While Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel is in the midst of finding a new Director of Athletics, the athletic department is experiencing another amazing run of success.
If you’re one of those people — like Gabel — who views the athletic department as the front porch of the university, it’s probably a good time to pull out a couple of chairs and take a seat.
The porch has been pressure-washed and stained; I don’t think it even needs a new coat of paint. It’s looking pretty good right now. You know, considering it hasn’t been that long since the last dose of fall success. But that’s what happens with continued success on the field, on the court and the trails.
It’s not guaranteed to last forever, nothing is in the new era of college athletics, but there’s never been a better time to get up and support Pitt athletics. There are a lot of very talented student-athletes and teams with sky-high expectations playing in Oakland (or on the North Shore) right now.
If former Director of Athletics Heather Lyke did anything during her time at Pitt (and she did a lot), it’s raise the floor of the department as a whole. The Olympic sports at Pitt have never been better, and that’s on full display this fall. The Panthers — collectively — have been outstanding.
Fall sports:
- Pitt football — 3-0, chance to go undefeated in non-con play for the first time
- Pitt volleyball — 7-0, No. 1 in the country
- Pitt men’s soccer — 6-1, No. 2 in the country
- Pitt women’s soccer — 7-2-1, No. 9 in the country
- Pitt men’s and women’s cross-country — 1st in Panther Opener
Pretty, pretty good. That won’t hurt LEARFIELD Director’s Cup standings.
Pitt is 23-3-1 in its fall sports so far. Let’s break it down a little further.
I would be an absolute fool to mention anything but volleyball first. 7-0, 21 straight set wins to open the season and complete domination in a sweep of No. 3 Penn State at the Petersen Events Center Wednesday night. Dan Fisher’s squad isn’t just the best team in Oakland but the whole city.
“You gotta cheer on the volleyball team, it’s a big game tonight against Penn State,” Eli Holstein said Wednesday after practice. “I know we’re doing great, but our volleyball team is dominating right now. I don’t think they’ve lost a set. They’re the best team on campus, and we’re trying to get to that point.”
This is a national championship squad if I’ve ever seen one, and I fully expect the record-breaking crowd of 11,800 set against Penn State to be broken again this season — maybe against Louisville or Stanford, or both.
Pitt volleyball may be No. 1, the lone No. 1 in the city right now, but men’s and women’s soccer aren’t far behind. The men were second in the most recent poll, and the women were ninth.
Jay Vidovich and Randy Waldrum, the men’s and women’s coaches, respectively, have helped turn Pittsburgh into a soccer town. Alongside the Riverhounds down at Highmark Stadium, of course. It wouldn’t be a surprise if either team made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament later this year, especially a loaded men’s squad.
And of course, Pitt football. A come-from-behind win against West Virginia in the 107th Backyard Brawl, following the largest comeback in the last half-decade against Cincinnati. The Panthers may be taking years off the lives of their fans, but they’re also 3-0 for the first time since 2020 and have a chance to finish non-conference play unbeaten for the first time. Ever.
Holstein, who has burst onto the scene since arriving from Alabama as a former top recruit, is legit. And there’s now legitimate optimism surrounding the program, which makes sense considering the remainder of the schedule.
It’s a far cry from where Pat Narduzzi and his team were at this time last year. What a difference a year can make.
Pitt has some excellent teams on campus, and while the football team will dominate headlines (and might just make some noise this season), there are plenty of teams to watch. It’s going to be an eventful fall — and winter — in Oakland. We haven’t even touched upon to the men’s basketball team.
