After about a month of doing a candidate search, the Pitt Panthers have a new athletic director.
Tennessee Senior Deputy AD, Allen Greene is making the move to take over the AD job at Pitt. He replaces Heather Lyke who was fired last month.
The Change
Greene, 47 years old, is also the former athletic director at Buffalo and Auburn. He also held administrative jobs in the athletic departments at Ole Miss and Notre Dame.
While no official details were ever provided about why Lyke was fired, reliable sources have said that it had to do with the lack of fundraising abilities. Lyke was never known to have particularly close relationships with boosters. The revenue growth for the department suffered as a result as did money for Pitt’s collective.
The New AD
Greene has been intricately involved in financial issues at his last two stops. He was the athletic director at Auburn from 2018-2022. Most notable during his tenure was the firing of football head coach Gus Malzahn, (and the $21 million contract buyout that went with it), and the hiring of Bryan Harsin to replace him. Greene left Auburn in August of 2022, two months before Harsin was fired as head coach.
Greene went on to Ole Miss where he served as senior deputy AD for external relations and business development. He was there for a year before going to Tennessee in December of 2023. Greene’s primary role at Tennessee was focused on fundraising and NIL revenue. His position was also built to prepare the school for the changing world in the House v. NCAA litigation.
When Pitt fired Lyke, the official statement from the school said the university was looking for someone with a vision for the changing landscape of college athletics.
Now that there is a preliminary settlement in the House v. NCAA case, with final approval expected in the Spring, revenue sharing and fundraising will be the top priorities for most any athletic director. The high-profile efforts will be for football and men’s basketball.
The Next Steps
Pitt issued a written statement from Chancellor Joan Gabel on Friday. “In Allen Greene, we have a proven national leader who exemplifies the Pitt way, and who has all of the experience and intangibles to elevate our athletics program in competition and in the classroom. In my conversations with Allen and with many others who know him well, it is clear that he will lead us successfully into the new world of intercollegiate athletics.”
Greene will be holding a position at both Pitt and Tennessee while he transitions out of his role in Knoxville.
