....to hire Louis Riddick as their AD. He would be perfect for the job and offer some long term stability. Class act for sure.
Pitt needs.....
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Why would he be perfect for the job? What are his qualifications to be the AD? Has he done any fund raising?
Louis would carry a lot of weight with the alums and donors. Face and name a lot of people know. His connections are very widespread. There's no question he would do a great job as Pitt AD.
What was Barry Alvarez's experience prior to becoming an AD? He coached football......Louis was an NFL Executive.
What was Barry Alvarez's experience prior to becoming an AD? He coached football......Louis was an NFL Executive.
Good Greif! He'd be one and done here. 49ers are, and will continue to be a disaster so long as the Yorks own the team.
you need to work on debating people without being a complete jackass. It's possible to disagree with someone without a smart ass comment or a condescending retort. I hope you take this to heart.
So instead of taking my advice, which would lead to more enjoyable and entertaining posts, you are going to completely discount my constructive criticism and continue on being your typical self. Great.
We have an executive / assc AD now who is in charge of fund raising. We are in a P 5 conference that brings in more tv money than we could ever raise thru donations. Do you think you guys might be over estimating this fund raising aspect of the job? I'm sure it's important but you guys are acting like we need Jerry Lewis here.
Kindly explain to the board what the qualifications for AD are before telling someone that they don't know them
Can he speak well and do people like him? If so, then that's when the money comes in.
if you are looking for somebody who knows how to raise money as the primary role of their job, you better call somebody with a political or charity background because that's all who does it.
Are you joking? Every other Power five school gets the TV money too. We have one of the lowest fund raising levels of any power five school. We are at the bottom of the ACC. We need the fund raising more than anyone.
Right now, our athletic budget is pathetically small compared to our peers.
Yes I agree. We did hire that Julio guy a year Ago to handle fund raising as well as other duties. I'm not saying we ignore it like Peterson did but again, are we over estimating this as the top priority?
What? I have to do no such thing. The OP made the assertion, not me.
That being said, the qualifications would include the ability to fund raise for collegiate sports--bonus points for someone with experience doing it in a pro sports city where competition for the entertainment dollar is tough. Further bonus points if significant increases in fund raising were achieved at a prior AD job.
Second, an ability to design and manage an athletic budget, including familiarity with recruiting budgets, salaries for assistant coaches, and athletic team travel. Bonus points for candidates with experience managing budgets very efficiently-- given that Pitt has a smaller budget due to poor fund raising.
Third, extensive experience with intercollegiate athletics so as to know and having worked with up and coming coaches in revenue and non revenue sports--in case we need to make new hires in the coming years.
Fourth, experience in marketing with demonstrated increase in attendance and corporate sponsorships of athletic programs. Bonus points if your experience occurred at an urban school competing for attendance with pro teams.
Fifth, experience negotiating media contracts, including through conference negotiations with television networks and or negotiations of radio contracts. Bonus points if you've worked at a network like ESPN such as Syracuse's new AD or at a conference office working on such contracts.
Sixth, demonstrated commitment to academic excellence and cooperation with a university's academic mission. Bonus points if prior experience shows improved academic performance at your prior jobs.
There's more to be said, but this is a good start, Any questions?
Sure....if people like him...he can spend all day with his hand out asking for 50 bucks......
But we need someone with intimate knowledge of the corporate/ political machine in Southwestern PA. Someone who can go to PNC Bank for example....and walk out with a $50,000 check.
Or someone who has experience with say...the Pittsburgh foundation....selling them on the idea that endowing a few scholarships is part of their mission.
Maybe Tressel is that guy. I dont dismiss his track record.
But if I wake up one morning and read that Pitt has hired someone I never heard of.....but his background is in the above.....then Pitt finally got it right.
Don't hold your breath. That backgroubd doesn't grow on trees. You might want to look at other qualifications when you look for who Pitt will hire.
If a blue blood program like USC is willing to take a shot at Lynn Swan then why couldn't PITT on Riddick? Riddick at least will be someone that will stick around and not look for the next AD gig. I don't think he has any interest in going back to the NFL. Riddick is very intelligent and has the tools to complete those task that you have listed.
You are wrong. Completely wrong. USC is a blue blood program. Which is why it matters very little who is their AD. Because they will raise a lot of money no matter what.
Pitt is not a blue blood program and needs a skilled fund raiser at the AD position. Because we have to start to dig out of the fund raising whole we are in. Pitt is a very tough place to raise money. The AD job is not the place for a novice.
Why can't you just admit that you're completely wrong about this?
Has PITT ever had someone with these qualifications ? The most successful AD I can remember was Cas and I don't know if he had those qualifications.
Open up Pitt to more students , lower the cost of many lower level degrees, churn them out , create many more alumni, get in the 21 st century
Hell make degrees for anything , from trash collector to dog catching , to serving fast food , churn degrees out like all colleges are doing , create more revenue streams and alums, instead of being the poor ones with our noses in the air, better than everyone , in our own minds
Barnes checked a lot of these boxes and was on the right track in a lot of areas.
Athletics is a big time business and Pitt must hire competent and experienced people. We failed to do so right at the time when big decisions were being made in 80s and 90s and are still way behind.
I think Louis Riddick is a terrific representative of Pitt and wish him the best in the NFL. But the fact that some Pitt fans think his experience as a player personnel evaluator in an NFL front office makes him qualified to be our AD shows how clueless part of our fan base is about the business of NCAA sports.
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