Pitt athletics, once one of the "weakest links in the well-rounded ACC and all of the Power 5 conferences, has become a broad-based success story" under AD Heather Lyke since she joined the conference in 2017, according to Pat Forde of SI. Forde writes Pitt’s upswing has been a "testament to Lyke’s combination of seemingly conflicting characteristics: aggressiveness and patience." She came to the city "school ready to overhaul a lot of things, but also prepared to play the long game in other areas." Now, volleyball "made the Final Four for the second straight season." Men’s soccer made the Final Four "for the second time in three seasons." Women’s soccer "made the Sweet 16 for the first time." And football "won nine games and finished the season ranked No. 22 in the AP poll." Forde writes "job one" for Lyke was "igniting a renewed passion within the department." Lyke said, “There was apathy. People were comfortable.” Forde noted some "began to grow uncomfortable quickly." Lyke said that she "changed nine head coaches in her first year and a half at Pitt, a turnover rate that put everyone on notice." Lyke undertook ambitious projects to build new facilities and renovate the old ones." The Victory Heights fundraising campaign, which began in 2020, is "moving through a seven-year plan to upgrade just about everything in the athletic department" (SI, 2/9).
Pitt men's basketball is just one program that has seen a big turnaround under AD Heather LykeGetty Images
