Pitt fires athletic director Heather Lyke months before her contract was set to expire

Updated Sep. 9, 2024 7:56 p.m. ET

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The University of Pittsburgh has fired athletic director Heather Lyke, a somewhat surprising move that came a few months before Lyke's contract was set to expire.

Pitt chancellor Joan Gabel made the announcement Monday.

While Gabel thanked Lyke for her leadership, Gabel also noted that with the landscape of college athletics changing rapidly, she felt it was time for a fresh start.

“We need a new vision and a new leader of our athletics department,” Gabel said in a statement.

Lyke arrived at Pitt in 2017 and helped the Panthers start to find their footing in the Atlantic Coast Conference after treading water in their initial years following their departure from the Big East.

The football program won its first ACC title in 2021 and her decision to hire Jeff Capel as the men's basketball coach in 2018 helped bring that program back to life. The women's volleyball team has become a national power and the men's soccer team reached the College Cup twice, 2020 and 2022.

In a statement posted on social media, Lyke thanked the many she worked with at Pitt.

“Today, I reflected of the wise words from a mentor: ‘If you leave a place better than you found it, you can be proud of your work,’” she said. “I am immensely proud of the accomplishments of the student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, donors and community members that I have had the privilege to serve alongside at the University of Pittsburgh.”

Lyke's most ambitious project was “Victory Heights,” a $240 million facility currently under construction next to the Petersen Events Center. When completed, Victory Heights will serve as the home for 16 of Pitt's 19 intercollegiate programs and will accommodate seating for up to 3,000 for volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics.

The building, launched in 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025.

Lyke, however, will not be around to see her vision come to fruition. She was in the final months of a contract that ran through 2024 but had explored other options lately, most recently when she was a finalist for the athletic director job at Northwestern.

The Wildcats ended up hiring Villanova athletic director Mark Jackson for the job.

Gabel said the school will launch a “comprehensive search” for Lyke's replacement. Jennifer Tuscano will serve as interim athletic director until the search is complete.

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