While I agree with that thinking, it makes the Dior Johnson thing all the more puzzling if that's her philosophy.
Northwestern going hard after Lyke
- Thread starter ThePanthers
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While I agree with that thinking, it makes the Dior Johnson thing all the more puzzling if that's her philosophy.
If she leaves, then the next hire will tell you all you need to know about what Joanie thinks of athletics. Don't underestimate the ability of the Pitt administration to F things up.
Yes the big two are most important, but of course you miss the big picture...
Heather asked a question to her Big Ten contacts: What will it take for Pitt to be strongly considered for membership in the league?
Answer: Invest in all sports from top to bottom and make them competitive. That is what she's tried to do. That's why it's so important for her to focus not just the top two, but top to bottom. She sees the big picture and Pitt's potential.
She's not like the previous AD's that looked at Pitt as not a big time player and did nothing to upgrade anything. So now we are still playing catch up.
Be careful what you wish for. You might be rooting for Pitt as a member of the AAC...
Until relatively recently there have been 5-6 conferences with somewhat equal football footing. Yes, Northwestern was a bottom feeder in that scenario. Now there are 2 premiere conferences and Northwestern belongs one of them. They have the resources and commitment to be better than 99% of teams not in the Big 10 or SEC. The extra conference money plus their big donor Ryan building them a new stadium makes that AD job easily better than Pitt.
Face it, Pitt didn't have the commitment needed for decades and now they are going to be left behind when it comes to big time college football. I'm fine with that. It is now a different game.
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They aren't inviting Pitt. Zero chance. If Stanford didn't get an invite, then it won't matter how much Pitt invested in their sports.
The last chance Pitt had was during the scandal which saw Penn State try to cover up a coach raping young boys. Pitt should have pushed fully to get a B10 invite, and we know there was interest from the conference with Penn State being the main detractor. That might have been enough leverage to get Penn State on board.
Instead, dip shit Steve used the scandal to negotiate an extra home and home while finishing up his book.
Only chance now is the SEC. Like a 2% chance they would want some markets in the North if/when the BIG goes way south.
Maybe they have resources to "be better" -- but I'd rather have a worse team that is more competitive against our peers. I'd rather be an 8-4 program in the ACC, than a 4-8 program in the Big 10. Again, this is just my personal opinion, others might like being a bottom feeder program if that means you have more NFL draft picks or something like that. Same thing with men's hoops. I want us to be good, I really don't care how many of our guys make it to the NBA (not many do, but I still enjoy following and supporting Pitt's basketball team).
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"They aren't inviting Pitt. Zero chance."
Don't bet against it. You don't know what's going to happen. They may expand much bigger than they are now. Regardless, Pitt need to be in the top 40 of schools. That's the number that will insure them that will have a place at the table.
I think these scrubbo teams (Northwestern, Indiana, etc.) in the bigger conferences are doing everything they can to look as though they're fully invested in winning, too. I don't think they're entirely confident in this game of musical chairs.
Of course, it'll probably be a self-fulfilling prophecy once the big money stars rolling in and they're able to invest more than the Pitts of the world. Just bad luck that they joined the right conferences back in the day and we didn't.
I think they are better than a 4-8 type program right now. And Pitt isn't likely an 8-4 type program right now. So you've got to project how things are going to go.
Now that I can agree with. Eventually the Ohio States of the world of college football will figure out how to remove the Northwesterns from the money pool. But I think that will take a little while.
I'd easily bet against it. They added USC and UCLA to get the LA market. They added Wash and Oregon because they are very solid programs, but only at a reduced payout. There aren't many scenarios where they would want to add Pitt. Why would they.
The next next chance will be if the Big Ten invades the ACC and adds southern schools and then the SEC feels pressure to strike back. If anything, Pitt should bring in an AD from the SEC. Preferably a family member of an important SEC power player who would want their son/daughter to look good as an AD, and therefore Pitt gets the invite over a Louisville or a Cuse or a WVU.
At least they won't have a 20 year running discussion about tarping off the empty sections of their stadium on game days.
They are doing what Pitt SHOULD have done. Build a smaller and more intimate stadium experience.
Bottom line - All that matters is that Pitt is in the position to be in the top 48 schools. Heather has tried to position Pitt by making them stronger top to bottom. She has done her homework. There is a method and reason to her thinking about the entire athletics department.
NIL has thrown a wrench into the equation. Instead of getting the finances for Victory Heights, it is now going to pay players (NIL).
A lot of the sports she worked to strengthen might not even exist in a few years. If that pay-for-play model takes effect, every school will be cutting some non-revenue sports.
Agreed. In the end it will all come down to the $$$. All the BS about performance in minor sports won't mean crap. It's all about what can your revenue producing sports bring to the table.
From my view, Lyke did a good job. Naturally, I don't have full knowledge of how she fulfilled all the responsibilities of the job, but she has improved things from where they were.
It doesn't sound like the new chancellor fully has her back. I don't know if that is good or bad. One thing I do know is that you don't intentionally lose personnel unless you think you have a better replacement in line.
I still remember replacing Dixon with Stallings. That was a nightmare.
Consequently, I would not let Lyke walk unless I already had a good replacement in line.
It doesn't sound like the new chancellor fully has her back. I don't know if that is good or bad. One thing I do know is that you don't intentionally lose personnel unless you think you have a better replacement in line.
I still remember replacing Dixon with Stallings. That was a nightmare.
Consequently, I would not let Lyke walk unless I already had a good replacement in line.
I was thinking the same thing. Joan doesn't strike me as someone who cares about sports but she does come from the B10 and felt its weird AF that we are spending so much money on volleyball.
The new Nebraska AD said something like this. Said something like you'll never see me not wearing the Nebraska NIL logo. These are pro teams now. The name of the game is having a high of salary pool as you can have to get the players paid. We are losing guys to go be SEC backups so they can make more.
1. How do you know she asked that?
2. Pitt has 0% chance to ever get invited to the B10.
3. Even if the B10 AD's said that, they are lying. Its football and basketball. Its how much value does the brand bring in TV.
So what’s your solution? Please put it in detail so I can sh*t all over it…
If pay-for-play comes under the institutions, per recommendation of the NCAA, wouldn’t it then be subject to Title 9? Where student athletes have the opportunity to receive equal funding?
My biggest fear is not that Heather will leave. AD's don't stay forever. My biggest fear is who they replace her with? I've seen this movie too many times and it always ends the same... The good guy gets killed....
An SEC Associate AD. The SEC is our only hope at a P2. Offer not taking a revenue share for 10 years. 30K seats guaranteed for visiting fans, and we all swear to vote Republican.
Nothing to see here.... Everything is fine.
Besides, if a problem comes up, we'll have you to turn to for solutions...
When the administration does something questionable, it's not because they decided not to share with everyone. Oh no! It's because they're stupid and should have consulted you! Instead of those lying contacts from other schools!
When Pitt needs more NIL money but can't get it fast enough, it's not because the Pitt alumni are cheap or their alumni base is not as big as other schools... Oh no! It's because the AD and the administration is too lazy or dumb! All they have to do is get it!
When the focus of the big two sports are not at the level of success it should be, your solution is more NIL money (see previous line), fire coaches and get the alumni to pay their salaries! What's the problem?!
You have all the answers! We're just too blind to see it!
That, and how good a relationship some of our more successful coaches have with her vs the new person. Fisher, vidovich, etc
Correct. Whoring ourselves out to curry favor is not the way to go.
I think Heather is going to have a very tough time getting a better job than Pitt. People point to the awards she has won but Olympics Sports are over-weighted in those and nobody really cares about them. Football, basketball, and NIL haven't been good enough. And I think the decision to build the volleyball arena with debt financing is a mark against her.
Again, lets say the SEC comes to Oakland and says we want you but you have to take no revenue TV revenue for 10 years and give the visitors 30K seats for 10 years, Pitt should tell them, no thanks, we'll stay in the ACC?
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