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Link Clearance

Heading into the 4th of July weekend and let’s let’s clear out some links.

First here is Bob Lichtenfell’s first piece for PSN. More of a stream of consciousness than anything else but the man has a fine reputation and is reputed to be well connected. Some good nuggets in here. Would love to hear him on a podcast.

Since we are already on PSN and we’ve been talking about the Director’s cup here is their take on it. Notice that under Heather Lyke Pitt has fallen to an all time low. I’m hoping this is one step back to take two steps forward… Also notice that just about the time we start to make progress the Athletic Director leaves. Maybe the anti-Lykers (dis-Lykers?) have a point? They do until next year anyway…

Here is Chris Peak’s latest Pantherlair podcast. He interviews Phil Steele about Pitt’s chances in 2019. I listened long enough to learn that the beer of the week is Ithaca Brewing’s “Platonic Love” Double IPA. Speaking of Platonic Love is it just me or does the intro music soind like he pulled it from a late night movie? Just something I’ve always wondered. Please keep those comments PG folks…

Pitt is running a 2 for 1 sale for the Central Florida game. And probably more compelling they donate a ticket to a deserving active duty or military veteran. What is unclear is if you get two tickets and they give a ticket to a veteran or if you just get one. I think it’s the former – otherwise it would just say “BOGO” instead of “BOGOGO”. Either way it’s a great cause and a great reason to go to a Pitt game on what should he a beautiful fall day in Pittsburgh. The other side of the coin is that ticket sales must be really slow for this one.

And finally, the coup de gras, the feather in the cap, the nail in the coffin. Our blogger emeritus and founder forwarded me this link a couple of days ago.

I’ve got only two things to say:

  1. We’ve got momentum , but Damn we’ve got a long way to go.

  2. (From the Cathedral Rooftop at the top of my lungs). HEATHER and CHANCELLOR GALLAGHER DESPITE OUR LACKLUSTER SHOWING IN THE DIRECTORS CUP MOMENTUM AROUND PITT ATHLETICS IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH. DO NOT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY. PLEASE IMPLEMENT A “PITTTAY” program ASAP.

(Clemson’s booster group is called IPTAY)

“The best time to plant a tree was yesterday. The second best time is today”. -Chinese proverb.

Hail to Pitt

Michaelangelo Monteleone

304 thoughts on “Link Clearance”

    1. Clemson’s booster organization is called IPTAY

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  2. Well, Clemson has a booster organization. What a surprise. It’s very frustrating that Pitt is so risk adverse that they can’t trust the AD to run a clean fund raising organization.

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  3. Erie — I see where the Pitt baseball team will have 20 new faces come the fall. 20!

    That’s due to graduations, players drafted and signed by MLB, and “roster adjustments.”

    Reportedly, the 20 new faces are about equally divided between true freshmen and junior college transfers…

    Go Pitt.

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    1. No that’s a team in flukes (baseball). Another new coach from
      Heather who was a lifetime assistant.

      Time will tell, but not being able to snag former HC’s with winning records is part of the reason Pitt is “last” in the Director’s Cup standings. See softball this past season.

      The track coach is a good one, but his team has no track.

      Miss Lyke has a tough job due to her predecessors bad choices and lack of clear direction from school leadership.

      There won’t be too many Director’s Cups sitting on Pitt’s front porch – maybe a Dixie cup with an “errs” tobacco spit.

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    1. That’s in there but thanks for reposting 😉

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  5. Bottom line…If Pitt wins in football and men’s basketball, not one person will give a crap about some cup.

    Liked by 5 people

  6. Thanks Mike!

    My favorite posts on the Blather were those where Chas posted links to related articles/blogs and commented.

    Listened to the Peak-Phil Steele interview yesterday. Steele grades the Panthers performance last year as B+, even with a 7-7 record. I will now put my hands to my ears while some explode. Agree with his perspective on the UVA game.

    Liked by 5 people

  7. JoeL – I may sound like a bad guy here but don’t see us beating UVA on a dry field. Their QB is too good.

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    1. Uva has the better QB and returns more starters, usually a pertinent factor in early season games. Doesn’t look good

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      1. Didn’t the Cavs lose its top rusher and receiver while Pitt has all of their wide outs coming back? That should play a big factor. Pitt’s corners should be more than up for the task versus Virginia’s receivers.

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    2. Mark – if I hadn’t conversed with you here and in person, you might sound like a bad guy. But I appreciate the respect for the other guy. He’s a player. We’ll need a decent, “spirited” night game crowd plus good defensive pressure.

      Hey and before anybody starts to bemoan, poke fun, ridicule….our potential attendance for that game please keep in mind that we’ll have a better crowd than what the Cavs normally have at home, even if we don’t have Cav-Man riding his stallion out onto the field. And I think Sweet Caroline matches up well against:

      “We come from Old Vir-Gin-I-A,
      Where all is bright and gay.
      Let’s all join hands and give a yell
      For dear old U-V-A!”

      … to the music of Auld Lang Syne”

      And besides, we’ll have the ribfest going on “dahn ‘er en at” :))

      Liked by 1 person

    3. Bryce Perkins; 2018 vs. Pitt; 17 of 24 for 205 yards; 1 TD; Sacked 5 times; QB rating of 51; Yea, we’re scared.

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      1. We had a good night and the beginning of the game was impacted by very heavy rains – there was a lake in the middle of the field. AND…we came to play.
        So, the stats may or may bot be misleading.

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        1. UPitt – JoeL was there along with a few of us other Pitt fans (me included).

          Both teams played in the same conditions and Pitt dominated their QB as the Hoos were battling Pitt for 1st place in the Coastal that night.

          I’m pretty sure the Hoos fans left shortly after the 3rd qtr. Those that stayed got to hear an interesting rendition of Sweet Caroline lead by JoeL and Richman.

          There was no alcohol allowed in that UVA stadium (on campus by the way) “wink – wink”

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          1. We had a running game – Lends itself to wet conditions. They had a passing game, as you knw doesn’t lend itself to the rain let alone monsoon.

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            1. The monsoon ended 1/2 way through the 1st qtr.

              The evening was quite pleasant after that.

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          2. haha – yes I was there with you!

            Monsoon is accurate. Walking into Scott Stadium, I thought, “oh boy, how are they gonna play this one?” But then it calmed down.

            10 of us huddled under my buddy Al’s canopy tent – Erie (with occasional appearances from his better half, BigB and Jeannie B, Richman, my buddies Al and Randy and a couple of B’s buddies from Williamsburg.

            I learned how good Crown was that night with just a splash of ginger ale.

            We sat right in front of Paul and Mrs. Zeise and with many other parents.

            The wet field did not seem to bother Hall, who ran all over the Cavs that night.

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  8. are you aware that SmartAssets (financial corp) has rated Pittsburgh as the most undervalued city in US for the second year in a row? Here is some data that I was unaware of

    Pittsburgh ranked #1 on the list for the second straight year. Some factors that put it there:

    A high school graduation rate of 93%, the second highest in the top 10 and a top-40 rate in the study overall.
    A population in which 37% of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree. That rate leads the top 10 of SmartAsset’s study and ranks 14th out of all 189 cities in its study.
    According to SmartAsset, Zillow estimates the price per square foot in Pittsburgh is around $104.50, but the SmartAsset model “estimates homes should cost $262.79 per square foot, resulting in a surplus value of about $158.”
    One area where Pittsburgh fell short was the walkability score. It is the second-least walkable city in the top 10.

    I’m sure 4 and 5 stars will be lining up now

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Couple thoughts to clear out my foghat head: A little tongue in cheek here.

    People that really seem to care about something called a directors cup are Heather detractors. Which is fine by me and all but I don’t give a care. BTW, I think a couple of the “other” sports at PITT are on the rise.

    Well Phil and myself agree on the results from last year. B+ Turns out that someone who is thought of as a college football expert thinks winning the ACC Coastal division is more important than most anything else.

    Also, the UVA game. Yep biggest first game around here in years. I think PITT will be ready. BE THERE!

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    1. The ACC cares so Pitt should care. Results like this show that Pitt doesnt care or they are very bad at running sports. My take is that Pitt does care, they still arent very good at running sports, there are many new coaches rebuilding programs, and the other ACC schools have better coaches and facilities, more stability and tradition which will make it tough for Pitt to compete in Olympic sports

      Liked by 1 person

  11. OH a BTW and sit down for this one, Bob and I didn’t get along all that well at the 247 site. SHOCKER! 🙂

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  12. Pitt is a long way from comprehensive excellence. They’ve literally replaced every coach not named Narduzzi in the last two years.

    Heather went rip and replace instead of upgrading the existing infrastructure. The Pitt athletic department was a complete rebuild. She gutted out the previous culture instead of trying to fix it. Very few people not named EJ are still around … New department heads, new coaches, new players, new brand …

    Hopefully, we see it pay dividends in about 10 years when expansion-apocalypse starts again … 😬 … let the riots begin …

    I, personally, think it’s what Pitt had to do. Those of you tired of waiting, I’m sure you’re upset.

    As they say, patience is a virtue … and a reality. Pitt was not a quick fix. Pitt is not a quick fix. No matter how you try to spin it or who you try to compare it to. The complacency that set in at Pitt I really don’t think is replicable at any other university.

    Build from the foundation up so you don’t have leaks in the future.

    If you try to do it fast for the sake of fast, or cheap for the sake of cheap, or if you try to sweep crap under the rug … you’re going to have a mess to clean up later.

    Do it right the first time. Do it well the first time. Spend what you have to the first time … and then you might have a house that lasts a while.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. What’s interesting TT is Heather made no changes early on, she sat back and kept her ear to the ground and her eyes wide open and observed. Then she went on to make the changes. Another philosophy I agree with in management. I don’t think she’s going anywhere for a while, same as Narduzzi.

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      1. ike – I wholeheartedly agree with that. She studied the program the first year and didn’t make any irrational or impromptu changes without all the information that she needed to make such decisions … at least that’s the way it looks in hindsight and what I choose to believe, lol. In year 2, it appears that she didn’t waste any time moving the direction of the Athletic Department on a new course after careful analysis of what it would take. I think this is the correct course for a program in as bad of shape as Pitt was. It was a comprehensive rebuild that also had to align with the modernization of current and future athletics. Pitt is finally moving into the 21st century … albeit 20 years late.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Exactly Dan, then you have to sit back and be patient to see how the changes made work on out. Changes to decades of problems don’t occur overnight or there would be any problems ever to anyone.

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  13. I will have to re-watch the UVA QB. Was not impressed the couple of times that I saw him last season.

    Too many question marks with the Pitt offense to make a call on the Pitt/UVA game just yet. I have a feeling Pitt’s offense will struggle out of the gate.

    I didn’t review the SmartAssets study, but it’s possible that certain areas of Pittsburgh (Mon Valley as an example) bring the per square foot housing price average down quite a bit. Was back home (in the Mon Valley) a couple of times this year and saw decent houses for sale for under $150,000. In Denver, you can’t touch a basic starter for under $400,000.

    Walk-ability and weather seem to be important with the younger folks.

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    1. If you’re in the right neighborhood it’s super walkable. If course real estate is more expensive in those neighborhoods…

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    2. In Texas, I’ve made over 100k in profits on two houses in 5 years.

      My Dad’s house was worth the same in PA 15 years ago.

      That is the difference.

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      1. No real estate appreciation in Pittsburgh over a 15 year period? I call 🐃💩.

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  14. Steele giving us a B+ was surprising. His rationale was mostly based on winning coastal and he ignored SOS and blowout losses. He gave us a pass for Miami since we clinched coastal and saw it as a letdown. I would give us a B for last season.
    Say what you will about his rating…But the guy has an amazing grasp on college football.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Mike, I think the buy a ticket for a Vet has become an annual thing with a different twist this year. Last year I bought two extra tickets for a discount price and PITT gave them away to Vets who signed up.

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  16. I liked to see that lichtenfel thinks the vibe around pitt football is as good as he has seen in a long time. Things do seem positive now. We really need to keep things moving with a strong season. I actually think 2020 will be the big breakthrough year.

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    1. The Virginia game either squashes that MOJO of which you speak or supercharged it. This first game will be pivotal in determining how Pitt is viewed by the causal fan & the national media alike. A win gives the Panthers a nice boost in the Coastal Division right out of the starting blocks, a loss brings out the SOP doubters in force. Biggest home opener for Pitt since Florida State came to town.

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      1. Bigger because there was really no chance we were going to be at Florida state

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  17. Response to JoeL’s comment from way up there somewhere. You’re right, haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Mark (Upitt) in person yet but have had many exchanges of texts, emails and a few phone calls. Mark is a great guy. << You know I feel the same way about you as well Joe.

    Still thinking PITT gets over 50,000 for the UVA game. Not that far off already, this off season seems to have gone by a little quicker than usual. My problem is that my meds have caught up to my stomach. If the game started tomorrow I probably would have to sit it out. Golden years my you know what!

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  18. The AD need to auction off two scholarships per game. At the end of the 4th quarter. Also I would contact Uber and give the students a special code to go to the game for free or at a large discount like 5 bucks each way. The athletic department could pay the balance.

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    1. They need to do with Clemson does and just add season tickets to all athletic events to the list of student fees. Every student is forced to pay in and it indents attendance because students have already paid for the ticket.

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      2. When I went to Pitt there was an activity fee that got you into all events. Probably can’t include football and basketball any longer but agree with all of the other sports.

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        1. I bet if they included it for football they would increase student attendance by 5-10% just because some students are apathetic about getting tickets

          Agree that basketball probably has more demand than seats so that’s a good thing

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          1. The problem with increasing student fees is that it increases the total cost of attendance which brings in added legislative pressure regarding student debt. Legislative pressure is already high and many in the legislature are questioning the value of an undergraduate degree in an effort to reduce funding to universities. Most universities are trying their best to reduce or eliminate fees in an effort to show that they are trying to help solve the student debt problem and keep their funding streams in place as best they can. There is a solution to this however, and that is running your university more like a business. Academics are not qualified to run a business and higher education run more and more like a business every day.

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        2. Those plain blue plastic cards got you a lot of stuff. Show your card and for $1.00 see a Penguin Game.

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  19. I know that Richman cycled off the fan committee and don’t know if he is reading this today, but would be good to ask the question about raffling off a semester’s tuition at each FB game like they do at Charlottesville. It has an impact.

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  20. Hoping grandson #3 gets here in time that I can make the run up for the UVA game..maybe i will be #50,000…

    I had a ‘eer fan as a patient today..almost felt bad for him…closest game for him to see is in Morgantown 375 miles away…talk about road trips…-those bastads have it rough…how many cases of beer would it take to drive to Texas Tech or Oklahome?????

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Oh man a lot. Very glad we are in the ACC. Good luck on #3. Hope he cooperates with your schedule

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  21. The season ticket thing will not do much. We had it at BU, big urban school, it did nothing for attendance. I am talking about a number 1 hockey team in NCAA.

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    1. Yea but nobody watches hockey…(haha)

      Clemson has also done a nice job of building up the culture of attending all the sporting events. Plus there is literally nothing else to do in that little town so that helps them too.

      I agree with you though that students are much more likely to Uber (or maybe use a bird scooter) 🛴 to the games rather that take a school bus. Damn it nobody likes riding a school bus

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  22. I know that many only care about football and some only about basketball. These are the marquis money making sports.

    I look at things from a completely different perspective. The performance in the Director’s Cup is the strongest indicator that Pitt has never seen athletics as having much value. It has never been part of the culture. Sure there are many obstacles for a city school, like not having a track and up until recently no soccer field and poor baseball facilities. Yes Virginia it does and has had an impact on football and basketball. The whole Athletes vs. Academics issue that has been evident for much of Pitt’s existence does not seem to have an impact at most of our competition. Other schools are extremely proud of their athletic achievements. Take Stanford as the best example. Pitt on the other hand has tried to play with the big boys with a Carnegie Mellon attitude and budget, until joining the ACC. The number of All-Americans at Pitt in anything other than Football is laughable.

    Look at the top of the Director’s Cup list for the relationship of success in football and basketball to the overall success of all athletics.

    If you value and respect athletes, you respect the ones that do it for the love of the competition in all sports, the ones that will not make a living as much as the ones that become millionaires.

    The fact that Pitt just hasn’t cared is no secret, Pitt is a joke to many in the region. Kids don’t grow up thinking Pitt is reasonable option let alone their first choice to continue with their sport.

    So along with the obstacles of being a city school,and a winter school you have the the ingrained culture and and public opinion that Pitt is not it for athletes.

    So while WV has focused on rifle which fits their region Pitt has missed out on wrestling, a regional sport that they could dominate.

    I also think that blaming Heather Lyke for much of this is nonsense. She has been here for a New York Minute, Turning a culture that has existed for over 100 years will not happen overnight if ever.

    It is like blaming Narduzzi for not having top twenty recruiting results or Capel for not landing a Top Twenty Center. Some of it is on them, but most is on Pitt’s history of not treating it’s athletic department and its athletes with any respect at all. Apologies to Rodney Dangerfield.

    Liked by 10 people

  23. Here is a crazy idea I proposed before. Pitt and CMU should lease the Schenley golf course for 100 years and build a new Championship Course. It might have to be only nine holes if there is not enough space.
    They could manage/contract the facility which would be a great asset to the city/county. They could also re/start men’s and women’s golf teams. They could also get the many Country Clubs in the area to support the program by hosting events etc, which would be a draw for recruiting.

    Many schools have their own courses on campus, why not Pitt? There are northern schools with great golf teams, why not Pitt?

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    1. Of course they do, they have a much more rabid fan base and they represent a whole state.

      While they hate Pitt, many West Virginians love the Steelers, Pirates and Penquins. and attend many events.

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  26. Hockey is another example of how Pitt has been asleep at the switch. First with Mario, and next with Sidney, there has been a real surge in Hockey in the region. So Pitt let’s RMU get the jump and start a D1 program.

    Again no interest in focusing on sports to be competitive. Women’s sports have been even more of a disaster.
    Look at women’s basketball. Hard to understand. There are some great women soccer players coming out of Western PA. Are they going to Pitt?

    I do think Heather is the first AD to show any interest in sports other than football and basketball. Good on her for that, hope she can convince the powers that be of their value.

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  27. JoeL,..i do remember raffleing off a semester idea being raised. Heck it may have even been me. However, I do not recall anything coming of it. Rest assured they have many ideas on how to get students to the game. They are sorting through them and implementing what makes sense. They are updating the systems as well (websites etc.). takes time.
    As far as the PITTTPAY, i have one question.
    Is ITTTPay igpay atlinlay?

    Liked by 3 people

  28. When I moved from NC to SC in 1974, IPTAY stood for ” I pay ten a year”. All fans could afford to contribute, and probably did. Soon it was “I pay twenty a year”. Then, “30 a year”.

    Now it sounds like it must be, ” I pay 10,000 a year!

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    1. Haha! For entry level fans (recent grads) it’s $100 a year I think. Then of course it goes up from there

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  30. Don’t worry if people don’t follow the Director’s Cup … Pat Forde has us covered … How does Pitt even have bloggers?

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    2. Well, if that gets any traction, the Admin will be humiliated. Won’t be like the SI article, but this should generate discussion at the BOT level. They should collectively be embarrassed and give the AD everything needed to at least get to middle of the field.

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      1. Pitt is giving Heather everything. There are no longer any excuses for results like these.

        The money is there. The facilities are adequate to excellent and getting better (Victory Heights).

        But it will take time with all these new coaching hires and some of these hires most likely will be mistakes so more future rebuilding and more instability.

        Pitt needs to support sports where it can excel due to existing facilities, regional recruiting talent, demand by fans, no weather constraints, etc.

        Hockey is a no brainer.

        Pitt gave up tennis for lacrosse. Pitt’s women probably wont win a ACC game in their first ACC year. They might win one or two in their second year, but I guess its better than going 1 and 69.

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          1. Hockey is expensive and getting ice time is a pain. Thats where the MPC comes in. Penn State actually makes a small profit on hockey. Their single purpose hockey arena cost around $60M…gifted by Pergola an alum and owner of the Sabres. Pitt could easily recruit talent from neighboring states and Canada.

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    3. Good job, Pitt. You jagoffs have thumbed your nose at sports since killing football in 1982. You think athletics don’t matter? Think again. Way to have pride in all that you strive for, which in this case is to stick out your hand and collect conference checks.

      You panicked at the SI article for being first out of the top 25 in kids getting into trouble and acted foolishly by firing your coach. Let’s see what you do to wipe away this fluster in the coming years.

      Liked by 1 person

    4. Wow, I guess it can’t get worse from a P5 perspective.

      Double wow!

      And the projection for the future is “decline”.

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  31. This Heather with all the freaking certificates is killing this program….. 🙂 If she awards one more deserving person with an award, I will blow my top. That’s it, I’ve had it with her handing out thank yous and gratitude. How dare her!! ike …………love you Mark!

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    1. She should quit trying to get on TV. Have us beg our TV providers, quit hirinifelong assitants and actually attack any of her 3 plans she started and made no progress on. The certificates are a microcosm of her wasting time.

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  32. I don’t care about Pitt’s women’s volleyball, pseudo scholarship-club hockey, backgammon, Yahtzee’s or any other schmaltzy sport whose participants none of us can even name (unless it’s a neighbor kid or a distant relative).
    I care about football and basketball, the stuff we see on tv and what gets discussed throughout the country.
    The real travesty is not that Pitt failed to bring in crack Parcheesi players, but allowed their once proud football program to languish in abject mediocrity (and worse) for thirty five years. Or that they allowed their winningest hoops coach to walk away ( minimum buyout) only to hire Rockports.
    And by the way, what did TCU (a school with grown ups running the show) say about waiving Jamie’s buyout to go home to LA?

    Hey Pitt, some advice from the first day of little league: If you want to play, give it your best. Otherwise, pack up and go home.

    Liked by 5 people

    2. Today, in kids sports they have this thing called “participation trophy” – winning is de-emphasized.

      At Pitt, a winning sports program seems to be frowned upon. It seems STUPID when I type it and re-read it, BUT how else can you explain the past 35 years of Pitt sports.

      The psuX members on the BoT explains some of the past 35 years. That should be an easy fix – alumni need to be outraged and speak up, write letters and repeat, repeat, repeat!

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      1. And remove the pedo enablers immediately from all things Pitt.

        Disgusting that hasn’t happened yet.

        I’m having to log in every time I post –

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  33. It will probably get worse before it gets better since several programs are in the rebuilding mode. The sad thing is Pitt is spending the most it ever has on sports and it gets these results. And it still loses $10 Million each year. Thats the hidden $500 dollar student fee to subsidize sports.

    With the new ACC network coming on line, the entire Eastern Seaboard will see just how bad Pitt sports really are. And they get to see some old facilities (Fitzgerald) and few fans in attendance (has anyone here ever attended a soccer, softball or baseball game?).

    I dont see Pitt being able to ever get out of the overall bottom in the ACC. Its just too damn competitive in this conference. Other schools have far better facilities (except for football and basketball). They have better coaches who have been around for a long time generally (stability). They have programs with rich traditions. They have very passionate supporters who give their money to sports. They have different cultures that nurture sports and weave it into the fabric of undergrad life.

    Pitt would excel in the MAC or AAC. They would win and the overall department might actually break-even. Pitt is a misfit in this conference but Pitt cant pass up a $30 Million dollar check each year and the perception that goes with being a P-5 school, albeit the worst P-5 school by far in sports.

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  34. This is a classic Pitt moment, isn’t it?

    Even the most cyincal here would agree that this year’s verbal commits look better than last yr, the re-branding has generated some excitement and Capel has made small inroads vs last yr….wait a moment, the most cynical here wouldn’t agree to that – but it’s true anyway. Things have been looking up – even if not at the pace some would like.

    And then someone in the form of a Pat Forde decides to stomp on Pitt and make it a poster child for ineptitude in Athletics management. I suppose is makes for better fodder to pick on the low guy instead of pointing out the winner.

    Damn, this program is simply snake-bitten.

    As Gordon stated so well this morning around 11:07am, this isn’t at all reflective of the job Heather is doing. The seeds of this were sown some time ago and she may or may not be part of the solution. My uncle would say this is like turning the USS Iowa on the Dividing Creek – its not gonna happen quickly.

    Mike’s Chinese proverb also rings so true – the best time to plant a tree is yesterday; the second best time is today.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Pat Forde is great … the list had a #1 … it was just in reverse order. His Forde Yard Dash is a must read in the fall.

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  37. Confucius says:

    It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

    The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence

    Liked by 4 people

  38. The ladies also have cheerleading(National Champs), majorettes and dance team… all these organizations which cost pesos…. I am with the Gasman..focus on football, basketball and wrestling to re- brand our school… all I can think of at the moment”30,000 students…15,000 employees and 100 sport teams…please donate today…. I purposely exaggerated the # of teams….

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Forde is bitter because Pitt got into the ACC before Louisville. The same Louisville with horrible academics. Rampant cheating. The hiring of some really despicable coaches. He just needs to shut his piehole.

      Liked by 1 person

  40. Not so fast GC. The second way out is to go division 2.

    So if we are ranked 125 next year, should we party like it’s 1979! Our AD is in year 3 fellas, 28 months.Not year one.

    Dan, you and I are going to disagree a bit. First impressions are critical. When you are the CEO and your reputation is on the line and your wallet is too, do you make first impressions and then act upon them quickly, or do you wait and lose money? The gut feeling and experience is typically what you go with when overhauling your team. You don’t wait. Most CEO’s don’t get 6 years to turn around a program. This is where her lack of experience costs Pitt a couple of years of dangling in nowheresville, which is close to the bottom. CEO’s need to show results quickly or they get canned. Her first year, she finished 111th or whatever crap number it was. Her second year it was 137th. Read that number again 1..3..7!!!! Pitt has been ranked 14th or 15th every year in the ACC for the last 6 years. And giving is terrible because recent alumni only know their university as sports losers.

    I would let Ike be the AD and he wouldn’t do much worse than 111 or 137. He wouldn’t go Fanta, it would be a full happy meal! He could hire a firm to hire coaches just as well. We are still P5, right? Templesque of the ACC. We aren’t even close to 65th in P5, holie tamoli! Changing out so many coaches is sure to bring a hit to one of the programs,right? Hidden Vigourish as the Gunner would say.

    Pitt missed on bringing in someone that already had respect in the AD space. Pitt Admin missed a quick turnaround. They missed because she checked the box for cheap and also because she checked the diversity box. That is the truth. Once we can admit that, we can then try to accept mediocrity. I do hope she rights the ship, but the first 28 months suggests same stuff, different mouthpiece.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Somehow Huff the Third I don’t feel the nice pat on the back with your comment. More like a shot in the back. Anywho, I’ve managed many people in my life and never let anyone down. PITT fans? There is no pleasing them all. Remember big guy, patience is a virtue and know when something lands in your lap and appreciate it.

      Like

      1. ike – this is what patience and incompetence gives you…over $250 Million dollars in operating losses since 1990. Those losses are subsidized by students. Pitt owes undergrad students about $2,000 in reparations. And Pitt wonders why alumni tell Pitt to F-off.

        Like

    2. I’ve never been a CEO but have reported directly to three. Sure you have to “stop the bleeding “and put out obvious fires but the worst mistakes I’ve ever seen made were hasty decisions that looked correct on the surface but turned out to be stupendous blunders because incorrect assumptions were made and due diligence wasn’t properly done.

      I’ve seen company’s destroyed by hasty decisions. There is never harm in waiting! But great harm in acting spontaneously.

      Liked by 1 person

  41. Vermont is a 6 time national champ in skiing. they finished 5th in 2017. Here is their other recent successes from the American East Conference:

    2017 Men’s Basketball – Regular Season Champions
    2017 Men’s Basketball – Tournament Champions
    2017 Men’s Soccer – Regular Season Champions

    They either crapped out in 2018 or didn’t update the web site

    Liked by 2 people

  42. and her Compliance background was another check
    Pitt is nowhere close to mediocrity with these results however

    cant see how anyone with a conscience would accept or be nonchalant about 70 non P-5 schools finishing ahead of Pitt given the money that Pitt spends ($90M) and the money that Pitt loses ($10M) each year

    Its going to get worse before it gets better but even in better times, Pitt will still be at the bottom of the ACC hanging with BC and Ga Tech.

    Pitt is basking in the prestige of being a member in the ACC and eagerly collects their handout, But I would have to think there are more worthy schools out there.

    Like these: UCF, SFla, Cincy, UConn

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Heather is one of the lowest paid AD’s in all of P-5. She makes $400k while the avg AD in the ACC makes close to $900k. Other schools treat sports like a business and hire CEO’s.

        Very few P-5 schools subsidize their sports to the extent of Pitt. Pitt’s subsidy is around 12% each year. The typical P-5 school is closer to 4%. Only about 20 schools actually make a profit however.

        There are some schools that take balancing the budget seriously. See Washington State for example. In Heather’s wake at EMU, the school had to cut 4 programs given their fiscal problems.

        If I did run things, I would be cutting programs. Pitt has 19 programs today that it cannot support. That would have been the first thing I would have done. Balance the budget. And then gradually grow the department by picking and choosing the sports that make the most sense at Pitt. See hockey.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. USF is the 4th largest school in FL, and UCF has more students enrolled on campus than any other US university. Can’t understand what’s holding the ACC back

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Miami and Florida State

        Although Orlando would be a ‘new’ market
        I can see UCF getting in one day.
        Maybe even South Florida. They play in Tampa’s stadium but at least have performed an OCS feasibility study.

        Cincy would be another school to look at. Market is similar in size to Pittsburgh. They would make a good rival for Louisville.

        If Pitt keeps performing this bad, they will be at least placed on double secret probation by the ACC

        Like

        2. Sheer nonsense. Pitt ain’t going anywhere and the ACC will stick with the current Coastal Champion for a very very long time.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. what isnt non-sense is that the ACC brass is not pleased with results like these. I wouldnt be surprised if Pitt is put on a performance improvement plan. Pitt adds little to the ACC at this point (besides being a 7-7 ‘champ’) and being a school that everyone can beat up on.

            Like

      1. “Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me”. —- title of Richard Farina’s book (1966)

        Like

  43. I can’t understand why Heather isn’t a more visible face of Pitt athletics. What is going on with Victory Heights? Are they are seeking donations to pay for it? If so, wouldn’t a little publicity help? I personally like HL and think she has gotten pretty good at hiring coaches. But come on, she is supposed to be the visible face of Pitt athletics. I’d say she is more INvisible.

    Like

    1. VoR, sh’e criticized all the time by being visible. She just can’t win. Handing out awards to deserving people only brings more grief from some.

      Like

  44. BTW, it’s July now and people are starting to get the itch for football. What are they doing to sell tickets? Other than to season ticket holders of course!

    Like

    1. tough to market a program that lost their last 3 games
      tough to market when there are no marquee players
      tough to market when the coach is perceived by fans to be an arse
      tough to market when your home slate doesnt include the Pedos, Domers or Hoopies
      tough to market when the allure of Heinz has faded

      Like

  45. I know he has also done more than his share for Pitt football, but I would solicit the help of Aaron Donald (and James Conner) to help with excitement and ticket sales for the coming season. Something along the lines of see the stars of tomorrow today at Heinz Field.

    Like

      1. I actually do think Wanny could help with Pitt football in some capacity, not as HC obviously, but I’m sure Heather could figure something out, however unrealistic that may be…

        Like

  46. Late getting to this article, but FWIW, the cost for a Pitt student to attend football and basketball is quite reasonable in my opinion. My daughter is entering the Swanson School of Engineering next month. She just got her football and basketball season tickets for a total of $125. This included Oakland Zoo and Panther Pitt T Shirts. By comparison, my nephew at Penn State pays at least triple that just for football.

    Liked by 2 people

  47. I see my hand grenade worked 😬.

    Bottoming out I think is actually a good thing.

    Heather almost literally fired every coach after observing for a year. After looking at the state of the athletic department, she felt the only alternative was to start over.

    That is how bad of shape Pitt’s athletic department was in. That someone would be willing to not only consider, but actually commit, career suicide as the only viable way out of the predicament.

    Think about that.

    Pitt was middling in a sea of mediocrity. Mediocrity had become the norm and expectation and, worse, accepted. 30 + years of this stale culture had infested Pitt so deeply that everyone associated with it had to go.

    Whether this works or not, it was probably the right move. It had to happen.

    Whether Heather is the right person to raise Pitt from the ashes is something we’ll find out, but I don’t think that changes the fact it was a necessity.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. it was worse than mediocrity. Pitt’s avg placement in the Directors Cup has been 95 since 1993. That places Pitt in the bottom 10% of all P-5 schools. They should begin printing shirts saying ‘Fail to Pitt.’

      Like

      1. I hear you can buy them all over state college…

        Like

  48. If you think it is hard to recruit for Pitt Football and Basketball, imagine how difficult it is to recruit for the other teams that have never won, never been expected to win and have flown under the radar for ever. Impossible to recruit anyone with a high profile.

    Absolute necessity for Heather to start over with coaching, but that overall cultural change to where Pitt actually values athletes has to start and be supported from the top down. To get Pitt supporters to believe and to open their wallets is a daunting task. No one wants to throw good money after bad. How to get the public to believe that Pitt administration is no longer inept will take time, a whole lot of effort and real results on the field.

    The ACC money and security of P-5 should be enough to initiate the change, but will Pitt build on that or just rest on it’s arse like it has done forever.

    Liked by 1 person

  49. Wow, a lot of nonsense being written on here, LOL.

    The ACC isn’t going to kick Pitt out, that is comical.

    Pitt is a middle of the road spender as far as the ACC. Other schools subsidize their programs as much as Pitt or more. College athletic spending is all smoke and mirrors. No one truly knows what each school spends and how they spend it.

    Pitt can’t just cut programs. Part of being in a power 5 conference is having many of the same programs that the other schools do.

    Adding Ladies LAX was a great move. It fits in the ACC, it is the fastest growing sport in the country, it balances out the number of female athletes that Pitt must have.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Pitt may not be kicked out but do you think Pitt is worthy? UCF seems to me to be a better fit than Pitt. Does the ACC have buyers remorse with Pitt? For basketball, heck yes.

      Pitt is a top third to middle of road spender in the ACC. It would spend more if it had more revenues (donations, ticket sales). Pitt has a very high % subsidy. Much higher than every P-5 school save about 4. Pitt has to publicly disclose their books every year and that allows one to determine the subsidy but what Pitt needs is a real audit with the results disclosed for all to see.

      If Pitt cannot support 19 programs, why shouldnt Pitt consider cutting? Schools that are fiscally responsible make those decisions every year. The number of programs varies greatly by ACC school. Pitt actually has one of the higher spends per program at $5M. For D-1, a school is only required to support 14 programs.

      Lacrosse was a good move but dont expect Pitt to be competitive anytime soon in the ACC. They will struggle. It would also be a waste of space and money to build a lacrosse field. The existing soccer field is fine.

      Like

      1. Miami and FSU are the reason there will never be another Florida university in the ACC.

        Pitt can afford 19 programs. Thus the reason for 19 programs.

        Pitt will definitely not be competitive in LAX any time soon.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. From a budget standpoint, Pitt cannot afford 19 programs unless balancing the operating budget is of no consequence. It must be nice to keep raiding monies from the general fund to subsidize sports.

          Like

      2. You are overlooking academics, which the ACC values. Remember, the ACC is governed by the university presidents and not sports fans or ADs. UCF simply doesn’t have the academic standing that the ACC prefers. That may be the biggest reason why WVU was not invited.

        Pitt is a member of the AAU, which gives it quite a bit of prestige that the ACC wants in its member schools.

        Now having said that, I believe that the ACC lost its mind when it invited Louisville. If they were going to reach outside of their academic comfort zone, WVU was a better choice. Would have been better for TV and regional rivalries. You will never convince me that it makes sense.

        I would bet that their are some ACC Presidents feeling buyers remorse at this point. I would. Because of that, I would not be reaching for a school like UCF. UConn would have been a better fit, both academically and from a TV market perspective.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Agreed, nobody with half a brain thinks Pitt is going to be kicked out of the ACC, this is just ‘dog days of summer’ banter, because there’s not a lot of substance to talk about right now and the negative nancies need to point there frustration somewhere.

      H2P

      Liked by 1 person

  50. I am not sure if the new LAX coach will win a game but if you watch her interview she is a very impressive young lady. Good luck to her. Smart move hiring a Toronto native. LAX is huge in Canada and many recruits come from there. I think it is a great move by Pitt. They should work toward adding a men’s team next.

    By the way, Heather mentioned something about a LAX facility being part of the Victory Heights project. Not sure if she was talking about a field, offices, etc.

    Like

  51. Women’s LAX was a great move. Many more women will participate than tennis. Tennis is a dying sport, you see tennis courts with weeds growing up through them everywhere. LAX is huge on the East Coast, more prominent than football in Maryland and Eastern PA. Being competitive is a whole other story, same with all of our teams.

    Why would the ACC be miffed at Pitt for basketball. They are perfectly content with Carolina schools winning everything. They are probably really miffed at VA for upstaging them. The ACC is miffed at Pitt like the B1G is miffed at Rutgers and Maryland for being two guaranteed football wins every year.

    Let me get this straight, we used to be mad because Pitt didn’t spend enough. Now we are mad because they spend too much with poor results. Pretty Funny stuff.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Pitt neglected sports and still managed to get better results back in the 90’s with its Olympic sports. Now granted they were playing small Catholic schools and other schools (see Rutgers) with sports departments as leaderless and incompetent as Pitts. Now its spending and getting worse results. Neither situation is funny.

      Like

    2. Like I’ve been saying gc, when someone or something is not Lyked, they can’t say, do or behave in any fashion that is except-able. It’s human nature in its purist form.

      Like

    1. Keep the faith my Big friend. btw, who won the golf outing? I suspect everyone was a winner………

      Like

      1. Big B, don’t lower your expectations. Instead, up your wager and profit financially. They’re underestimating our boys and that number, the O/U line, is going to go up.

        Liked by 1 person

  55. From what I saw last year Bryce Perkins is an ok QB, nothing more. A QB can only be as good as the scheme/system he plays in and the players he has around him. It’s a team effort all the way around. UVA should be good this year but I believe there is too much stock being put on Perkins shoulders. imo.

    Like

    1. Hard to predict Pitt wins going into this season given the new offense, several new starters on the O-line and unknown RBs.

      Defense should be unspectacular but solid. Solid enough to be ranked top 30 or 40.

      I could see us winning anywhere from 5 to 9 games. And, i agree, glad we play the games…

      Like

  57. Here’s a little advice for the Holiday weekend………….. KISS ……….Let’s see who gets this first?

    Like

    1. Keep it simple stupid

      I had to log in every time this morning. Too hard for me to figure out – I’m going to KISS off…

      Like

      1. I never ever have to log in, wish I could help you Rick. Hope all is well around your parts. Take care buddy!

        Like

      2. Just a guess but make sure you are saving your browser cookies. Don’t use an incognito browser.

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  58. (In response to Rocky and Ike) QBs are so dependent on the supporting cast to do their best…Trevor Lawrence would have struggled on PITT’s O last year..though he is more poised than KP, he would have put up better numbers but none the less would have been challenged….I wasn’t very impressed with UVA’s QB…Duke had their QB drafted and he did not look impressive against us in the 2 years he started neither did the UVa QB….the QB’s who have been successful could throw and run and usually we gave them the option because of a lack of pressure….

    Liked by 1 person

  59. There are 65 P5 teams and the chance of the long discussed four 16-team conferences is still very much in play. However, that would take a large realignment and a handful of lower achieving teams may be shown the door … especially when Tampa/St Pete (USF) and Orlando (UCF) has the 11th and 18th TV markets respectively,

    But the NCAA and especially the TV markets which provide the NCAA much of its revenue don’t give one damn about the Director’s Cup. They care about college FB and BB. These provide almost all of the advertising revenue for them.

    And ironically, the one thing that probably hurts Pitt the most when it comes to attendance and recruiting may be the one thing that preserves its P5 status ….. being an urban school. Pittsburgh is the 24th TV market.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_television_markets

    But even if the four 16-team arrangement doesn’t come to pass, I would have to think that the TV market will always be Pitt’s saving grace

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Do the conferences still care that much about television markets? With cord-cutting, I think the amount of money they’re able to wring out of unwilling cable subscribers is on the way down, so the addition of Rutgers and Maryland to the Big ten looks a lot less beneficial than it did nine years ago, and other conferences may not want to go down that same road.

      Also, you have to consider whether anyone in Tampa is actually going to give a crap, either way. The Rays have been there for 20 years and still have no real fanbase, and that’s America’s past-time. Not sure how easy it is to sell college football when there’s already an NFL franchise in town.

      Like

      1. so you really don’t think that much of the revenue the conferences get from ESPN and the networks aren’t based on potential viewers? I think the reason for the B10 payout being so large is that the conference has all of the large Midwest cities sewn up. I agree that Rutgers is pretty meaningless in NYC but not so sure about Maryland for both Balt and DC.

        Like

    1. I only have to log in if I clear my cache or history. Stop clearing your history after you look at the porn sites, LOL.

      Like

    2. For you I set it special to do that. Haha j/k. I disabled the mandatory login a long time ago so try clearing your browser history / cache

      Like

  61. Major college FB realignment coming when TV contract expire. I believe 2026. Then the big money schools (FSU and maybe Miami} will run off and leave us. Money decides.

    Like

    1. Theres talk of a football only league consisting of schools with the highest revenues, fanbases and best brands. Maybe 30-40 schools. Players would most likely get paid and this conference becomes a minor league system for the NFL. The schools left out would continue playing in their own conferences or there might be some re-alignment just for football. So if the ACC lost Miami, FL State, Clemson and Va Tech, the ACC might replace them with football only schools of Cincy, UCF, SFla and Temple.

      Right now, roughly 75% of that ACC check schools receives comes from TV revenues generated by football. Pitt’s check would be severely cut.

      So there might just be an A league and a B league just for football. Maybe even with the concept of relegation. You’d still have quality football in the B league. It would be more competitive and fair. And players would still get drafted and go to the NFL.

      Like

        1. correct

          the Cup is more a reflection of how a school values athletics across the board

          its a good talking point as to whether an AD is earning his or her pay

          many if not all AD’s are compensated based on their placement in the Cup

          and its important to the brass from a branding perspective particularly with the new network

          but football accounts for 70-80% of the media money

          the only ACC teams I see invited to this football only conference would be FL ST, Miami, Clemson and possibly NC and Va Tech.

          Probably something like this:
          West – Washington, Oregon, USC, UCLA, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, A&M, Missouri

          South – LSU, Bama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, FL ST, Miami, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson

          North – Wisconsin, Notre Dame, OSU, Michigan, Penn State, NC, Va Tech, Michigan St, Nebraska, Iowa

          Like

  62. Haven’t cleared my history since last night after MilfMayhem.

    In all seriousness not deleting history and still need to log in everytime.

    Liked by 2 people

  63. Wow, wish I can help here. I can post stoopid youtube video’s but I know nothing about computin stuff. I’m dumb. Haven’t had to log in except for the first time. Dumb luck I suppose?

    Like

    1. I disabled that a long time ago. You should not have to. Try clearing your browser cache

      Like

  65. I am unable to find a pattern as to when I need to log in. Sometimes I go a few days without the need and other times, its each and every time. Seems worse on the phone than my iPad. Never an issue with my desktop.

    Like

  66. UPitt me too but I don’t mind when I see all your smiling faces when I get here… Jay, been missing you.

    Like

  67. No reason for log ins anyway is my opinion. We aren’t trading secrets with North Korea on here.

    Like

      2. ^^There is truth in your comment JoeL. Somehow I’ve figured out on how not to be figured out. I would expound further but that might just give my secrets and me away.

        Like

  68. TX – going back to your earlier comment about conference expansion, I’d argue it make sense for the ACC to go after 2 of the following three schools to get to 16:

    UConn
    Temple
    Navy

    Rationale:
    All of the schools have solid academic reputations. Important to the school Presidents.
    They are among the largest available schools within the ACC geographic footprint
    All provide more/better access to TV households to help drive a foothold for the ACC Network
    Any two of these would be a counterpunch to the BigTen’s incursion into the East Coast

    The ACC could then go to 9 conference games – 7 divisional and two crossover/ND rotation. Would make more ACC Network money for the member schools.

    Liked by 1 person

  69. My computer works fine. Cannot figure out how to comment from my hand helds.
    May go dark for a couple weeks if I don’t figure it out.

    Not too worried about reconfiguration, don’t think I will live that long.

    How many years did it take to get a bowl playoff, which still sucks.

    Like

  70. Guys I am not 100 percent sure but when you log into word press there was an option to stay logged in. I clicked that the first time and haven’t logged in for over a year.

    You have to do this on each different device you use.

    Like

    1. According to POD, he’s the only human on planet Earth that predicted PITT to win the Coastal last year. Yet so much does ride on the UVA game. Don’t forget, there is a reason this game was selected for the Prime Time ACC kickoff.

      Like

        1. Ikster… if you could only get things right once in awhile.

          NEVER predicted Pitt would win the Coastal. Posted more than once that no one could have predicted how BAD the Coastal would be.

          Did predict Pitt going 6 wins and LOSING the Bowl. For that, I’m probably the only one or two on POV.

          Like

  71. Regarding Pitt’s predicted record, what did the prognostication geniuses predict as Pitt’s overall record and finish in the coastal last year? I won’t lose any sleep on the predictions.

    Liked by 1 person

    3. A .500 record is nothing to be proud of.

      Todd Graham did it, Paul Chryst did it and now in his 4th year, the Duzz did it.

      This team needs to cop an attitude and punch some teams in the mouth. Run up the score on some of these weak Coastal teams lyke they did to VT last season. By the way, Vegas picks the Hokies to win 8 games – what a jokeE…

      Bring some Fralic energy on offense and Aaron Donald intensity on D.

      H2P!

      Like

  72. Altoona – Been there done that. Still not working since the refiguration a few months back.

    Like

  73. ike, Heather needs to be more out in front with meaningful stuff. Forget about certificates and jelly of the month club certificates. The Pitt AD needs to be raising money and selling tickets. It’s that simple. And she’s not doing it.

    Like

    1. Agree VOR. Begging you to call Direct TV and bringing potluck to the womans softball games sucks.

      Like

      2. Right, Upitt. Her efforts are pretty lame. I was expecting more from her, frankly. Anyone taking this job would know the fund raising, facilities and brand all needed upgrading. I know ike likes her, but at some point she needs to step up in these areas or Pitt will be bottom feeding forever.

        Like

    2. How do you know that she isn’t? I’m guessing she’s working off a targeted listing and some of us simply may not be on it. Yet.

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      1. If Pitt was successful at raising funds and selling tickets, I’d think they would let the public know to encourage more donations and to spur ticket sales and to generate excitement and optimism. I think they are really struggling right now. If a big time donor contributed to Victory Heights, we’d know about it by now. Pitt is now 18 months into the silent phase of this project where they court the whales. I just dont think they are finding any.

        Like

        1. We SHOULD know about it by now, Tex. The Pitt publicity mill needs a major overhaul, and perhaps they don’t know how to put out such a promotional press release, or they don’t understand the value.

          Like

      2. Joe her effort isn’t matching the promises she made. She talks the talk but has ahown nothing other than hiring lifelomg assistant HC’s and used recruiters to even hire them. LOL. Paid Nike to change uniforms. She gets a C+ in that.

        Like

    3. The future remains to be seen in terms of her performance, but she actually needed to lay the groundwork before she could begin a serious effort at raising funds. And I’m not just talking about building relationships; try raising funds and selling tickets to a Stallings-led hoops team… you’d have to be one heck of a saleswoman.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. It seems to me that fund raising is like recruiting. When down you sell the new beginnings and positive future.

        Like

  74. I am going to take my Super Bowl winning and take Pitt and the over….The new ‘eer yellar and Heathers wardrobe finally match, a cool gargoyle and helmet decal to boot….. the stars (3stars) are starting to align for the up- start Panthers!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  75. I hear ya man. Still, it’s a topic that gets a little too close to politics and doesn’t tie back to Pitt so I have to pull the comment

    Like

  79. You do not have to login to post a comment. This is proof. Just clear your browsing history and cache all the way back or use a different browser.

    Michaelangelo

    Liked by 1 person

  81. Maybe Mike needs to activate the wordpress signal when someone commits to matriculating to this site.

    Okay, so let’s be fair to the AD. For all intents and purposes, her background has always been in “being in the background”. That’s what compliance folks are for the most part. They aren’t out front and center people. Her professional experience didn’t qualify her for the position and she is learning on the job. She relies on her mentors, who just happen to be her competitors. They won’t give her the secret sauce recipe, yet she relies on their voice for direction. It’s not her fault she got the job.

    If Pitt was smart, they would have one or two executive coaches work with her on how to be an executive. I happened to watch a video she has out there which is titled something like the day in the life of our AD. Watch it. She is awkward in front of the camera, in her conversations and especially awkward in her interactions with one of our coaches. Again, not her fault. IS the official new head coach count 7 under her tenure? Seven of the 19 sports or is it 7 of 18 since tennis folded up shop?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well the thing is that Pitt fans typically have more than one set of clothes…

      Liked by 6 people

  83. and and.. Morgantown is probably closer to the airport than Oakland Pa. If those Hoopies had their own airport that wouldn’t be the case at all. How do you think those hillbillies fly in their recruits? Via Pittsburgh International Airport maybe? Plus the shirts they were all wearing were probably free give a way crap that make for great dust rags.

    Like

    1. No it isn’t Ike. Jesus you need me to send you a map? Mike – May be true but WV Is more proud than Pitt Fans bc there is no identity to sports since 1980.

      Like

      2. My bad Mark. I know where Morgantown is. Hells bells. I’ve been avoiding it my entire life. From the airport the difference isn’t that great though. At least not enough for me.

        Like

  84. I don’t like being down on Heather, but the Directors Cup rankings were for me a really bad sign. Pitt obviously doesn’t have the facilities, and it takes money to get them which is her responsibility. Selling tickets improves interest in the program and also raises money. Again, her responsibility.

    Like

  85. Heather makes $400k and is probably the lowest paid AD in the ACC and probably has one of the least staffed departments
    https://www.dailypress.com/sports/teel-blog/dp-teel-time-ad-salaries-post.html

    Pitt isnt paying CEO type money and you generally get what you pay for. Had Pitt swung for the fences and hired Tressell, you would have seen noticeable cultural changes by now. If he can be President of YSU, he can surely be an AD after the tattoo scandal at tOSU.

    Like

    1. Well you could argue that Pitt is getting exactly what they are paying for. But if in a few years things turn around … and I think the whole tear down and rebuild argument has been well established here – then Pitt will be getting a heck of a deal. In the flip side heather will have really made a name for herself and can pursue a higher paying job, or leverage a big raise out of Pitt.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Yes – if the turnaround happens. But its not just Directors Cup. Its also donations, ticket sales, facilities, etc. She’s itchin to get back to Michigan.

        Liked by 1 person

  86. I felt Pitt was in trouble when the initial focus was on uniforms and the TV studio. I think she has done okay with coach selection, but she operates like she has a BoT harness on. She should have gotten certain commitments, like restoring the Golden Panthers and meeting certain funding levels.

    Liked by 1 person

  87. Pitt has 320,000 living Alumni.

    30,000 of them are connected to the sports programs. The Pitt Administration (past and current), has swung and missed at tying those alumni back to the university. You do that through athletics, something they see and follow from anywhere on the globe. An 8th grade or high school teacher or any working or not working pitt grad doesn’t go on Pitt’s website everyday to see what’s going on. They follow sports and fly the banner on their porch. Wake up!

    Liked by 2 people

  88. Commercial idea and game day intro –

    Show about five clips of Bill Fralic pancaking his opponent and then show Aaron Donald tackling two Dukies in their backfield along with highlights of the GT game AD dominated in Georgia when Paul Chryst had no offense.

    Liked by 4 people

      1. MM.. your onto sumthin with dat possum !!! If any Hoopie fan is able to read they might take the idea for a possum mascot back to Morgantown…makes sense…..

        Liked by 2 people

  91. This week I received two emails from Pitt regarding athletics — liked them both.

    One was from the Varsity Letter Club (VLC) requesting dues – dues are $100. Gets you various discounts and opportunities. And when you pay your dues they ask if you’d like to make an additional donation. How could I resist a modest donation? This money goes to support scholarships. (Crap, forgot about boycotting due to the Director’s Cup standings…☹️).

    The VLC has kind of strangely been inactive the last couple of years — at least as far as any communications I’ve gotten. One thing I really liked that the VLC used to do was invite letter-winners to come down on the field before one of the games early in the season. You could bring a guest and my son and wife enjoyed doing this. Seeing the players doing the pre-game warm-ups up close is cool – and then even better is lining the tunnel when the team comes out. Inspite of what you see if you look up in the stands, the atmosphere is energized. (Course you get to see the cheerleaders up close too! 😊).

    Since this got long, i’ll cover the other email in a separate post…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 3 people

  92. Serious question- how would reinstating the Golden Panther result in something that is different from the Panther Club?

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    1. I wondered that too Joe…my only guess is that the GP had less oversight by the university back in the day.

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  93. The second email I got concerned Pitt’s women’s BB team. I have purchased the ridiculously cheap season tickets for several years. I think they might be 40 or 50 bucks for old folks. I go to a couple games when they’re bad and several games when they’ve been good — but that’s been a few years ago…

    Anyway, the email concerned incentives for being a season ticket holder. One was that if you refer someone for season tickets and they buy them, then you are in a drawing for prizes. One prize is an expense paid trip to the ACC tourney with the team. Another was an invite to a pre-game shoot around with the team. One was a lunch with Coach White. There might have been another one or two, but that’s all I can remember.

    The other incentive was that season ticket holders will be eligible to attend -or even participate in – a team practice…

    I was going to get season tickets anyway, but it would be cool to attend a team practice – or have lunch with Coach White….

    So, I don’t remember anything like this pre-Heather. Probably stuff that Richman cooked up on the Fan committee… 👍

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

  94. BTW, I’m not sure if all season- ticket holders will have the chance to go to a practice — not sure how that will be determined…

    The email said more details later…

    Go Pitt.

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  95. Good info Major…those girls couldn’t guard you. Too quick. 😎
    Happy 4th to all the POV community…be safe.
    I’ll be with BigB…so I probably won’t be.

    Liked by 2 people

  96. I tried to post another marketing idea, but when I completed the log in process, nothing appeared (around 5am).

    So I backtracked and found my written post, copied it and tried to resend it – this time is told me it was a duplicate.

    Too frustrating – this is supposed to be a fun outlet, not frustrating and time wasting.

    I’m going to take a long break from the POV and Pitt sports for my own sanity.

    H2P!

    And yes, I’ll have to log in…to send this. SMH

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    1. EE – hate it when that happens! Frustrating, as you said.

      For some reason I haven’t hadproblems with using the site lately. ike and I must be in the dumb luck category…😊

      How ‘bout the Pirates! What a goofy team… The new hitting coaches sure are getting results. The pitching coaching is another story – they continue to have excellent arms and mediocre to poor result, IMHO…

      Take care on your break, EE. 👍

      Go Pitt.

      Like

    2. EE – I understand about the long break. Been on one myself. Lately, I’ve begun to read the POV again. Enjoyed seeing all the old and some new names. – Hobie

      Liked by 3 people

  98. Erie, those steps taken for women’s BB are great, but are really sort of small ball. What is being done in a larger context to get the attendance up? This is similar to the tents solution for football. Sad to say, but Heather is not showing us that she has any big ideas to turn the athletics dept. around. Don’t stay away too long, Erie, your insight is much appreciated!

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    1. Pitt should provide students with credits for attending Olympic sports events. Present you student ID at the event. Scans into some system that tracks your attendance. Each attended event generates a certain number of credits or points. Those points can then be redeemed at food courts, book store, merchandise. Set the max dollars redeemable at $500. Thats the $500 the university steals from the students to subsidize sports each year.

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        1. I figure it comes out to bribing students with $10 dollars per game (basically minimum wage for roughly an hour of their time). If a student attends about 2 games per week (in any Olympic sport), they’ll reach their $500 dollars by years end. That would mean a student would have attended 50 events over 30 weeks. I doubt the average student has ever attended an Olympic sport event. Money talks. Might cost Pitt between $1M and $2M but well worth it.

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  101. This is close, but no cigar…

    When PSN talked to Coach Racioppi, who is Kenny Picketts personal QB coach, after the Manning Academy thingie, Coach Racioppi is quoted as follows:

    “I know that Kenny is excited to play in Coach Whipple’s offense… Coach Whipple frees the quarterback up and HAS ANSWERS FOR EVERY COVERAGE THAT DEFENSES SHOW HIM.”

    Walt Harris and Pistol Pete are smiling at that quote! 👍

    Now we just have to hear the “Answers” line from the horse’s mouth…

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 2 people

  102. Major – very interesting PSN article about Pickett at Manning Tech.

    Cool that Peyton had very nice things to say about KP’s ability. Really hope he transfers what he’s shown this summer to the field this fall!

    Liked by 1 person

  103. Come on fellas…what do you think his personal coach is going to say about a “Paying customer”? His game is terrible and I was of no benefit? Tell me when you hear these folks say bad things about a player and I will stop being cynical.

    What should the mannings say after collecting all the fees from pickett. Well, the kid stinks,he doesn’t have a chance, NO! The kids a player yadda yadda. They are selling hope and a nugget. If a kid picks up a nugget or two while at a camp, that is the best they can hope for. A lot of what these camps do is try to instill something positive for the campers head.

    Proof will be in the pudding and i hope he can perform when there are defenders that want to beat the snot out of him. This other crap is for the birds.

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  104. Pickett is almost as much of a question going into 2019 as is our OL. Let’s hope Whipple’s influence translates into a 180 degree reversal for Pickett from his passing game of 2018.

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  105. @Huff III, I think you have to consider the fact that Peyton Manning approached Pickett’s QB mentor after day one of the camp with his upbeat observation on Pickett. Again let’s hope that Pickett shows up on game day and executes on those upbeat assessments.

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  106. First, lets clear up a misconception by Huff III above. Pickett was not a ‘paying customer’, instead he was invited to serve as a counselor . He acted as one of the tutors for the 1200 campers who were the paying customers. In exchange, he received private time with the Mannings.

    https://triblive.com/sports/pitts-kenny-pickett-invited-to-manning-quarterback-camp/

    But yes, it’s true that nobody will say anything bad about him, or his passing ability. Nonetheless, he probably received more effective coaching about passing in the past 5 months that he may have received in his entire life.

    While no Pitt fan should suddenly expect an All-ACC QB this fall, there is certainly reason to expect an improvement … how much remains to be seen

    Liked by 4 people

  107. Let’s not let the smallest bit of positive news spoil our day. Positive reinforcement for KP’s confidence is a good thing. Maybe not to those that predict him being replaced early, but most know that as Kenny goes Pitt goes this year. I remember when some wanted Hanratty to replace Bradshaw. In any case we should be pleased that KP was chosen to participate, Confidence is the most important thing for him right now, that and completing passes.

    So, I reset the password on my handheld and now have to log in on my computer, hoping not every time.

    Liked by 1 person

  112. Guys, guys, guys….i harken back to my previous comments about 4 stars and their respective visits. Not one official visitor to any college leaves a visit and is quoted as saying it was terrible and the coaching staff, program and university stunk. It doesn’t work that way in sport. It probably should, but noone wants to get labeled as a negativist towards a program or coach because you never know what will happen if your top choice doesn’t work out…burning bridges…or more precisely, you don’t want to burn..the transfer portal!

    Same goes for all sport camps. It’s a fraternity. Nothing more than that. Y’all can rip away at each word which is fine, but the truth of the matter is that until such time as you hear a Manning or any Gruden out there, say a qb stinks, the opinions can’t be trusted. It wasn’t so long ago that Gruden was pushing Peterman for first round status if i recall. I could be wrong, but my point remains the same. From what i remember, he didn’t trash the qb’s publicly because these people earn livings having others like them and follow them on twitter.

    And, I am not being negative. I want the best qb to light it up for Pitt. I just tend to look at both sides of a situation and the motivation for saying or doing certain things. Didn’t Peterman make a video about throwing a football into a trash can across the point park fountain, through the original “o” sign, off the backboard at the Pete and into the net? That’s a top 5 pick right there…jk. These articles and quotes are great. Throwing for 8 yards against clempson, not so great. At least it was seven yards though. Maybe our WR’s should be disguised as buckets when they run routes….just sayin! 🙂

    He was 1 of 35 college quarterbacks, with 1200 campers. 4 days and how much one on one time from the mannings?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s not what you say it is that you feel you have to say it. WE all know what you say is true, but why rain on the parade. Any little feel good piece is automatically trashed by some. Is it really necessary? I am not against being critical when deserved, but to take issue when someone says something nice about our QB is kind of petty. It is like trashing Heather for offering sodas to kids who stay to the end of the game, just petty.

      Liked by 4 people

  113. There are plenty of real problems with Pitt to get angered with and be critical of. No need to find issues with every little minuscule fault.

    Liked by 3 people

  115. Are you serious? “It’s not what you say it is that you feel you have to say it”

    Didn’t you just type what you felt you needed to say? Going forward, I guess I will send you my comments and then you decide if it should be published or not.

    I am not angered about anything Pitt. Disappointed, yes, absolutely. Angered, nope. I am too old and disconnected from Pitt to be angry at anything Pitt or anyone as i am day to day like everyone else on here. We are all unpaid consultants. I treat everyone as if their day is worse than mine….everyone, every day, including this one. So thank you for your kind words about my typing. I appreciate your honest feedback.

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  116. Huff the Third, was your last comment directed at me? I surely hope not as I am easily offended… 🙂

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  117. No, not at all Ike. We good. 🙂

    I was responding to something a little earlier in the thread, with a quote. It’s really all okay on my end.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You’ve been uncle Leo for a while now Ike… 😂😂😂 j/k

      Like

  123. BTW, my gravatar is the back of a shirt my good buddy FRAN sent me last year. I love it so much I won’t wear it! Thanks again Fran and enjoy your time with the Big Bopper!

    Liked by 1 person

  124. Ike, glad you liked the shirt..
    Anytime with Biggie is a good time.
    Sadly, coming home tomorrow. Hate that drive.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m 5-10 minutes off I-95 at Ashland. If you want to stop by for a refreshment/comfort break we will be lounging by the pool. Feel free to stop by.

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      1. Thanks Joe but we are past Ashland…and traffic was awful. 7 hours to go 23o miles.

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  126. It started as a ‘Blue Sky’ here but then it was ‘A Hard Rain is Going to Fall’ and now we are at ‘Let it Rain’ (especially after all of the humidity)

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  127. Little bored today. Thought I would share my idea on my new GPS thought. How about an adult version that swears at you and gives you a rough time if you deviate from it’s directions? There’s no limit to where this could go? “Hey you idiot, you’re going the wrong way” or “if you’re not going to listen to me, I’m going back to bed”

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  130. Ike – You can record your own directions voice on Waze. Curse away my friend. Curse away.

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  133. I suppose we ride off in a well stocked golf cart…painted the old Pitt colors that Biggie loves.
    And a kick *ss sound system…

    Liked by 3 people

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