Pitt's Heather Lyke Wins Athletic Director of the Year

Pitt Panthers athletic director Heather Lyke has earned distinction as AD of the Year.

PITTSBURGH -- Those within the Pitt Panthers athletic department already felt this way but now they have something tangible to back it up. Their athletic director, Heather Lyke, has been named the Cushman and Wakefield AD of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). Lyke was a finalist among ADs from the FBS, alongside Mark Harlan (Utah), Jamie Pollard (Iowa State) and Gene Taylor (Kansas State).

“It is more than humbling to be recognized along with some extraordinary colleagues,” Lyke said. “This honor is the result of an outstanding team of people in Pitt Athletics who make great decisions and work hard every day to help our coaches and student-athletes have success. It is truly a privilege to lead Pitt Athletics and this award also represents the exceptional belief and confidence of our coaches, student-athletes and staff.”

Her tenure at Pitt has coincided with some unprecedented success for the athletic department as a whole. Lyke's decision to retain men's basketball head coach Jeff Capel paid off after four hard seasons, when the program earned it's first NCAA Tournament bid in seven years and won two games in the Big Dance for the first time since 2009. 

The football program joined an exclusive club of college football's elite by winning 20 games over the past two seasons and earning back-to-back finishes in the final AP top 25 poll. 

Congratulation!!!!!!! Well earned @Pitt_LykeAD!!!! More to come #H2P 🥇🔥🔵🟡 https://t.co/ghUvWgiKCj

— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) March 27, 2023

Volleyball, under newly-extended head coach Dan Fisher, made a second consecutive Final Four, cementing their status as a perennial power both inside the ACC and outside of it. 

Men's soccer made the College Cup for a second consecutive year as well and women's soccer earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in program history and advanced to the Sweet 16. 

Wrestler Nino Bonaccorsi won the NCAA 197-pound championship, becoming Pitt’s first individual wrestling national champion since 2008 and Ilse Steigenga became the track and field program's first All-American since 1999 for her performance in the long jump. And this past weekend, men’s swimming and diving sent its largest contingent to the NCAA Championships with 12 competitors and placed 33rd nationally.

Lyke's success fundraising for the Victory Heights project, which will result in multiple new facilities for students and athletes to use, was also cited as a reason why she was considered for the award. Lyke helped raise $40 million during the 2021-22 fiscal year, a school record according to a release from the athletic department. 

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