Pitt AD Scott Barnes: We Want To Play Penn State & WVU...With 1 Catch
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Pitt Athletic Director Scott Barnes joined Chris Mack, Josh Miller, and Jim Colony in-studio on "The Fan Morning Show" Tuesday to talk about his plans for the program, and much of the discussion centered around his school's football program.
This is unsurprising, given Barnes' priority of making Pitt's football program the pride of the athletic department.
"Our best opportunity for growth is in football," Barnes said. "I've used the quote 'rising tide lifts all boats'... and if we can get football to that level, and when we do, then all of our programs succeed."
To Barnes, this isn't about slighting other sports so much as creating a trickle down effect.
"I think we've got one of the best coaches in America in men's basketball, we've got great coaches across a lot of our programs," Barnes said. "But, to give them the resources they need, we've got to focus on our best growth opportunity, and that's football right now."
As for a subject that has been on the minds of Pitt football fans lately, Barnes says that he's hoping to breathe new life into Pitt's rivalries with Penn State and West Virginia-with one catch.
"When you're growing as a football program you want this balance between an opportunity to create momentum through winning some football games, and then good opponents that are attractive," Barnes said. "I'd love to see, in a perfect world, both [Penn State and West Virginia] on our schedule long-term, but not both in the same year."
The interview can be heard here:
