Pat Santoro - Obvious Choice
- Thread starter Piranha
- Start date
My understanding is that any chance Pitt had with him evaporated when he wasn't offered the job after Stottlemyre retired. He has done an unbelievable job at Lehigh.
Right. But he's from there, went to BECHACI, has coached there for nearly 20 years between his assistant work & HC work.
Also a very strong streak of family ties in that program.
His post is endowed. When Pitt solicits John Withrow, or the like, to fund a HC post - then we'll be talking. Otherwise, we'll have to get more creative.
I'm not close to the wrestling program, the guy I work with seems to have his pulse on the wrestling community. He seems to think PITT will throw money his way... I guess we will see ?
I spoke to Pat years ago and he was very interested in Pitt. He did not have interest when Peters was hired. He was then in a good position and was happy. I hope he would be interested now, but I think it is very unlikely. Now if huge money was offered, that would certainly change things, but that would also be unlikely.
Wrestling coach's salary can be interesting based on what kind of camp income that comes to the head coach. Years ago assistant head coach of Iowa was Robinson( recently of Minn.). He was making about 200,000 a year from camps. He got all the money from camps. U of I administration got involved wanting more money for the school. He ended up leaving, going to Minn. Sanderson makes somewhere around half a million a year. A wealthy alumnus is paying most of that. No other coaches are close to that. Brands(Iowa) and Smith(OSU) are next and make somewhere above 150. Camp money can make a huge difference if the school lets the coach get all the funds without the school charging huge expenses for use of the facilities.
Our camps struggle because neither Stottlemyre nor Peters knew how to run one. In fact, we didn't have camps most of the years under Rande, and when we did they were not well publicized. They didn't attract top wrestlers, which is the main reason for having camps -- to find talent. If not enough wrestlers attend camp, then the camp will struggle financially. If top wrestlers aren't on the staff, top recruits won't attend.
He's still a Pitt guy. Everything would depend on his family in Bethlehem and Pitt's willingness to give him what he would need to win big. Lehigh has a ceiling of what he can accomplish there because of its academic requirements, and that is the one thing Pitt could sell him on over Lehigh. Pitt would have to make a serious commitment to the program facility and staff wise. Lehigh also has much more generous wrestling boosters, which is where their new facility came from. But it would still likely be difficult for him to leave the Bethlehem area. I think he'd listen though. New AD choice would be instrumental, but he's not just going to leave because money is thrown at him.
I've known Pat since we were about 6 years old. We played Little League together and went to Pitt together. I don't think the chances are great that he'd come to Pitt, however I wouldn't rule it out.
It all depends on whether the school wants them. Dorms and facilities are going unused in the summer. If they charge top dollar to the coach it just doesn't work.
The costs to use the facilities are high so camps aren't a big money maker. Maybe a new coach could negotiate that
The one big advantage that we have is that Lehigh does have a ceiling. He can have the occasional NCAA champion there and can field a top ten team. But, they aren't going to win a title. The question is whether after 20 some years, that still is important enough to him to uproot his family and leave the place where he grew up.
And really, how expensive Lehigh is also a big factor. The cost of attending there on a partial scholarship is way more than the cost of attending some state school.
Pitt has not been good since the 60's. Coach Peery retired in 1965. Pitt was bad the next 1- 2 years, but hired Dave Adams in 1967. He had a few very good teams with some great recruits, but after 3-4 years most of the team folded because of drugs. Pitt has not been good since.
hey guys, I wrote about this exact topic on my blog.. check it out:
http://pittwrestling.blogspot.com/2017/01/sad-somber-week-for-pitt-coaching-staff.html
http://pittwrestling.blogspot.com/2017/01/sad-somber-week-for-pitt-coaching-staff.html
In your opinion what is Pitt's ceiling because in my opinion even with Santoro they aren't really competing for NCs.
I don't think PSU can be matched or surpassed without a major booster or two pledging a lot of money. Myunderstanding is that at PSU boosters pay part of Sanderson's salary and pay all or almost all of the cost of the wrestling club.
To match them not only takes a great coach and quality assistants, but also quality wrestling partners in the wrestling club. You need a David Taylor to attract other top graduated wrestlers who want to workout with him. So, either we have to pay guys like Kyle Dake to train here or we have to wait until we produce some NCAA champions and get them to continue their wrestling careers with the Pitt wrestling club.
I'm not sure being another PSU is in the cards, but I think a realistic ceiling is consistent top ten NCAA finishes with a top 5 or top 3 every 3 to 4 years, producing at least two semi-finalists a year and a champ every couple of years, and getting a guy who can win two or three championships at least twice a decade.
To match them not only takes a great coach and quality assistants, but also quality wrestling partners in the wrestling club. You need a David Taylor to attract other top graduated wrestlers who want to workout with him. So, either we have to pay guys like Kyle Dake to train here or we have to wait until we produce some NCAA champions and get them to continue their wrestling careers with the Pitt wrestling club.
I'm not sure being another PSU is in the cards, but I think a realistic ceiling is consistent top ten NCAA finishes with a top 5 or top 3 every 3 to 4 years, producing at least two semi-finalists a year and a champ every couple of years, and getting a guy who can win two or three championships at least twice a decade.
We often have these debates: Which comes first, the money or the wins. For PSU wrestling, it was the commitment of $ from boosters that got Cael there. Same could be said for their hockey program. Now, their athletic administration has a better overall track record for success in athletics than ours (as opposed to their criminal records and other nefarious things), but money came first in this instance.
Last edited:
