Steve Pederson
Encyclopedia
Steve Pederson is the athletic director
at the University of Pittsburgh
. He held the same post there from 1996 to 2002 and at the University of Nebraska from 2002 to 2007.
Early in Pederson's tenure, he also moved to replace then head football
coach Johnny Majors
with Walt Harris
who took Pitt to the Liberty Bowl
, Pitt's first bowl in eight seasons, in his first season as head coach in 1997. Pederson also hired Ben Howland
as Pitt's head men's basketball
coach in 1999 to replace Ralph Willard
. Howland proceeded to take Pitt to its first NCAA Tournament
in 9 seasons. In addition to Harris and Howland, Pederson hires included Alonzo Webb for track and field, Traci Waites for women's basketball
, Joe Jordano for baseball
, and Chris Beerman for volleyball
. All six of these coaching hires went on to win Big East Conference
Coach-of-the-Year honors in their respective sports. Pederson retired the football jerseys of former Panther greats Mike Ditka
, Marshall Goldberg
, Joe Schmidt
, and Mark May
. Pederson significantly elevated the athletic department's fundraising efforts, some of which was through implementing controversial donor requirements for men's basketball seating.
Among the most controversial decisions of Pederson's first tenure at Pittsburgh was the demolition of Pitt Stadium
, which had served as the home for Pitt's football team, along with other sports, for 75 years. The Stadium was razed following the 1999 season to make way for the construction of the Petersen Events Center
. The football team moved their home games permanently to newly constructed Heinz Field
in 2001 after a one-year temporary stop at Three Rivers Stadium
for the 2000 season. Pederson also oversaw the move of the football team into state of the art practice facilities that he helped to design at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex
in 2000 as well as a refurbishment and expansion of Fitzgerald Field House
in 1999.
In 2002, Pederson was awarded the General Robert R. Neyland Athletic Director Award which is presented by the All-American Football Foundation for outstanding administrative achievement.
Pederson left Pitt to return to his alma mater, the University of Nebraska where he assumed athletic director duties in December, 2002. He was replaced as athletic director at Pitt by Jeff Long
. Under Long's tenure, the athletic department reverted to using "Pitt", with a new block letter design, on football helmets, logos, press releases, and signage and the torch-cut font was largely replaced. The Team Pittsburgh booster club was also renamed to the Panther Club. The color scheme used by the athletic department, and introduced under Pederson, was retained.
. Pederson justified the move by stating he would not "let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity" and would not "surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma
and Texas
". Solich's 58 wins during his first six seasons as Nebraska's head coach exceeded that of his two College Football Hall of Fame predecessors: Bob Devaney
(53 wins) and Tom Osborne (55 wins).
Shortly thereafter, interim head coach Bo Pelini
led Solich's team to its 10th victory of the season and later interviewed for the permanent head coach position. Quarterbacks coach Turner Gill
did the same, and after a 40-day coaching search, Pederson hired former Oakland Raiders
coach Bill Callahan
as Solich's permanent successor. Under the leadership of Pedersen, Callahan led the Huskers to a 27-22 record in 4 seasons as Nebraska's Head Football Coach.
On October 13, 2007, the football team lost its homecoming game 45-14 to Oklahoma State
. Two days later, Pederson was fired during a five-minute meeting with chancellor Harvey Perlman. Perlman cited Pederson's leadership style as his rationale for the change. Six weeks after Pederson's firing, Callahan was also dismissed.
. Pederson continues to serve at Pitt as athletic director at present. From his original branding changes for the athletic department, only changes to the color scheme and Panther logo remain, as the block PITT introduced by Jeff Long continues to serve as the athletic department's primary logo. Among his actions during his current tenure at Pittsburgh, Pederson has hired volleyball head coach Toby Rens and softball head coach Holly Aprile, as well as sign men's and women's head basketball coaches, Jamie Dixon
and Agnus Berenato
respectively, to contract extensions. In August 2009, Pederson announced that Pitt's athletic teams would switch from being outfitted by Adidas
to Nike
and the school unveiled new football uniforms that included design elements reminiscent of those that were worn prior to Pederson's first tenure as athletic director at the university. On December 7, 2010, Pederson forced head football coach Dave Wannstedt
to resign following a disappointing 7-5 season.
After a week-long search, Pederson hired Miami University
head coach Mike Haywood to succeed Wannstedt. But on January 1, 2011, Haywood was fired by Pitt after his arrest on a felony domestic battery charge made the day before and only hours after Haywood posted bond and was released from jail. Pederson's apparent mishandling of the Pitt football head coach search sparked outrage among Pitt alum and donors, with some having threatened to stop making donations while Pederson is still an employee of the university. Pederson then announced the hiring of Todd Graham
as the new head coach on January 10, 2011.
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. He held the same post there from 1996 to 2002 and at the University of Nebraska from 2002 to 2007.
First Pittsburgh tenure
Pederson was hired as the 10th athletic director of the University of Pittsburgh on October 28, 1996. He quickly implemented several sweeping and controversial changes to resurrect an athletic program that had fallen on hard times. He removed several employees of the athletic department and In the spring of 1997 changed and standardized the athletic uniforms, colors, and logos used by Pittsburgh Athletic Department to emphasize the heritage and location of the University. This involved demphasizing the traditional use of "Pitt" in preference for the use of "Pittsburgh" to refer to the school in press releases and in signage. In doing so, he also abandoned the use of the traditional "Pitt script" logo that had adorned football helmets since 1973. New logos designed by Peter Moore that utilized a "torch-cut" font, which alluded to the heritage of Pittsburgh's steel industry, were introduced along with a new Panther logo with a similar torch-cut style. The blue and gold shades used by the athletic department, previously royal to navy blue and yellow to mustard gold, were also changed to midnight blue and vegas gold. In addition, the existing Golden Panther booster club organization was scrapped and replaced with a new club termed Team Pittsburgh. These moves were controversial among fans, boosters and traditionalists of the University of Pittsburgh athletic teams.Early in Pederson's tenure, he also moved to replace then head football
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
coach Johnny Majors
Johnny Majors
Johnny Majors is a former American football player and coach. A standout halfback at the University of Tennessee, he was an All-American in 1956 and a two-time winner of the Southeastern Conference Most Valuable Player award, in 1955 and 1956. He finished second to Paul Hornung in voting for...
with Walt Harris
Walt Harris
Walt Harris is a former American football player and coach in the United States. Harris served as the head football coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California from 1989 to 1991, the University of Pittsburgh from 1997 to 2004, and at Stanford University from 2005 to 2006,...
who took Pitt to the Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
, Pitt's first bowl in eight seasons, in his first season as head coach in 1997. Pederson also hired Ben Howland
Ben Howland
Ben Howland is an American college head coach of men's basketball.He has been the head coach of the University of California, Los Angeles since 2003, and in 2008 signed an extension of his contract to run through 2015. Aggressive man-to-man defense is the trademark of Ben Howland-coached...
as Pitt's head men's basketball
Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball
Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's basketball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games in...
coach in 1999 to replace Ralph Willard
Ralph Willard
Ralph Willard is the former men's head basketball coach at the College of the Holy Cross, a member of the NCAA Patriot League in Worcester, Massachusetts. He held this position from 1999 to 2009 and was the 14th head coach in the 88-year history of Holy Cross basketball. Willard was also an...
. Howland proceeded to take Pitt to its first NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in 9 seasons. In addition to Harris and Howland, Pederson hires included Alonzo Webb for track and field, Traci Waites for women's basketball
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball
Pittsburgh Panthers women's basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate women's basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt women's basketball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games...
, Joe Jordano for baseball
Pittsburgh Panthers baseball
Pittsburgh Panthers baseball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate baseball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt baseball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games at Charles L. Cost Field in...
, and Chris Beerman for volleyball
Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball
Pittsburgh Panthers women's volleyball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt volleyball team competes in the Big East Conference and plays their home games in Fitzgerald...
. All six of these coaching hires went on to win Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
Coach-of-the-Year honors in their respective sports. Pederson retired the football jerseys of former Panther greats Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
, Marshall Goldberg
Marshall Goldberg
Marshall Goldberg was an American football halfback with the Chicago Cardinals in the National Football League.- Football career :Goldberg was born in Elkins, West Virginia...
, Joe Schmidt
Joe Schmidt
Joseph Paul Schmidt is a former American football player and coach at both the collegiate and professional levels. His 13-year career with the National Football League's Detroit Lions gained him a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973.-Collegiate career:Schmidt grew up in Pittsburgh,...
, and Mark May
Mark May
Mark Eric May is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League. He is currently a football analyst for ESPN.-Football career:...
. Pederson significantly elevated the athletic department's fundraising efforts, some of which was through implementing controversial donor requirements for men's basketball seating.
Among the most controversial decisions of Pederson's first tenure at Pittsburgh was the demolition of Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium was a stadium located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1999. It served primarily as the home of the University of Pittsburgh's football team, the Pittsburgh Panthers...
, which had served as the home for Pitt's football team, along with other sports, for 75 years. The Stadium was razed following the 1999 season to make way for the construction of the Petersen Events Center
Petersen Events Center
Not to be confused with Petersen Sports Complex.The John M. and Gertrude E. Petersen Events Center is a 12,508-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It hosts the men's and women's Pitt Panthers basketball teams...
. The football team moved their home games permanently to newly constructed Heinz Field
Heinz Field
Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
in 2001 after a one-year temporary stop at Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...
for the 2000 season. Pederson also oversaw the move of the football team into state of the art practice facilities that he helped to design at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex
UPMC Sports Performance Complex
The UPMC Sports Performance Complex is a multipurpose, multisport training, sports science, and sports medical complex of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center...
in 2000 as well as a refurbishment and expansion of Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald, a past chancellor of the university....
in 1999.
In 2002, Pederson was awarded the General Robert R. Neyland Athletic Director Award which is presented by the All-American Football Foundation for outstanding administrative achievement.
Pederson left Pitt to return to his alma mater, the University of Nebraska where he assumed athletic director duties in December, 2002. He was replaced as athletic director at Pitt by Jeff Long
Jeff Long (athletic director)
Jeff Long is the current athletic director at the University of Arkansas. He replaced Frank Broyles who retired at Arkansas at the beginning of 2008....
. Under Long's tenure, the athletic department reverted to using "Pitt", with a new block letter design, on football helmets, logos, press releases, and signage and the torch-cut font was largely replaced. The Team Pittsburgh booster club was also renamed to the Panther Club. The color scheme used by the athletic department, and introduced under Pederson, was retained.
Nebraska tenure
Pederson was hired as Nebraska's 12th athletic director on December 20, 2002. After records of 7-7 and 9-3 in the previous two seasons, Pederson fired head football coach Frank SolichFrank Solich
Frank Solich is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Ohio University, a position he has held since the 2005 season...
. Pederson justified the move by stating he would not "let Nebraska gravitate into mediocrity" and would not "surrender the Big 12 to Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
and Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...
". Solich's 58 wins during his first six seasons as Nebraska's head coach exceeded that of his two College Football Hall of Fame predecessors: Bob Devaney
Bob Devaney
Robert S. "Bob" Devaney was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Wyoming from 1957 to 1961 and at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1962 to 1972, compiling a career college football record of 136–30–7...
(53 wins) and Tom Osborne (55 wins).
Shortly thereafter, interim head coach Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
led Solich's team to its 10th victory of the season and later interviewed for the permanent head coach position. Quarterbacks coach Turner Gill
Turner Gill
Turner Hillery Gill is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach at Kansas from 2010-2011, and was one of 11 African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision at the time of his hiring.-College:Gill graduated from Arlington Heights High...
did the same, and after a 40-day coaching search, Pederson hired former Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
coach Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan (football coach)
William E. Callahan is the Assistant Head Coach for the New York Jets. He was formerly the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for the 2002-2003 seasons and for the University of Nebraska for the 2004-2007 seasons....
as Solich's permanent successor. Under the leadership of Pedersen, Callahan led the Huskers to a 27-22 record in 4 seasons as Nebraska's Head Football Coach.
On October 13, 2007, the football team lost its homecoming game 45-14 to Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State Cowboys football
The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and completes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are led by Mike Gundy, who is in his seventh year as...
. Two days later, Pederson was fired during a five-minute meeting with chancellor Harvey Perlman. Perlman cited Pederson's leadership style as his rationale for the change. Six weeks after Pederson's firing, Callahan was also dismissed.
Second Pittsburgh tenure
Pederson was rehired by the University of Pittsburgh as its athletic director on November 30, 2007 following the departure Jeff Long to the University of ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
. Pederson continues to serve at Pitt as athletic director at present. From his original branding changes for the athletic department, only changes to the color scheme and Panther logo remain, as the block PITT introduced by Jeff Long continues to serve as the athletic department's primary logo. Among his actions during his current tenure at Pittsburgh, Pederson has hired volleyball head coach Toby Rens and softball head coach Holly Aprile, as well as sign men's and women's head basketball coaches, Jamie Dixon
Jamie Dixon
Jamie Dixon is an American basketball head coach. He has served as the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team since 2003. In 2009 he was the head coach for the FIBA Under-19 2009 gold-medal winning United States national basketball team for which he was named the 2009 USA...
and Agnus Berenato
Agnus Berenato
Agnus Berenato , is the head women's basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh, a role she has held since 2003.-Early life and education:Berenato is the eighth of ten children born to Peter and Theresa McGlade...
respectively, to contract extensions. In August 2009, Pederson announced that Pitt's athletic teams would switch from being outfitted by Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
to Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
and the school unveiled new football uniforms that included design elements reminiscent of those that were worn prior to Pederson's first tenure as athletic director at the university. On December 7, 2010, Pederson forced head football coach Dave Wannstedt
Dave Wannstedt
Dave Wannstedt is current Assistant Head Coach/Inside Linebackers Coach for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League. He was most recently head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team, a position he held for six seasons. Wannstedt is also the former head coach of the Miami...
to resign following a disappointing 7-5 season.
After a week-long search, Pederson hired Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
head coach Mike Haywood to succeed Wannstedt. But on January 1, 2011, Haywood was fired by Pitt after his arrest on a felony domestic battery charge made the day before and only hours after Haywood posted bond and was released from jail. Pederson's apparent mishandling of the Pitt football head coach search sparked outrage among Pitt alum and donors, with some having threatened to stop making donations while Pederson is still an employee of the university. Pederson then announced the hiring of Todd Graham
Todd Graham
Todd Graham is the head football coach of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was previously the head coach at the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma.-Playing career:...
as the new head coach on January 10, 2011.