Pitt Wrestling gets $250K Gift
- Thread starter 4Mark_Marty
- Start date
Nish a regular poster, so we should allow him to answer the question.
If you go on the Olympic board Nish posted over there that after meeting Heather he feels better than any previous admin that she is doing the right thing and is fully supporting her. And he fully supports the hire.
So yes, she is a big part of this.
My god
He has posted a few times on the Olympic board his support for Heather and what she is doing for the wrestling program, including in the thread started over there about this donation.
That poster is doing the typical Pitt fan negative nancy routine.
We should give the constantly negative posters a name befitting their character.
I suggest we call them NITPITTS.
I don't think you can really fault Lyke for not hiring a pre-selected candidate as soon as she started. She is the one who would ultimately be responsible for the decision, and not allowing others to quickly force her into a decision she was uncomfortable with might be a good thing.
Heather appears to be the first competent administrator that athletics has had in a long time. Time will tell of course, but I think she isn't a fake smile, all buff and no stuff type AD... like the last guy was. And the one before him. The fact that Barnes was at Pitt for a couple of years, and SP was there for years before him, and fans who wanted to donate to wrestling still had trouble, should tell people a lot. The leadership has been lacking. Many of you chose to blame the fans, but the leadership has been piss poor in athletics for a long time. Hopefully Heather Lyke will fix the internal structural problems that lead to simple tasks not being accomplished.
Heather appears to be the first competent administrator that athletics has had in a long time. Time will tell of course, but I think she isn't a fake smile, all buff and no stuff type AD... like the last guy was. And the one before him. The fact that Barnes was at Pitt for a couple of years, and SP was there for years before him, and fans who wanted to donate to wrestling still had trouble, should tell people a lot. The leadership has been lacking. Many of you chose to blame the fans, but the leadership has been piss poor in athletics for a long time. Hopefully Heather Lyke will fix the internal structural problems that lead to simple tasks not being accomplished.
Last edited:
Do you think that Nish wouldn't have donated had Pat Santoro, Tim Flynn, or Chris Bono had been hired? Or if Scott Barnes was AD? We'll see what she does. So far, it's one botched hire and what else? Tents in the grass and random Sweet Carolines. I'll give her time to do something positive, but so far it's the usual talk that her predecessors gave. But she needs time.
The man himself said he donated mainly due to her vision. Please go to the Olympic board and read. Then again if you don't want to believe the man himself I don't know what else will convince you.
She has a great vision the challenge will be the money always is. Her plan is very good maybe the best this university has seen. Go Heather a screw the haters
Agreed. Particularly the ones who blame the fans for the administration's incompetence.
You have a good point on that and I said the same thing to Heather. Just telling us is not enough. You need to show by doing
In order to do you need the support of the boosters. Heather seems to be selling the vision to the boosters and in turn the boosters seem willing to open up the pocket book. And once they do it is now the ad turn to move forward and prove their donation was worth their support. It's a vicious cycle in college athletics.
Woke up this morning, saw this thread on the football board, opened it up and was surprised to see my name being mentioned. I am both impressed and embarrassed by some of the things said. I don't consider myself a "big hitter". John Peterson was a big hitter. I met him several times and instantly liked him and his family. Let me answer Kreitzer if I can.
First off, I donate to help those student athletes in sports that typically don't get priority support from the athletic department. My kids went to Boston College and I experienced that as a parent. It's not just at Pitt, it's most every school.
Who the AD is doesn't affect my donation, although Jeff Long was the first AD to paint a great vision for Olympic Sports. Our family helped build the softball stadium under Steve, donated a scoreboard to tennis under Scott and supported wrestling before under Jeff, Steve and now Heather. I talk directly to each coach, find out their critical needs and fund those directly to their sport. So Kreitzer is right on that count. It's about the kids not the administration.
Having said that, the rest of you are correct that I met with Heather and came away very, very impressed. There's something very genuine about her and that alone separates her from her predecessors. I believe she will get the "big hitters" to donate and accomplish much of her vision. You guys are right, it will take a lot of money. I've said before that it's embarrassing to know that only 8000 alums have donated to athletics. That's out of 300,000 living alums. That has to change and I hope Heather is the one with the right combination to unlock the vault.
I would ask Kreitzer to let go of the past. What happened with the coaching hire is old news. I'm thrilled with Coach Gavin, his staff and the creation of the Regional Training Center. Let's try and be positive and keep the momentum going.
Hail to Pitt!
First off, I donate to help those student athletes in sports that typically don't get priority support from the athletic department. My kids went to Boston College and I experienced that as a parent. It's not just at Pitt, it's most every school.
Who the AD is doesn't affect my donation, although Jeff Long was the first AD to paint a great vision for Olympic Sports. Our family helped build the softball stadium under Steve, donated a scoreboard to tennis under Scott and supported wrestling before under Jeff, Steve and now Heather. I talk directly to each coach, find out their critical needs and fund those directly to their sport. So Kreitzer is right on that count. It's about the kids not the administration.
Having said that, the rest of you are correct that I met with Heather and came away very, very impressed. There's something very genuine about her and that alone separates her from her predecessors. I believe she will get the "big hitters" to donate and accomplish much of her vision. You guys are right, it will take a lot of money. I've said before that it's embarrassing to know that only 8000 alums have donated to athletics. That's out of 300,000 living alums. That has to change and I hope Heather is the one with the right combination to unlock the vault.
I would ask Kreitzer to let go of the past. What happened with the coaching hire is old news. I'm thrilled with Coach Gavin, his staff and the creation of the Regional Training Center. Let's try and be positive and keep the momentum going.
Hail to Pitt!
Thank you for taking the time to put your actions, generosity, thoughts and feelings into the athletic department, and this post.
Nish67,
Thank you for your generous contribution to our alma mater. Can you also get Bigelow closed for more green space to play frisbee on?
( haha had to ask)
H2P
Thank you for your generous contribution to our alma mater. Can you also get Bigelow closed for more green space to play frisbee on?
( haha had to ask)
H2P
Ha. See, we are all right!
That said, thanks again Nish. Like you stated, Pitt alumni need to stop looking at the past and in order for Pitt to get better, need to move forward.
That said, thanks again Nish. Like you stated, Pitt alumni need to stop looking at the past and in order for Pitt to get better, need to move forward.
Thanks for giving to Pitt. I live in Columbus and am heading to soccer game tomorrow to watch men play.
These folks and students all deserve support. I think Heather is a rising star. She isn't perfect...who is...but she is talking straight and her message is clear.
You can deliver a message to people but you can't make them listen.
Take heart in the fact that the Cathedral of Learning was built mostly with the pennies, nickels and dimes of school boys and girls.
It takes a village....in my view, that's better than a single patriarch/matriarch.
This was an interesting thread, since we have someone (Nish) who actually has some real information, not just conjecture. I can't understand for the life of me, the constant negativity from some posters. I'm a long-suffering Pitt fan just like the rest of you, but for goodness sake - the negativity is just repulsive. You guys need to look forward and get your heads out of the past.
I have yet to meet the new AD but the impression I've gotten from her interviews is that she is genuine and will work very hard to make good change in athletics.
As far as the wrestling hire - I know very little about what happened but it looks like the guy who got the job is doing some really good things so far.
Ultimately the success our athletic department has, will rest with the chancellor's office, and I continue to believe that Gallagher is on the right track. Culture change is the most difficult thing to accomplish in any organization, and one the size of a public university will take some time. We've already seen it happening with the football program. It may not have shown up in wins/losses yet, but anyone who's paying attention can see the forward movement taking place.
Be a fan - have some fun already!
I have yet to meet the new AD but the impression I've gotten from her interviews is that she is genuine and will work very hard to make good change in athletics.
As far as the wrestling hire - I know very little about what happened but it looks like the guy who got the job is doing some really good things so far.
Ultimately the success our athletic department has, will rest with the chancellor's office, and I continue to believe that Gallagher is on the right track. Culture change is the most difficult thing to accomplish in any organization, and one the size of a public university will take some time. We've already seen it happening with the football program. It may not have shown up in wins/losses yet, but anyone who's paying attention can see the forward movement taking place.
Be a fan - have some fun already!
I will state as someone who was quite critical of how the wrestling coaching search was handled in the immediate period following Lyke's arrival because I really, really wanted Santoro, and brought my frustration and concern about it to this board since it has a larger audience, I personally have let go of it. You just have to because it serves zero purpose at this point. It is way too early in her tenure, which will be very important for the athletic department, and she appears to be moving to do some very positive things that will hopefully make everyone forget about any disappointment. And certainly, Keith Gavin, who undoubtedly seems to be full of drive and passion, deserves everyone's full support as a devoted Pitt alumni and new head coach.
I have followed Nish's example and have now given, above my current regular annual giving level to the athletic department, a modest amount to both the university's Wrestling Championship Fund (which will fund wrestling program capital improvements) and the Pittsburgh Wrestling Club, which runs the regional training center. These training centers, which are unique to the sport, are independent of the colleges and are critical supporting organizations that every top wresting program in the nation has, and Pitt's has a lot of catching up to do financially. I encourage everyone to follow Nish's example if they can and donate to either or both:
Pitt Wrestling Championship Fund giving link
Pittsburgh Wrestling Club/Regional Training Center giving link
Last edited:
Similar threads
