Steve Pederson

Last updated

Steve Pederson
Biographical details
Alma mater University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
19962002 Pittsburgh
20022007 Nebraska
20072014 Pittsburgh

Steve Pederson was athletic director (AD) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Pittsburgh. He began his career as a college football recruiting coordinator at Ohio State, Tennessee, and Nebraska, where he assembled No. 1 ranked recruiting classes. He has worked with five College Football Hall of Fame football coaches.

Contents

First Pittsburgh tenure

Pederson was hired as the 10th athletic director of the University of Pittsburgh on October 28, 1996, at 39 years old. [1] He quickly implemented several sweeping and controversial changes to resurrect an athletic program that had fallen on hard times. [2] He removed several employees of the athletic department and in the spring of 1997 changed and standardized the athletic uniforms, colors, and logos used by Pittsburgh Athletic Department to emphasize the heritage and location of the University. [3] This involved demphasizing the traditional use of "Pitt" in preference for the use of "Pittsburgh" to refer to the school in press releases and in signage. In doing so, he also abandoned the use of the traditional "Pitt script" logo that had adorned football helmets since 1973. New logos designed by Peter Moore that utilized a "torch-cut" font, which alluded to the heritage of Pittsburgh's steel industry, were introduced along with a new Panther logo with a similar torch-cut style. The blue and gold shades used by the athletic department, previously royal to navy blue and yellow to mustard gold, were also changed to midnight blue and vegas gold. In addition, the existing Golden Panther booster club organization was scrapped and replaced with a new club termed Team Pittsburgh. These moves were controversial among fans, boosters and traditionalists of the University of Pittsburgh athletic teams. [4]

Early in Pederson's tenure, he also moved to replace then head football coach Johnny Majors with Walt Harris who took Pitt to the Liberty Bowl, Pitt's first bowl in eight seasons, in his first season as head coach in 1997. Pederson also hired Ben Howland as Pitt's head men's basketball coach in 1999 to replace Ralph Willard. Howland proceeded to take Pitt to its first NCAA Tournament in nine seasons. In addition to Harris and Howland, Pederson hires included Alonzo Webb for track and field, Traci Waites for women's basketball, Joe Jordano for baseball, and Chris Beerman for volleyball. All six of these coaching hires went on to win Big East Conference Coach-of-the-Year honors in their respective sports. [5] Pederson retired the football jerseys of former Panther greats Mike Ditka, Marshall Goldberg, Joe Schmidt, and Mark May. Pederson significantly elevated the athletic department's fundraising efforts, some of which was through implementing controversial donor requirements for men's basketball seating.

Among the most controversial decisions of Pederson's first tenure at Pittsburgh was the demolition of Pitt Stadium, which had served as the home for Pitt's football team, along with other sports, for 75 years. [6] The Stadium was razed following the 1999 season to make way for the construction of the Petersen Events Center. The football team moved their home games permanently to newly constructed Heinz Field in 2001 after a one-year temporary stop at Three Rivers Stadium for the 2000 season. Pederson also oversaw the move of the football team into state-of-the art practice facilities that he helped to design at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex in 2000 as well as a refurbishment and expansion of Fitzgerald Field House in 1999.

In 2002, Pederson was awarded the General Robert R. Neyland Athletic Director Award which is presented by the All-American Football Foundation for outstanding administrative achievement. [7] Legendary sports historian and commentator Beano Cook said Pederson "rebuilt Pitt athletics. He saved Pitt sports." [8]

Pederson left Pitt to return to his alma mater, the University of Nebraska where he assumed athletic director duties in December 2002.

Nebraska tenure

Pederson was hired as Nebraska's 12th athletic director on December 20, 2002. After records of 7–7 and 9–3 in the previous two seasons, Pederson fired head football coach Frank Solich. Pederson justified the move by stating he would not "let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity" and would not "surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma and Texas". [9] Solich's 58 wins during his first six seasons as Nebraska's head coach exceeded that of his two College Football Hall of Fame predecessors: Bob Devaney (53 wins) and Tom Osborne (55 wins). [10]

Pederson told boosters he fired Solich because “high profile” candidates were “interested.” Pederson had not even hired a search firm. He believed he could poach Steve Spurrier from the Redskins, but he failed to even ask Spurrier if he had any interest prior to firing Solich. Pederson then tried, again unsuccessfully, to woo Urban Meyer away from Utah. The futile, disorganized coaching search hit rock bottom when a jet owned by Nebraska donor-of-substance Howard Hawks sat on a runway in Fayetteville for hours while Houston Nutt used Pederson’s desperate offer to renegotiate his deal with the Hogs.

Shortly thereafter, interim head coach Bo Pelini led Solich's team to its 10th victory of the season and later interviewed for the permanent head coach position. Quarterbacks coach Turner Gill did the same, and after a 40-day coaching search, Pederson hired former Oakland Raiders coach Bill Callahan as Solich's permanent successor. Callahan led the Huskers to a 27–22 record in 4 seasons as Nebraska's head football coach; 7 of the victories came against lower tier Group of Five and FCS competition.

On October 13, 2007, the football team lost its homecoming game 45–14 to Oklahoma State. Two days later, Pederson was fired by chancellor Harvey Perlman and six weeks later, Callahan was also dismissed. [11]

Second Pittsburgh tenure

Pederson was rehired by the University of Pittsburgh as its athletic director on November 30, 2007, following the departure of Jeff Long to the University of Arkansas. [12] Pederson was relieved of his duties as Pitt's athletic director on December 17, 2014. [13] Among his actions during his second tenure at Pittsburgh, Pederson hired volleyball head coach Toby Rens and softball head coach Holly Aprile, as well as sign men's and women's head basketball coaches, Jamie Dixon and Agnus Berenato respectively, to contract extensions. [14] [15] In August 2009, Pederson announced that Pitt's athletic teams would switch from being outfitted by Adidas to Nike and the school unveiled new football uniforms that included design elements reminiscent of those that were worn prior to Pederson's first tenure as athletic director at the university. On December 7, 2010, Pederson forced head football coach Dave Wannstedt to resign following a disappointing 7-5 season.

After a week-long search, Pederson hired Miami University head coach Mike Haywood to succeed Wannstedt. [16] But on December 31, 2010, Haywood was fired by Pitt after his arrest on a felony domestic battery charge made the day before [17] and only hours after Haywood posted bond and was released from jail. [18] Pederson then announced the hiring of Todd Graham as the new head coach on January 10, 2011. [19] Following a 6-6 season, Graham resigned on December 14, 2011, less than one year later, in order to take the Arizona State head coaching position. The university hired offensive coordinator Paul Chryst from the University of Wisconsin on December 22, 2011. On December 17, 2014 Chryst left to take the job as head coach at Wisconsin. Pederson stepped down the same day and vice-chancellor Dr. Randy Juhl was named interim Athletic Director.

Under Pederson's leadership, he negotiated the contract to move Pittsburgh from the Big East Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitt Stadium</span> Defunct outdoor stadium

Pitt Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1925, it served primarily as the home of the university's Pittsburgh Panthers football team through 1999. It was also used for other sporting events, including basketball, soccer, baseball, track and field, rifle, and gymnastics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Wannstedt</span> American football player, coach, executive (born 1952)

David Wannstedt is a former American football coach. He has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He was also the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team from 2005 to 2010. He also was a long-time assistant to Jimmy Johnson with the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Hurricanes, and Oklahoma State Cowboys as well as an associate of Johnson when both were assistants at the University of Pittsburgh.

Walter William Harris is a former American football player and coach. Harris served as the head football coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California from 1989 to 1991, the University of Pittsburgh from 1997 to 2004, and at Stanford University from 2005 to 2006, compiling a career college football record of 69–85.

Frank Thomas Solich is a former American football coach and former player. He is the former head coach at Ohio University, a position he held from 2005 until 2021. From 1998 to 2003, Solich served as the head coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he also played fullback under Bob Devaney in the mid-1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Dixon</span> American basketball coach (born 1965)

James Patrick Dixon II is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs men's team, where he played college ball. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team from 2003 through 2016.

Rod Rutherford is an American football coach and former quarterback. Rutherford spent time on both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Carolina Panthers rosters, mostly as a practice squad player. Rutherford entered the National Football League (NFL) when he was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers the following year in Super Bowl XL as a practice team player over the Seattle Seahawks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh Panthers football</span> Football team representing the University of Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football competition, now termed the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, since the beginning of the school's official sponsorship of the sport in 1890. Pitt competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Graham</span> American football player and coach (born 1964)

Michael Todd Graham is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (2020–2021). Graham has served as the head football coach at Rice University (2006), the University of Tulsa (2007–2010), the University of Pittsburgh (2011), and Arizona State University (2012–2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball</span> Basketball team of the University of Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's basketball team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games in the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion twice by the Helms Athletic Foundation and once by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Pitt has reached one Final Four, received 15 First Team All-American selections, appeared in 27 NCAA tournaments through the 2022–23 season, and has recorded 1,674 victories against 1,232 losses since their inaugural season of 1905–06.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Milligan (coach)</span>

Walter Scott "Mike" Milligan was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 1947 to 1949 and for one season as the head basketball coach at the University of Tulsa (1942–43).

Noel Scott Mazzone is an American football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is former offensive coordinator at the University of Arizona.

Carl Anthony Pelini is an American football coach. He served as defensive coordinator at Youngstown State University for the 2019 season. Pelini previously served as the head coach of Florida Atlantic from 2012 to 2013. He is the older brother of Bo Pelini, the former head coach at Nebraska and Youngstown State as well as defensive coordinator at LSU.

The 2008 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season was the fourth under head coach Dave Wannstedt. The 2008 season marked the team's eighth at Heinz Field and the program's 119th season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UPMC Rooney Sports Complex</span> Multi-sport training facility

The UPMC Rooney Sports Complex is a multipurpose, multisport training, sports science, and sports medical complex of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The complex is located along the shore of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is unique in that it is the only facility in the United States housing the practice and training facilities for both a collegiate National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football team and a professional National Football League (NFL) team, the Pittsburgh Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers respectively. It is also unique in that it combines these training facilities in one location with an academically based sports science and medicine program. The complex consists of four centers which include the Center for Sports Medicine, Sports Training Center, Indoor Training Center, and the Fitness and Conditioning Center located in three buildings along with four outdoor practice fields all situated on 40 acres (16 ha) of land. The UPMC Center for Sports Medicine located in the complex is an international destination for amateur and professional athletes alike for its training, medical, and rehabilitation studies and services.

The 2009 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season was the fifth under head coach Dave Wannstedt. The 2009 season marked the team ninth at Heinz Field and the program's 120th season overall. The 2009 season saw the introduction of a new offensive coordinator, Frank Cignetti, Jr. Pitt got off to a 9–1 start with impressive wins over Navy, Notre Dame for the second consecutive year, and Rutgers for the first time since 2004. Pitt was ranked number 9 in the AP and BCS polls and was off to its best start since 1982. However, Pitt lost the final two regular season games, including a last second loss by a field goal at West Virginia and a one-point loss at home for the Big East championship to undefeated Cincinnati, to finish the regular season at 9–3 for the second consecutive year. The Panthers rebounded by winning the Meineke Car Care Bowl over North Carolina, 19–17, to achieve its first ten-win season since 1981. Pitt ranked number 15 in the final 2009 AP rankings with a 10–3 record. In addition, Pitt players garnered many post-season accolades in 2009, including Big East Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year in Dion Lewis, and Big East Co-defensive Players of the Year in Mick Williams and Greg Romeus.

The 2010 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were members of the Big East Conference. They were led by the sixth-year head coach Dave Wannstedt and played their home games at Heinz Field. 2010 marked the university's 121st season overall. They finished the season 8–5, 5–2 in Big East play to be champions of the Big East with Connecticut and West Virginia. However, due to losses to both schools, Pitt did not earn the conference's bid to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game. They were invited to the BBVA Compass Bowl where they defeated Kentucky, 27–10. Wannstedt was forced to resign on December 7, 2010.

The 2011 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led through the regular season by first-year head coach Todd Graham and played eight home games at Heinz Field. Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson was named interim coach for the season-ending bowl game after Graham resigned in favor of a head coaching position at Arizona State.

American football in Western Pennsylvania, featuring the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, has had a long and storied history, dating back to the early days of the sport. All levels of football, including high school football and college football, are followed passionately, and the area's National Football League (NFL) team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, is consistently one of the sport's most popular teams. Many of the NFL's top stars have come from the region as well, especially those that play quarterback, earning Western Pennsylvania the nickname "Cradle of Quarterbacks".

The 2007 Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia football game was a college football game held in Morgantown, West Virginia that marked the 100th Backyard Brawl. Unranked and 4–7 Pitt, a 28½ point underdog, pulled the upset over archrival WVU who, coming into the game, was ranked second in the BCS and AP Poll and first in the Coaches' Poll. By upsetting West Virginia in the Mountaineers' regular season and home finale, the Panthers knocked WVU out of what had been assured to be their first appearance in a BCS National Championship Game and a shot at their first ever National Championship. The game was one of the most important Backyard Brawls in the series history, one of the biggest upsets in both Pittsburgh and West Virginia history, one of the biggest upsets of the season, and was voted as the "Game of the Year" by ESPNU.

The Pittsburgh Panthers team represents the University of Pittsburgh in American football.

References

  1. University of Pittsburgh football media guide 2002, pg. 269, accessdate=2009-01-29
  2. Mike Prisuta, Pederson Man behind turning of the Panthers' athletic fortunes, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 2002-04-07, accessdate=2009-01-29 [ permanent dead link ]
  3. Ray Fittipaldo, Can Pederson regain magic touch?, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12-01-2007, accessdate=2009-01-29
  4. Kevin Gorman, Pederson returns at Pitt AD, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 2007-12-01, accessdate=2009-01-29 Archived December 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. E.J. Borghetti, Pitt Chronicle, Pederson returns to lead university's athletic department, 2007-12-03, accessdate=2008-01-29
  6. Bob Smizik, Pitt gets it right with Pederson's return, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2007-12-01, accessdate=2009-01-29
  7. University of Pittsburgh football media guide 2002, pg. 268, accessdate=2009-01-29
  8. http://journalstar.com/sports/football/college/pederson-created-stir-at-pittsburgh-too-but-his-success-turned/article_3383e765-a528-5e51-9e24-440e59821695.html;Pederson [ permanent dead link ] created stir at Pittsburgh, Lincoln Journal Star
  9. Pederson fired; Nebraska chancellor cites lack of football progress
  10. Nebraska Yearly Totals Archived February 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine on cfbdatawarehouse.com
  11. Rosenthal, Brian (October 15, 2007). "Pederson out as NU's AD". JournalStar.com. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  12. Paul Zeise, Pederson's goal: Sellouts at Heinz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2007-12-23, accessdate=2009-01-29
  13. "Panther-lair - Pederson out as Athletic Director".
  14. Ray Fittipaldo, Dixon gets extension, raise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2008-09-26, accessdate=2009-01-29
  15. Paul Zeise, Berenato receives 3-year extension, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2008-10-10, accessdate=2009-01-29
  16. Zeise, Paul (December 16, 2010). "Pitt hires Miami (Ohio) coach Haywood". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
  17. "Pitt fires coach facing domestic violence charge". January 2011.
  18. "Fired Pitt coach, former Irish coordinator to be arraigned Monday in South Bend". www.wndu.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  19. Zeise, Paul (January 11, 2011). "Pitt's search ends with hiring of Tulsa's Graham". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  20. "Pederson on Move to ACC "Very Exciting, and Very Historic"". July 2013.