An open letter to Athletics Director Long

Dear Athletics Director Long:

Welcome to Pitt. You’re new here, but probably know that… Dear Athletics Director Long:

Welcome to Pitt. You’re new here, but probably know that Pitt athletics is facing a major identity crisis: We need to change conferences in order to remain competitive in football and men’s basketball.

This crisis is not unexpected. Miami has been toying with switching to the Atlantic Coast Conference for some months. Losing the Big East’s best football team would pull money and television time away from the conference and, therefore, away from Pitt. Moreover, Syracuse and Boston College are also thinking of jumping ship, leaving Pitt with little choice but to change conferences.

But in order to prepare Pitt for this, we need your help. As senior assistant athletics director at Oklahoma, you dealt with new arenas, ticket sales and fundraising. With the Pete in action and basketball ticket sales overhauled ? though not a paragon of efficiency or sanity ? we need to go further. There is one sale left to make.

Pitt needs to be able to sell its athletics programs as a solid investment. To do this, we need to prove that we are marketable, which means that we can pack stadiums with fans, play against big names ? no more Arkansas-Pine Bluff ? and, most importantly, get our games televised with high ratings despite Pittsburgh not being a lucrative market.

These changes will not be easy to implement. Not only must we drop the Big East like a hot rock, but we must also gain acceptance to another conference.

Where does this leave you? You’ve worked for schools in many of the major conferences ? the Big 12, Big Ten and ACC, in addition to the Big East ? and should use these connections. Shop around for a conference and show others that Pitt is a good sale.

Moreover, show us ? Pitt’s students ? that joining another conference will benefit us. Any decision you make, including staying put, will be controversial. For instance, if we join the Big Ten, we lose our annual football game with West Virginia and gain one with Penn State. Though we know that both are far inferior to Pitt in every way ? cue maniacal laughter ? sacrificing one rivalry for another might not sell well.

We’ll do our part as fans by packing games and occasionally setting things on fire, as long as you do yours as AD.

Last, we need to demonstrate that switching conferences will enhance, not endanger, our ability to recruit good players. As we said, success depends on playing worthy teams and showing that Pittsburgh can be a moneymaking enterprise.

You’ve been handed a big challenge. Do what you need to do and we’ll try to support the program.

Sincerely, The Editorial Board