PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pitt Athletic Director Heather Lyke didn’t back down from expectations for the Panthers football program when talking to reporters on Wednesday.
“It’s not a New Years’ Six Bowl, it’s not a college football playoff,” Lyke said of the 8-4 season and Sun Bowl opportunity. “A little disappointing overall.”
That doesn’t mean she is going to fire Pat Narduzzi or look to shuffle up the coaching staff. It means their standards are higher than where they finished with disappointing losses to Georgia Tech and Louisville to go with an overtime loss to Tennessee without the starting quarterback and a loss at Coastal Champion North Carolina. She said her expectations are also Narduzzi’s.
“I would tell you this is a team with a great opportunity,” Lyke said pushing it forward. “We are going to play UCLA, a Top 20 team. A chance to get a fifth consecutive win. They had a really strong finish. I would say they had a strong start too, winning the Backyard Brawl in front of the largest crowd in Pittsburgh history.”
The six-year Pitt athletic director credited the fans this year. There have been seasons where it was a real struggle to get the students to games, often a half-full Panther Pit (the student section in the closed end, the North end zone). They had a few shy of 60,000 for the Volunteers game, 54,000 announced for the Rhode Island game and 50,000 for the Syracuse matchup.
As a premise, Lyke says success builds from within and includes everyone. She notes it’s a different world now with NIL and the transfer portal, but the Panthers have learned how to use the portal. Numbers not disclosed, nor are they regulated, but safe to assume Pitt doesn’t stack up with other programs when it comes to Name Image Likeness money, but they combat that with people.
“I love the continuity of our coaches,” Lyke said. “I think they coach for all of the right reasons. That’s up and down the coaching staff. I think there is no question when you come to Pitt you will be in the hunt for an ACC Championship. You are going to get better and have every opportunity to make it to the NFL as any place in the country. Coaches care about you as people and as players. There are real relationships.”
“If you look at the overall success of this team. The quality of kids and the accolades that they received, both within the conference, nationally, All-Americans, First-Team All-Americans. It’s impressive. It’s a real impressive.”
Lyke refused to discuss their football stadium situation, acknowledging they have decisions to make with the lease at Acrisure Stadium up by the end of the decade.
“I’m excited about where this program continues to head,” Lyke said. “We know the college football playoff is expanding in 2024. That’s where we want to be, we expect to be and I know coach does as well.”
“We look to finish the season strong at the Sun Bowl.”