‘Why Pitt?’: New Director of Athletics Allen Greene Answers

PITTSBURGH — Allen Greene has spent nearly 20 years in college athletics, working his way from the athletic advancement department at his alma mater Notre Dame to the Director of Athletics at Pitt.

He started his career at his alma mater and spent time a lot of time in the SEC. He’s done it at all. Greene, 47, is regarded as one of the top athletic administrators in the industry, so why Pitt?

Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel asked Greene the same question.

“The first time he answered the question, ‘Why Pitt?’ and he really answered it just the same way you heard, the idea of how he intersected his personal experience and growth along his professional journey with what he already knew about the city and the university align directly with the advice that we had received from the committee,” Gabel said Wednesday morning. “That he wanted excellence in a way that completely aligned with our values, and I thought, ‘We have our next Director right here.’”

Greene spoke at the podium on the floor at the Petersen Events Center for just about 10 minutes during his introduction, answered questions at the Q&A for another 20 minutes and fielded more questions in a scrum for another five minutes. And his message was clear, Pitt is it.

“I got that question asked a lot recently, why Pitt? And I think there are so many different reasons why Pitt makes the perfect sense,” Greene said Wednesday morning. “I had a chance to talk to our coaches, our head coaches earlier today before the press conference, and they are why Pitt. I had a chance to talk to some of our donors who support this university, who support this athletic department, they are why Pitt. I had a chance to learn about the industrial history of this wonderful city, about the progressive nature not just now but 100 years ago when you think about steel, and you think about how to shape our country and how to shape our world. That is why.

“When you think about education, when you think about health care, when you think about innovation in technology, that is why Pitt. I think about this humble community, I think about this down-to-earth community, I think about how genuine people are, that is why Pitt. Incredibly unpretentious, incredibly proud, that is why Pitt. The importance of education, the importance of athletics, finding a way to do both of those in an excellent way, this being an AAU institution, that is why Pitt. Maybe most importantly for me at this stage of my career is leadership, wanting to make sure I have a leader and a colleague in a Chancellor and in a Board of Trustees so we can make sure that we are aligned to do whatever we can that is in the best interest of the University of Pittsburgh.”

Greene will officially take control of the Pitt athletic department on Nov. 1, tasked with guiding the Panthers into a new age of college athletics that is uncertain tomorrow and impossible to predict. But Pitt is where Allen Greene feels like he can succeed — across every phase.

As the poster behind Greene during his introduction read, it is possible at Pitt.