PG: Heather Lyke article 8/27/23

[pittmeister]

Heather Lyke has changed Pitt's identity and brought back winning. But how long will she stay?

At 9 a.m. on a Friday in late June, when most people were winding down for the long July 4 holiday weekend, Heather Lyke was locked in, like always. On...

www.post-gazette.com

I can't post the contents. Too many words. Good article.

 

[NatronaHeightsPanther]

Doesn’t sound like the most positive thing in the world. I think most employers know their people are always looking for something else, it’s the society we live in today. It definitely won’t help if this new chancellor is a complete doofus like she was at Minnesota.

 

[Gep Dawg]

I really hope the new Chancellor signs her up to a new contract right away. She's amazing and it would be ashame to lose her because of a lackadaisical attitude to sports again

 

[WillyDavis33]

Doesn’t sound like the post positive thing in the world. I think most employers know their people are always looking for something else, it’s the society we live in today. It definitely won’t help if this new chancellor is a complete doofus like she was at Minnesota.

I do not follow MN at all so what did she do or not do at MN

 

[NatronaHeightsPanther]

I do not follow MN at all so what did she do or not do at MN

All that I know of her are the articles written by people in Minnesota. These are their gripes.

- It seems like she cut the pay of Graduate Students/Student workers.
- She apparently raised tuition at the University, while simultaneously getting a big pay raise.
- Her handling COVID was complete garbage.
- She apparently took a position as a board member for a company that had contracts with the University.

Now, not all of those issues are under her control, but people looked at her as the face of the University.



There’s an entire Reddit post of people complaining about the garbage job she did.

 

[sonofabit]

Trib with a Lyke-ness vibe today as well. Think the new Chancellor has more of a finger on the future than most here would allow.

 

[pittmeister]

Here are some highlights. This was the best one:

Lyke’s next objective was to adjust the athletic department’s attitude.

“People were just really comfortable being mediocre,” Lyke said. “The thing that people kept telling me was, ‘We weren’t ready to get into the ACC,’ that we were never prepared. When I got here, we were heading into year six in the ACC, so I asked, ‘When do you think we ought to get ready?’ Because I thought it was time.”

During her first day on the job, Lyke visited Fitzgerald Field House, where she wandered down three flights of stairs and into a small office next to the wrestling room. There, sitting on an end table tucked into a corner, was Pitt’s lone ACC championship trophy.

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?,’” she said. “What is it doing there? No one could see it. No one even goes in there. It would be hard to find that room.”

Lyke then asked her staff if anyone knew how many ACC championships the university had won. Some knew, some didn’t. She then asked where the championship trophy was.

“And then it was crickets,” she said.

Addressing the issue with university trustees, she said she was met with silence.

“I was flabbergasted at that because there was no pride,” Lyke said. “That was the mentality I was walking into. There was no confidence or belief that we would ever be good.”

 

[Franb]

I really hope the new Chancellor signs her up to a new contract right away. She's amazing and it would be ashame to lose her because of a lackadaisical attitude to sports again

I remember that some on here were complaining, at the time, that she was a “diversity hire.” Now we are worried that she might leave for OSU.

 

[ThePanthers]

I remember that some on here were complaining, at the time, that she was a “diversity hire.” Now we are worried that she might leave for OSU.

There are people that still complain. She is one of the best things that have happened to Pitt athletics. Is she perfect? No, no one is. But she turned an apathetic department into something that strives for championships.

 

[Den of Hacks]

Here are some highlights. This was the best one:

Lyke’s next objective was to adjust the athletic department’s attitude.

“People were just really comfortable being mediocre,” Lyke said. “The thing that people kept telling me was, ‘We weren’t ready to get into the ACC,’ that we were never prepared. When I got here, we were heading into year six in the ACC, so I asked, ‘When do you think we ought to get ready?’ Because I thought it was time.”

During her first day on the job, Lyke visited Fitzgerald Field House, where she wandered down three flights of stairs and into a small office next to the wrestling room. There, sitting on an end table tucked into a corner, was Pitt’s lone ACC championship trophy.

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?,’” she said. “What is it doing there? No one could see it. No one even goes in there. It would be hard to find that room.”

Lyke then asked her staff if anyone knew how many ACC championships the university had won. Some knew, some didn’t. She then asked where the championship trophy was.

“And then it was crickets,” she said.

Addressing the issue with university trustees, she said she was met with silence.

“I was flabbergasted at that because there was no pride,” Lyke said. “That was the mentality I was walking into. There was no confidence or belief that we would ever be good.”

That could be the introductory quote when she writes her book about her time at Pitt.

She immediately identified an attitude that existed for decades. I know more high schools that take pride in their overall athletics than Pitt did for a very long time.

Love this too:

Lyke recalls a time when she’d loathe shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“I’d walk in and there would be more Penn State stuff on display than Pitt gear,” she said. “I would go in and rearrange the clothing racks. I remember thinking, ‘I hope there are no cameras in this area of the store,’ but I’m sure there were.”

 

[pittmeister]

That could be the introductory quote when she writes her book about her time at Pitt.

She immediately identified an attitude that existed for decades. I know more high school‘s that tAEK pride in their overall athletics than Pitt did for a very long time.

To me, that’s her legacy. She believed that Pitt was more than mediocre and to accept it was to accept failure. She saw Pitt as a great institution with great potential and set out to prove it.

 

[Den of Hacks]

And let me say, I would pay to have the Dick‘s security video footage of Lyke re-arranging the racks to show more Pitt gear than PSU.

 

[President Stache]

I said it since the beginning, Heather Lyke is awesome, as long as we get her is a benefit to Pitt. We should do want we can to keep her, she relentlessly strives for greatness. I am not going to complain either way. I know I loved jobs, and management changed, and I left for more money elsewhere, and ended up loving that job too. Happens all the time. Not many people at any level stay even as long as Heather has, and hope she is here for a lot longer, but if not, she ushered in a great era in Pitt athletics, and was far ... FAR... better than any AD we have had in a very long time.

 

[Usuallyunusual-partdeux]

She is a winner and has a winner mentality. Unfortunately her arrow is pointing so high right now I could see her becoming the commissioner of a P5 league soon.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

There are people that still complain. She is one of the best things that have happened to Pitt athletics. Is she perfect? No, no one is. But she turned an apathetic department into something that strives for championships.

It's pretty obvious that most of the people who still complain about her aren't actually complaining about the job she has done, they are complaining because she is, well, a she.

 

[TheSpecialSauce]

Heather Lyke has done a great job as AD.

 

[h2p_5150]

That could be the introductory quote when she writes her book about her time at Pitt.

She immediately identified an attitude that existed for decades. I know more high schools that take pride in their overall athletics than Pitt did for a very long time.

Love this too:

Lyke recalls a time when she’d loathe shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“I’d walk in and there would be more Penn State stuff on display than Pitt gear,” she said. “I would go in and rearrange the clothing racks. I remember thinking, ‘I hope there are no cameras in this area of the store,’ but I’m sure there were.”

Hahha. My buddy did something similar at Rally House with their Penn State gear after a rather lengthy tail gate a few years ago. He was not happy that a store a block from our stadium was selling PSU stuff...

 

[The Ole Six-Fiver]

Multiple issues…

I’ve no doubt all those things are true and perhaps even being sugarcoated, things were probably even worse.

In fact the oily charlatans we had for the last 30 years probably experienced the same thing. They just didn’t care (that would be pretty much all of them), and/or exploited the indifference and intention for personal gain (Barnes for sure and multiple others).

So certainly what she says is true. But

However…her saying it is one thing, but saying it a reporter to be quoted rather demonstrably in a publication is…unusual.
The president she worked for is now gone so that removes one concern. But one still wouldn’t normally badmouth the trustees, especially since many are likely still there (and thus were big parts of the problems).

That confidence, one might even say recklessness, is someone who might be actively expecting to be moving on rather soon.

 

[Gep Dawg]

She's really great. She really had done an incredible job and brought pride back to the athletic department. Will be eternally grateful to her if she does leave. But you never know she could end up staying. This is her kingdom and there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.

 

[Usuallyunusual-partdeux]

Multiple issues…

I’ve no doubt all those things are true and perhaps even being sugarcoated, things were probably even worse.

In fact the oily charlatans we had for the last 30 years probably experienced the same thing. They just didn’t care (that would be pretty much all of them), and/or exploited the indifference and intention for personal gain (Barnes for sure and multiple others).

So certainly what she says is true. But

However…her saying it is one thing, but saying it a reporter to be quoted rather demonstrably in a publication is…unusual.
The president she worked for is now gone so that removes one concern. But one still wouldn’t normally badmouth the trustees, especially since many are likely still there (and thus were big parts of the problems).

That confidence, one might even say recklessness, is someone who might be actively expecting to be moving on rather soon.

Bro who is reading all this? Be more concise we have short attention spans 😂

 

[Usuallyunusual-partdeux]

She's really great. She really had done an incredible job and brought pride back to the athletic department. Will be eternally grateful to her if she does leave. But you never know she could end up staying. This is her kingdom and there is a lot of work that still needs to be done.

I agree with you. Part of me wonders if there is a glass ceiling on how much they will "let" her do. I'm a little worried about the change in leadership at the top and I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

However…her saying it is one thing, but saying it a reporter to be quoted rather demonstrably in a publication is…unusual.
The president she worked for is now gone so that removes one concern. But one still wouldn’t normally badmouth the trustees, especially since many are likely still there (and thus were big parts of the problems).

That confidence, one might even say recklessness, is someone who might be actively expecting to be moving on rather soon.

The problem with that interpretation is that she has been telling that story, including to members of the media, pretty much since the day she arrived.

The idea clearly was not that she was expecting to move on so she didn't care, it was to shock the people who should have cared into actually giving a crap. Which previously many of them had not.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

For example, she tells a version of the same story in this article, published nearly six years ago, months after she was hired.

Story



When Heather Lyke was hired as Pitt’s athletic director last spring, she took over an athletic program that offers 19 men’s and women’s sports but had won one league title since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013.

“I asked our board, I asked our senior leadership and I asked our staff, ‘What sport is it in?’” she said.

Wrestling.

“So, then I asked my staff and the board members and the chancellor and everybody in the leadership, ‘Where is the one ACC championship trophy we have won? Where is it located?’” Lyke said.

The answer wasn’t good.

“Let me describe it for you,” said Lyke, a GlenOak High graduate who spoke at Monday’s Hall of Fame Luncheon Club meeting at Tozzi’s on 12th. “You walk into the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse — which is a building built in 1941 and where a number of our teams currently train — and you go to the very end of the gym, you walk down two flights of stairs into the wrestling room, you go back over to the left-hand corner and there’s this little video room. There’s a couch and two end tables and a desk with a computer. And the championship trophy is on one of the end tables.

“So I said to our staff, ‘Where should we put the second one? On the other end table?’”

 

[CrazyPaco]

I do not follow MN at all so what did she do or not do at MN

She didn't run Minnesota like a socialist utopia. That tends to piss certain people off.

 

[WillyDavis33]

She didn't run Minnesota like a socialist utopia. That tends to piss certain people.

Smart person.

 

[ChazzMo]

Bro who is reading all this? Be more concise we have short attention spans 😂

I did. Some things just need more words to intelligently express.

 

[vantheman1976]

I really hope the new Chancellor signs her up to a new contract right away. She's amazing and it would be ashame to lose her because of a lackadaisical attitude to sports again

The last salary number I saw had her Pitt salary at about $788,000/year. The Ohio State athletic director now earns $1.58 million as a base salary plus $480,000 for media and public relations compensation. Like you....I would hate to see her go.....but that looks pretty grim regarding our chances to keep her if Ohio State comes calling.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

The last salary number I saw had her Pitt salary at about $788,000/year. The Ohio State athletic director now earns $1.58 million as a base salary plus $480,000 for media and public relations compensation. Like you....I would hate to see her go.....but that looks pretty grim regarding our chances to keep her if Ohio State comes calling.

Ohio State isnt hiring a Michigan alum. Its Ohio FREAKING State. They can hire anyone they want. There are a lot of qualified AD's who aren't Michigan grads. And dont say she worked there. I know. But she wasnt the "CEO."

 

[cease10]

We need to re-sign her now. She's earned it. We may not be able to compete with OH st if they really want her, but we need to at least try.

 

[rmf05]

She's done a fine job. However, I've been reading these types of articles for years and have heard similar stories for years. It seems rather obvious that Pitt and the athletic department in particular has been a receptacle for garbage human beings for decades. It would be great to merely not hire another idiot if she does leave. Everything that she's done is actually fairly obvious. It's sad to think what might be today if her type of attitude had been present in the 80's.

 

[pittmeister]

NO FACTORS... PAY THE WOMAN!

Pitt chancellor: Multiple factors will play into a new contract for AD Heather Lyke

New University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel minced no words when it came to her assessment of Athletic Director Heather Lyke. “Heather is without question one of the best athletic directors in the country,” Gabel recently told the Tribune-Review. “She’s been recognized as such (for) wins...

triblive.com

 

[mlvnsmly]

Ohio State isnt hiring a Michigan alum. Its Ohio FREAKING State. They can hire anyone they want. There are a lot of qualified AD's who aren't Michigan grads. And dont say she worked there. I know. But she wasnt the "CEO."

Several University presidents at OSU have been UM alums.

 

[cease10]

NO FACTORS... PAY THE WOMAN!

Pitt chancellor: Multiple factors will play into a new contract for AD Heather Lyke

New University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel minced no words when it came to her assessment of Athletic Director Heather Lyke. “Heather is without question one of the best athletic directors in the country,” Gabel recently told the Tribune-Review. “She’s been recognized as such (for) wins...

triblive.com

I didn't really like the "market assessment" comment. Makes them come across as sounding cheap.

I think she could have given a smoother answer like just the standard non answer like "it's being evaluated".

 

[vantheman1976]

NO FACTORS... PAY THE WOMAN!

Pitt chancellor: Multiple factors will play into a new contract for AD Heather Lyke

New University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Joan Gabel minced no words when it came to her assessment of Athletic Director Heather Lyke. “Heather is without question one of the best athletic directors in the country,” Gabel recently told the Tribune-Review. “She’s been recognized as such (for) wins...

triblive.com

FBS Athletic Director Compensation Survey

2020-21 FBS Athletics Directors’ Compensation Survey

[table id=1 /]...

athleticdirectoru.com

Dear Chancellor Gabel....maybe you can start here. Yes....the data is a couple of year's old.....but you get the picture. Athletic Director Lyke's compensation comes in 52nd out of 62 FBS schools in this survey. She's barely in the top half of all ACC schools. Please fix this.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Several University presidents at OSU have been UM alums.

Stop messing up his world view with silly things like facts.