Inside The Panthers

Pitt Forms Advisory Committee for New AD

The Pitt Panthers formed a new advisory committee for a new athletic director.

Dominic Campbell

Dec 26, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Aaron Donald (97) during the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against the Bowling Green Falcons at Ford Field. Pittsburgh Panthers defeated Bowling Green Falcons 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-Imagn Images
Dec 26, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers defensive lineman Aaron Donald (97) during the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against the Bowling Green Falcons at Ford Field. Pittsburgh Panthers defeated Bowling Green Falcons 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-Imagn Images / Andrew Weber-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers formed an advsiory committee to search for a new athletic director, after Chancellor Joan Gabel announced the departure of Heather Lyke earlier this week.

There are seven people on the advisory committee, including Jeff Capel, Pat Bostick, Aaron Donald, Dwayne Pinkney, Donna Sanft, Peter Varischetti and Sheila Vélez Martínez, according to Jenna Harper of WPXI.

Capel is the men's basketball head coach at Pitt and is heading into his seventh season at the helm. He holds a record of 97-92 overall and 47-67 in the ACC with the program, but posted a record of 46-23 overall and 26-14 in the ACC the past two seasons, with 20+ wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.

Donald, an alum of Penn Hills, played for Pitt from 2010-13 and starred in 2013, making 59 tackles (43 solo), 28.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles and three passes defended.

This earned him ACC Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-American honors. He also secured the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronco Nagurski Trophy for best defensive player, the Outland Trophy for best interior lineman and the Lombardi Award for the player who embodies the spirit of Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi.

He also excelled wth the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams in the NFL for 10 seasons from 2014-23, making the Pro Bowl all 10 seasons he played in, three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards and is a member of the NFL All-2010s Decade Team.

Bostick played quarterback for the Panthers from 2007-10, helping the team upset then ranked No. 2 West Virginia in the famous 13-9 win on Dec. 1, 2007. He has worked in the Pitt athletic department since 2012 and has held the position of Senior Associate Athletic Director, Major Gifts since May 2021.

Pinkney arrived to Pitt in May 2024 from Indiana, taking over as the executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer. He is also a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh through the Graduate School of International and Public Affairs (GSPIA) in 1987.

Sanft was a former gymanst at Pitt from 1970-74, as well as a three-time Most Valuable Performer and three-time captain.

She became the first women’s varsity gymnastics coach in Pitt history at the age of 22 in 1974 and would serve in that role for the next 12 seasons through 1986 and posted an 86-57-1 record, earning the honor of Eastern Collegiate Coach of the Year twice. She also coached the only Pitt National Champion gymnast in Lisa Shirk in 1982.

Sanft then served in a variety of roles throughout the Pitt athletics department from 1986-2014. She is a also member of the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame, earning her induction in 2022.

Varischetti is a Pitt alumnus, works on Pitt's board of Trustees and is the president of Varischetti Holdings in Brockway, Pa., which is a, "family-owned organization that includes a real estate investment firm, a powder metal manufacturing business, and a gas field services company," according to their website.

Martínez has taught at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law since 2010 and holds the official title of Jack and Lovell Olender Professor of Asylum Refugee and Immigration Law. She also works as the Director of Clinical Programs and the Immigration Law Clinic.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Follow Inside the Panthers on Twitter: @InsidePitt

Published
Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

Follow Dominic Campbell on Twitter.

Home/News