State Championship teams with teamates who were one, two, and three time PA state champs. Most of those wrestlers changed very little as they transitioned to college wrestling.

College wrestling coaches for the most part motivate, refine/not change styles, and prepare the team to wrestle hard.

"it's five o'clock somewhere"
Signed: Mr Buffett
Go PITT & CSU Rams!