Pitt AD Pederson Looks To The Panthers' Future In The ACC
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Pitt announces a contract extension for athletic director Steve Pederson, and hours later he joins Vinnie & Cook on Sportsradio 93-7 The Fan.
Pitt's move to the ACC is less than three weeks away. Not only is Pederson excited about what the switch means for football and men's basketball, he notes the advantages all the Panther teams will gain.
"Our baseball team won 42 games, but we didn't get into the NCAA Tournament," Pederson points out. "Only two teams for the Big East got into the tournament. The ACC got eight out of 12 teams in. The SEC got nine out of 14. So you do have to be aligned with the right kind of conference partner to get those things done. Everybody's going to see benefits from this move across the board."
Pederson continues to have high praise for head football coach Paul Chryst.
"I think Paul is doing a terrific job, and he has hired a terrific staff," Pederson says. "I think Paul has been as focused on doing this the right way as anybody I've ever seen. He's not building this for the short term. Some people build teams, and other build programs. Paul is building a program. Everything from recruiting to coaching continues to elevate itself."
Meanwhile, the old Pitt script uniforms continue to be a sticking point for some long-time Panther fans. As for whether that look could return, Pederson laughs, "Well, we weren't doing so great at the time we took it away! But we're going to continue to take a look at everything. I guess you'd never say 'never' to some things. We've tried to focus on making our teams better, not so much on those kinds of things."
There is one thing Pederson will say 'never' to: an on-campus football stadium.
"We're playing in one of the great stadiums in the country. What we need to do is to raise our own ACC championship banner and a national championship banner in that stadium. It's a great place to be, and that's where we need to be long-term."
Listen to the entire in-depth interview with Steve Pederson below!
