You say we don't need a "Pitt man" but

[Sean Miller Fan]

Lets review why past high-level people in Pitt athletics have left:

Ben Howland - went home to SoCal
Jamie Dixon - back to alma mater

Steve Pederson - back to alma mater
Scott Barnes - back home, sorta

Walt Harris - back home (asterisk though
because he was going to be fired)
Todd Graham - left to be close to Penni's parents
Paul Chryst - alma mater

So going back 20 years, the only high-level Pitt people that DIDN'T leave at least partly to go home or for family is:

Jeff Long who thought he could further his career in the SEC and Dave Wannstedt who would have stayed forever if he was allowed.

You cant tell me there is not a qualified sales-oriented administratior or business executive somewhere who has some affiation to the region that has a Pitt affiliation.

 

[Pittnerski]

Louis Ridick

 

[Pitt1995]

Hire whatever person that can convince David Tepper to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

[HailToPitt725]

Hire whatever person that can convince David Tepper to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars.

I like this idea.

 

[Piranha]

Dixon is a bad example - he was at Pitt for 16 years. Most people do not last that long. You need to hire someone that has ties to this area and understands the region. For example, Narduzzi fits that criteria and is not a Pitt grad.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

Pelusi. Riddick. Whaley.

 

[Las Panteras]

Once again....SMF misses the mark.

We don't need a pitt guy because a pitt guy won't leave. ....

We need a pitt guy....or someone from this area. ...who truly understands the culture around here and how to connect with donors

That's the common thread between oval jaynes...pederson. ....Jeff long and barnes......no true connection with the pitt fan base and the pittsburgh sports culture

We need someone with true understanding of this unique set of challenges

 

[H2Pforever]

I just hope the new guy works well with narduzzi. I do not want an AD that runs him off.

 

[jtownknowitall]

How about one of the five current assistant ADs?

 

[bubba31]

Once again....SMF misses the mark.

We don't need a pitt guy because a pitt guy won't leave. ....

We need a pitt guy....or someone from this area. ...who truly understands the culture around here and how to connect with donors

That's the common thread between oval jaynes...pederson. ....Jeff long and barnes......no true connection with the pitt fan base and the pittsburgh sports culture

We need someone with true understanding of this unique set of challenges

well said. If its someone we never have heard of that checks the above boxes i'm on board.

 

[PHATWOOD]

Once again....SMF misses the mark.

We don't need a pitt guy because a pitt guy won't leave. ....

We need a pitt guy....or someone from this area. ...who truly understands the culture around here and how to connect with donors

That's the common thread between oval jaynes...pederson. ....Jeff long and barnes......no true connection with the pitt fan base and the pittsburgh sports culture

We need someone with true understanding of this unique set of challenges

Foge forever!

Let's hire the best man or woman. Period. Let's NOT hire from inside a department that was overseen by Steve Pederson for 90% of the last 9 years.

If they leave, they leave. Go hire the next BEST QUALIFIED person.

Let's not shoot ourselves in the junk for no reason yet again.

 

[Dr. von Yinzer]

I once had a candid conversation with Jeff Long about this very issue – specifically the fundraising challenges the university's athletic department has.

Let me first say that he was a nice man and our conversation was very frank and honest and I appreciated that about him.

However, he kept complaining that the fundraising environment here was a lot more challenging than it was at most of the other schools at which he had worked.

I thought to myself, "Yeah, well no shitt, Sherlock," but I politely listened to his gripes.

I have long had strong feelings on this issue as one of the root causes for Pitt's struggles but I wanted to hear him out.

I asked him directly who we considered our comps? I expected him to say Miami, Boston College, Georgia Tech, etc.

I was going to suggest to him that those schools – along with perhaps Minnesota, Northwestern, Washington, Arizona State, etc. should form an alliance and share ideas, because we all face very similar challenges in non-competing markets.

Instead, and somewhat bizarrely, he replied that Oklahoma and Georgia were our ideals and he thought we had an opportunity to eventually be very similar to those schools.

I just sat back in amazement at how completely ridiculous his answer was. Maybe he misunderstood me? Maybe I phrased my question poorly? Maybe he had no idea how to succeed in an environment like this one?

That's a 100% true story.

 

[Somerset Panther]

Pelusi. Riddick. Whaley.

Three good Pitt man with experience at business (Pelusi) and Athletic administration( Whaley). Riddick is super smart with a ton of contacts.

 

[Las Panteras]

DVY.....

No idea if this is relevant....but UGA has the exact same seating requirements for football that Long brought to Pitt hoops .

That scheme works in Athens Ga.....terrible idea here.....

In fact....look for the new AD to go to some type of seat licensing for pitt hoops and s%!tcan the current setup

 

[revampedpanthers]

Lets review why past high-level people in Pitt athletics have left:

Ben Howland - went home to SoCal
Jamie Dixon - back to alma mater

Steve Pederson - back to alma mater
Scott Barnes - back home, sorta

Walt Harris - back home (asterisk though
because he was going to be fired)
Todd Graham - left to be close to Penni's parents
Paul Chryst - alma mater

So going back 20 years, the only high-level Pitt people that DIDN'T leave at least partly to go home or for family is:

Jeff Long who thought he could further his career in the SEC and Dave Wannstedt who would have stayed forever if he was allowed.

You cant tell me there is not a qualified sales-oriented administratior or business executive somewhere who has some affiation to the region that has a Pitt affiliation.

AGREE when it comes to the AD they could definitely find a Pittsburgh/Pitt alumni to take the job.
Would point out I think Dixon was basically pushed out similar to Walt. Program was stagnate and recruiting was falling off in both cases. Both those were more of a mutual parting. WH would have stayed with a new contract, notice he lives in Pittsburgh now. JD Pitt dropped his buyout to basically nothing because they wanted rid of him and his contract(which would have prevented Pitt from firing him for another 4 or 5 years!)

 

[TD_6082]

I once had a candid conversation with Jeff Long about this very issue – specifically the fundraising challenges the university's athletic department has.

Let me first say that he was a nice man and our conversation was very frank and honest and I appreciated that about him.

However, he kept complaining that the fundraising environment here was a lot more challenging than it was at most of the other schools at which he had worked.

I thought to myself, "Yeah, well no shitt, Sherlock," but I politely listened to his gripes.

I have long had strong feelings on this issue as one of the root causes for Pitt's struggles but I wanted to hear him out.

I asked him directly who we considered our comps? I expected him to say Miami, Boston College, Georgia Tech, etc.

I was going to suggest to him that those schools – along with perhaps Minnesota, Northwestern, Washington, Arizona State, etc. should form an alliance and share ideas, because we all face very similar challenges in non-competing markets.

Instead, and somewhat bizarrely, he replied that Oklahoma and Georgia were our ideals and he thought we had an opportunity to eventually be very similar to those schools.

I just sat back in amazement at how completely ridiculous his answer was. Maybe he misunderstood me? Maybe I phrased my question poorly? Maybe he had no idea how to succeed in an environment like this one?

That's a 100% true story.

Well, ideals and comps are two different things. I'm just going to guess that he, knowing you are a Pitt fan, wanted to name drop some schools just to impress you and wanted you to believe that he sees enormous potential at Pitt.

Otherwise, he was way off base.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I once had a candid conversation with Jeff Long about this very issue – specifically the fundraising challenges the university's athletic department has.

Let me first say that he was a nice man and our conversation was very frank and honest and I appreciated that about him.

However, he kept complaining that the fundraising environment here was a lot more challenging than it was at most of the other schools at which he had worked.

I thought to myself, "Yeah, well no shitt, Sherlock," but I politely listened to his gripes.

I have long had strong feelings on this issue as one of the root causes for Pitt's struggles but I wanted to hear him out.

I asked him directly who we considered our comps? I expected him to say Miami, Boston College, Georgia Tech, etc.

I was going to suggest to him that those schools – along with perhaps Minnesota, Northwestern, Washington, Arizona State, etc. should form an alliance and share ideas, because we all face very similar challenges in non-competing markets.

Instead, and somewhat bizarrely, he replied that Oklahoma and Georgia were our ideals and he thought we had an opportunity to eventually be very similar to those schools.

I just sat back in amazement at how completely ridiculous his answer was. Maybe he misunderstood me? Maybe I phrased my question poorly? Maybe he had no idea how to succeed in an environment like this one?

That's a 100% true story.

That's why I think we miss our mark when you bring in outsiders with specific experience in collegiate towns. THIS is different here. In most college towns and regions, the local college football (basketball) team is the source of sports interest. It is the rallying point. Here Pitt sports is not. So it is unique.

What makes Pitt such a conundrum, our endowment is incredibly high in consideration to the size of the school, name brand, etc.... We are right there with the STATES (OSU and PSU). Bigger than UW, Minnesota, UNC, Wisconsin, etc... Even more than Brown. Almost 3 1/2 times more than Alabama. But Athletic donations, we are far down the list. 61. Between Wake Forest and Rutgers. Just shows you Pitt has had some very wealthy and generous alumni, but at the same time, the athletics at Pitt really never resonated with these folks.

 

[oldpantherfan]

I'm sure there will be flax to this response but I'm being frank. Riddick nor whaley will get hired because they are African American.
Plus even though Whaley would be the perfect fit and would answer all the requirements of the fan base (local person, Pitt Grad/Pitt Man. aware of the challenges in Pittsburgh, Steeler connections, NFL connections, etc I think it is far fetched that Pitt will lure him from the Bills.
Tim Lewis is a good candidate who fits the fans needs and could have and should have been hired as the head football coach numerous times (at least over the past 3-4 coaches-Narduzzi included) and Pitt passed for reasons unknown to us. So I don't think they will offer the AD job nor will he probably accept if they do.
With that being said Pittsburghsportsnow reported that former OSU coach Jim Tressel was interested in the AD position (http://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2016/12/23/friday-psn-notebook-5/) and would be a good fit and meet fan requirements except being a Pitt man. And I think Whaley and Tressel would be great for Narduzzi and Pitt football.N

 

[bobfree]

I just hope the new guy works well with narduzzi. I do not want an AD that runs him off.

You should seek help

 

[thebadby2]

We don't need a Pitt guy, we need an Ohio State guy. Tressel time baby. Get it done.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

Maybe Kevin Stallings could do both jobs !
Pitt needs to hire a Pitt man , they need stability in the AD .
With regards to coaches they should always hire the best guy they can regardless of school affiliations .

 

[vegasgreed]

smf, you started this thread, who is your recommendation?

 

[Panther Parrothead]

That's why I think we miss our mark when you bring in outsiders with specific experience in collegiate towns. THIS is different here. In most college towns and regions, the local college football (basketball) team is the source of sports interest. It is the rallying point. Here Pitt sports is not. So it is unique.

What makes Pitt such a conundrum, our endowment is incredibly high in consideration to the size of the school, name brand, etc.... We are right there with the STATES (OSU and PSU). Bigger than UW, Minnesota, UNC, Wisconsin, etc... Even more than Brown. Almost 3 1/2 times more than Alabama. But Athletic donations, we are far down the list. 61. Between Wake Forest and Rutgers. Just shows you Pitt has had some very wealthy and generous alumni, but at the same time, the athletics at Pitt really never resonated with these folks.

Most wealthy people have money for a good reason: they save and spend their money wisely. Why would some zillionaire wanna throw money toward Pitt athletics, when Pitt's own administration wasn't committed to winning?

Our wrestling program is the ultimate example of this: we're located in one of THE best high school wrestling areas in the nation. Yet Pitt repeatedly fails to get get the top area wrestlers to stay home.

Why?

Lack of financial commitment....lackluster coaching....and Pitt's administration, for waaay too many years, just didn't care.

 

[Rezzo]

Pelusi. Riddick. Whaley.

 

[Rezzo]

Pat Bostic

 

[jtownknowitall]

Could Holly Aprile handle both jobs? How about Dan Fisher?

 

[Gep Dawg]

I think Barnes taught us if you focus on fundraising and have a friendly open relationship with the alumni that Pitt can again have a great athletic program. Bringing back the script and making attendance at bowls a priority has already paid dividends. The financial support was there up until Jaynes and Pederson. Sadly those two were given almost 30 uninterrupted years to isolate themselves and pretty much disengage 90% of the giving fan/alumni base.

 

[upj87]

Once again....SMF misses the mark.

We don't need a pitt guy because a pitt guy won't leave. ....

We need a pitt guy....or someone from this area. ...who truly understands the culture around here and how to connect with donors

That's the common thread between oval jaynes...pederson. ....Jeff long and barnes......no true connection with the pitt fan base and the pittsburgh sports culture

We need someone with true understanding of this unique set of challenges

like Foge or Wanny?