Pitt's search for a new AD is "in its embryonic stages," but Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher believes the school is "laying the foundation to find the person who will replace Scott Barnes," according to DiPaola & Gorman of TRIBLIVE.com. Gallagher said noted Barnes is "actually still the AD for the time being," as he will not leave for Oregon State until February. Gallagher: "We're going to take advantage of that and have a smooth transition that lets us start a search process right away." He added, "We're expecting to be a very competitive destination for some great AD candidates." Meanwhile, DiPaola & Gorman noted Gallagher "pushed back at a question regarding Pitt's attendance woes at Heinz Field." Pitt averaged 46,076 fans for seven home games this year. The school "set a Heinz Field record of 69,983 for the Penn State game but averaged 42,091 in the other six." Gallagher: "We actually did pretty well at Heinz Field this year in terms of ticket sales. Pittsburgh as a sports town likes a great product. So the way we think about it is we want the game day experience to be great, and we want Pitt football to be a very strong program." He said, "With those two in place, you're going to continue to see improvement in attendance, and we think the bowl games are indicative of something that's really important, which is the Pitt fanbase is building. It's proving that it will travel and support this team, and that will only carry over to regular-season games as well" (TRIBLIVE.com, 12/28).
SHOWING SUPPORT: In Pittsburgh, Brian Batko notes Pitt officials "praised the fan base for flocking" to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against Northwestern at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Pitt "sold more than 8,000 tickets, including its first and second allotments, a similar figure to last year’s total for the Military Bowl against Navy" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 12/29).
