Where Pitt sports is today, or: Why there’s no ad here

Right now, you should be reading an ad.

Not because this column stinks, but because… Right now, you should be reading an ad.

Not because this column stinks, but because there was supposed to be an ad in this space, telling you that Pitt football season tickets are on sale.

But that ad never had a chance to run because there was no one in the athletics department to approve it.

I’m not exactly sure why there was no one there to approve it, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that it’s because Pitt has no athletics director.

It’s kind of hard to make executive decisions without a top executive.

But let’s forget about that for a moment, because now is as good a time as any to be a Panther fan.

Pitt’s football and men’s basketball programs are on the rise, which means the athletics department is making money and, if you don’t know already, the athletics department likes money.

But, along with those two teams, plenty of Pitt’s other programs are turning in outstanding performances.

With the exception of the cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams, which don’t compete head-to-head, nine of Pitt’s 13 other varsity sports finished with at least a .500 record last year.

The football team won nine games for the first time in 20 years; the men’s basketball team went to its second straight Sweet Sixteen; and the men’s swimming and diving team won its seventh consecutive Big East title.

Volleyball turned in a 20-win season in 2002, and the tennis team saved its season by winning 11 straight matches. Carl Fronhofer led the Panthers in the wrestling NCAA Championships. And the baseball team has a chance at making the Big East Tournament for the first time since 1995.

Even the teams that did not put together winning seasons had something positive to say about the year.

The softball team set a school record with 24 wins overall and seven conference victories, and the women’s basketball team made it to the Big East Tournament for the first time in three years.

Not only have the teams improved, but so have the facilities.

Sure, it was sad to see Pitt Stadium go, but it had to be done. Despite its grass problems, Heinz Field is a much better place to play, and the practice facilities on the South Side are among the best in the nation.

Is there any question as to how much of a home court advantage the Petersen Events Center has given the men’s basketball team? The Panthers will carry a 22-game winning streak into next season, and they have yet to lose on their new home floor.

But in spite of all the great strides that Pitt athletics has made in the past seven years, it could all soon crumble for two reasons.

First, there is the lack of an athletics director.

Steve Pederson’s departure in December was a blow to the department, but it looked like Pitt had a perfect replacement in Marc Boehm. He worked alongside Pederson and knew the department better than anyone.

Considering all the things Boehm dealt with as the interim athletics director, it seemed to be only a matter of time before “interim” was removed from his title.

In January, he had to deal with the death of assistant wrestling coach David Sandberg. But there was no offer to become the permanent AD.

In February, there was the resignation of women’s soccer head coach Roland Sturk and the search for his replacement, Sue-Moy Chin. But still no offer.

The month of March saw Boehm fire women’s basketball head coach Traci Waites.

And, in April, Boehm made his two biggest moves, hiring Jamie Dixon to replace Ben Howland as men’s basketball head coach and luring Agnus Berenato away from Georgia Tech to coach the women’s basketball team. But there still was no deal. After waiting more than four months to become Pitt’s new athletic director, Boehm gave up on waiting and decided to join Pederson’s staff at Nebraska. Now Pitt is left without even an interim athletics director, and it couldn’t come at a worse time ? which leads us to reason No. 2.

The Big East is on the verge of going the way of the dinosaurs and the carrier pigeon, thanks, in part, to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The ACC wants to expand, and it wants Miami, Boston College and Syracuse to help, which would mean the end of the Big East as a conference.

It is hard to tell where that would leave Pitt. The Panthers could move to the Big Ten, but as long as Notre Dame is still available and a possibility, that probably won’t happen.

There’s also the possibility of Pitt joining the Mid-American Conference or Conference USA, but that would almost guarantee that Pitt would never return to national title contender status, since both are weak conferences.

While the quality of athletes and the state of the facilities at Pitt have improved, the lack of a leader in the athletics department could spell doom in the near future. Not to mention a lack of ads in the sports section.

So what does this all mean?

Enjoy Pitt sports while you can.

Joe Marchilena is the sports editor for The Pitt News, and he should be graduating in 11 months, if Chancellor Nordenberg still hasn’t found an AD by then.