Pitt Great Carl Krauser Endorses Marcus Bowman for Pitt Athletic Director

As Pitt’s national search for an athletic director continues, one name with ties to the university has gained traction in the conversation: Marcus Bowman.

Early last week, 93.7 The Fan’s Chris Mueller reported that Bowman was the favorite, at the time, to become Pitt’s next director of athletics. Bowman, a former Pitt basketball player, walked on to the roster under former head coach Ben Howland in 2002 and later earned a scholarship during his senior season. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2006 and a Master’s degree in business administration in 2010. And now, he appears to be a top candidate for Pitt’s A.D. position, previously held by Heather Lyke.

“We need a person that is familiar with the surface of Pittsburgh, the community, everywhere, the area,” said former Pitt great Carl Krauser — who played on Bowman’s team at Pitt. “We need a person that knows families. We need a person that can get people to believe in our Pittsburgh community and we need a person that can believe in our Pittsburgh sports. Not just one sport. Heather was focused on volleyball, I understand, it was the most successful at the time. But, we need more support from everywhere. Everybody is a part of the community, and everybody needed to feel like they were a part of the community.”

Bowman began his professional career at Pitt while working toward his Master’s, serving as the Director of Business Operations from 2006-11. He earned a handful of promotions during his time in Oakland, rising to the Assistant Athletic Director of Administration and Planning and eventually Senior Associate Athletic Director, overseeing 11 sports and assisting in the transition to the ACC.

With all of his business-related experience in the college athletics industry and his ties to Pitt, Bowman appears to be a sensible candidate for the gig.

“I used to call Marcus Malcolm X, young Malcolm X. That’s my man,” Krauser continued. “That’s my young brother. He’s always had an opinion. He was always smart. He was always savvy. I only mess with certain people that I love and that I think are special, and I knew Marcus was special, that’s why I was giving him nicknames… Marcus was always supportive, always with those big teeth, smiling, shining,” Krauser continued. “That was my man, that’s what I’m telling you. There was never a second that went by when he isn’t on the bench either strategizing with Charles [Small] or strategizing by himself, or thinking about how he can help the team and what he can do to get us more pumped up and helping us. Even in practice, he was always positive. Positive, positive, positive. He always wanted to see how we were doing. He always wanted to make sure we were thinking the right way even if we get frustrated. That takes a different type of leadership and brotherhood to be able to be that comfortable with another person.”

In addition to his post-graduate work at Pitt, Bowman has also worked at UNLV and Oklahoma. In Las Vegas, he served as the school’s senior associate athletic director and chief financial officer.

“At UNLV, Bowman was responsible for the fiscal affairs of the athletics department and the Thomas & Mack Center/Sam Boyd Stadium,” Oklahoma’s athletic website explains. “He also served as the sport administrator for the Rebels’ men’s basketball and men’s soccer programs, while supervising human resources and equipment services. He was involved in all facets of strategic and operational planning and collaborated with the director of athletics on a variety of projects.”

Bowman then joined Oklahoma’s athletic department in 2020. Since then, he has worked as the deputy athletic director for business strategy and chief financial officer for the Sooners.

“In this role, he oversees the department’s fiscal and business strategy which includes short and long range strategic financial planning, business development, revenue generating and third-party contracts, the development and monitoring of operating and capital budgets, financial reporting and accounting, data and analytics, and the development and management of financial control systems,” Oklahoma’s site says. “He also provides administrative supervision for human resources, Headington Hall, information technology, payroll, travel and purchasing, the tennis center, and is the sport administrator for men’s basketball. Bowman is also leading the department’s transition into the Southeastern Conference.”

Bowman was on Pitt’s basketball roster from 2002-06, the same years as Krauser.

“Some people that are walk ons aren’t comfortable talking to the star player, you know, in a different way. But, we had a different type of brotherhood and a different type of rapport, so, Marcus knew he could come to me and talk to me. He would come to me and talk to me in the hotel room when we were at an away game, wherever. If he was saying something to me, he would call me ‘Magic,’ he would come to me, he would be like, ‘Hey, Magic, man, hey pull up for that three right there!’ ‘Hey Magic man, why don’t you just take him quick right off the dribble?’ I’m like, ‘You right, you right Marcus!’ because Marcus is watching. He’s sitting there, you know, he has the best seat in the house. He’s always aware of everybody else’s needs, he’s always aware of everybody else’s feelings. He cared. He was asking different people that wasn’t getting minutes, ‘How was you feeling?’ ‘How you doing?’ He would talk to them, and he was always a part of the family, and we didn’t look at these other players as walk ons, they were all our brothers. That was the difference about the ‘We Believe’ movement.”

In that time, Krauser started 95 games for the Panthers. The Bronx, New York native averaged 15+ points per game in each of his three final seasons at Pitt. As freshmen, the pair took home the Big East regular season championship, along with the tournament title. The next year, Pitt earned the regular season title in year one under Jamie Dixon. Pitt earned four NCAA Tournament berths in that span, going to two Regional Semifinals.

“We all had each other’s backs, and Marcus was a part of that,” Krauser said. “As you see, when I came out for the beginning of the games as they’re introducing us? Guess who is punching my chest with the boxing? Marcus. That’s what I’m saying. That’s my brother. I told him to do that because I believe in him and I love him and I want him to get us fired up. I’m just like, ‘Let’s go, young fella,’ because I want everybody to shine. Once we’re under that same light shining brighter than God’s light, it’s one love, one community, and we believed in that.”

Bowman and Krauser only lost 27 games over their four-year tenure with the Panthers.

“Marcus experienced learning under myself and Brandin Knight, too,” Krauser said. “He knew how we felt about bringing our people together, and how to stay close-knit together. It was always a brotherhood. Marcus kept that, he was good at that. He knows everybody in the community, he has ties to everybody, he’s connected throughout everywhere from the Hill to the North Side, everywhere else, from the South Hills to the West Hills, and the East Hills. Everybody knows him, and they’re familiar with his success… Marcus always cared about the players. He’s always worked hard in practice, and he’s always cared about the players. I’m not going to lie, that was his number one joint. He cared about us, we cared about him, and we love him to this day. He took us out, him and his brother, when we went to go play against South Carolina in 2005, and they showed us love… Marcus and his family took us out and his big brother and they showed us love. We appreciate that too, to the Bowman family, love you always.”

While the search for Pitt’s next A.D. continues, Krauser has one message for Bowman.

“Malcolm X, Carl wants you to throw up the X.”