He’s back.

Steve Pederson, who served as Pitt’s athletic director from 1996 to 2002 before… He’s back.

Steve Pederson, who served as Pitt’s athletic director from 1996 to 2002 before leaving for Nebraska, was introduced as Pitt’s new athletic director on Friday at a press conference at the Petersen Events Center.

“Leaving here five years ago was the hardest professional decision that we had ever made,” Pederson said. “Coming back at this time is the easiest.”

In his time at Pitt, Pederson was an integral part of rebuilding what was then a struggling Pitt football program. Coming off seven consecutive seasons without a bowl appearance prior to his hire, the Panthers reached bowl games in four of his six years. Pederson now comes to Pitt in a similar situation. Three years removed from Pitt’s last bowl appearance, Pederson has improvement on his mind, and it didn’t take long for him to start working.

On Saturday afternoon, Pitt announced the signing of head football coach Dave Wannstedt to a three-year extension