Pittsburgh Sports Report - PSR IN-DEPTH: New King On Campus. Basketball Has Altered Pitt's Reputation As A Football School By Tony DeFazio

Pittsburgh Sports Report
April 2004

PSR IN-DEPTH
New King On Campus
Basketball Has Altered Pitt's Reputation As A Football School
By Tony DeFazio

When Upper St. Clair guard Joey David was recruited to play college basketball in the early 1980s, the idea of playing at Pitt was not even an afterthought.

"I didn't want to go to Pitt at all," said David. "I was recruited by some ACC and SEC schools, and I wanted to go to one of them because I wanted to play against the best competition. Pitt was not playing against the best competition back then."

At the time, the Panthers were a member of the Eastern 8 conference, a precursor to the Atlantic 10. However, just as David was preparing to graduate from high school, the Panthers joined the Big East.

"That changed my mind," David said. "I knew we were going to be playing against the best - Syracuse , St. John's , Georgetown ...That made a big difference to me. I'm sure it makes a big difference to a lot of recruits and it's one of the reasons they are doing so well in basketball now."

David got in on the ground floor of a movement that many believe the 2003-04 basketball team has accelerated - specifically, the conversion of Pitt from a school known for football to one known for basketball. Consider the basketball team's accomplishments:

е аааааа A nation-leading 88-15 record the past three seasons.

е аааааа Four straight appearances in the Big East Tournament championship game.

е аааааа Three consecutive Big East regular season crowns.

е аааааа Three straight Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

е аааааа A beautiful new on-campus playing facility that ironically sits on the same ground where historic Pitt Stadium once stood.

"Till they started recruiting me, I thought Pitt was more of a football school," says Big East Rookie of the Year Chris Taft. "Now, Pitt's definitely known for the basketball program."

All of this comes at a time when the Big East is in a phase of transition, one that will make it the premier basketball conference in the land beginning in 2005.

Basketball powers Louisville and Cincinnati - with high profile head coaches in Rick Pitino and Bob Huggins - will join the league, as well as traditional powers DePaul and Marquette, and up-and-comer South Florida. Louisville , Cincinnati and South Florida also join in football, but their immediate and biggest impacts will be felt on the hard wood. That fact is not lost on Pitt students.

"Pitt is a basketball school," says Carolyne Savani, a senior swimmer from New Jersey . "Especially with the new teams coming in. The perception on campus is that the football program is going to decline and the basketball program is just going to get better."

That perception may reach further than the Pitt campus.

"I don't think it's perception, I think it's reality," said Clark Kellogg, college basketball analyst with CBS. "I went to Ohio State , and that's considered a football school. Now, the Big East is known as a basketball league. That's especially true with Miami and Virginia Tech leaving. Pitt's football team has had a decent run under Walt (Harris), but right now, basketball is the talk of the school. They've done an outstanding job with the basketball program."

Not So Fast

Former Panthers' offensive lineman Bill Cherpak is among those who believe that the basketball team has been boosted, not only by its success and new facilities, but by the expansion of the conference on the basketball side. However, Cherpak also feels that the recent decision of the Bowl Championship Series to add a fifth game and allow the Big East to keep its automatic berth will greatly benefit the perception of Big East football programs.

"I think that was huge for football," said Cherpak. "Two of the obstacles to getting to the national championship are out of the way. Miami and Virginia Tech are gone, and we still have a chance to get to the title game. It's a big bonus for the football program."

Also working against a perception change are the well-earned reputations of schools like Pitt that are considered football schools, while others are considered basketball schools. It is generally accepted, for example, that Kansas and Duke are basketball schools and Oklahoma and Florida are football schools.

Perceptions seem to remain in place no matter how successful the other programs are. Oklahoma and Florida , for example, have been almost as successful in basketball as football in recent years.

"There are perceptions like that still existing," said Tim Curley, athletic director at Penn State . "We try to balance them out. We want all the programs to work at a level of success. But I don't think there is any question that certain programs, in the minds of fans, are more associated with schools than others."

Jeff Long, athletic director at Pitt, has similar goals for Pitt's programs.

"I think, to a degree, the perception that some schools are football schools and others are basketball schools still exists," Long said. "But I think that has lessened over time. I think things have gotten to the point where we are both."

Matt Cavanaugh, who quarterbacked Pitt to the national championship in 1976, agrees. He noted the names of Ditka, Marino and Dorsett - names that have made Pitt a football school.

"I think the media tries to assign those labels to schools to be honest," said Cavanaugh, now a coach with the Baltimore Ravens. "I don't think there is any question, though, when you look back at the '70s, the football program at Pitt was getting the top athletes that the basketball team is getting now...So I think Pitt is both nowadays."

Basketball Has Arrived

Senior center Toree Morris has seen the rise of the basketball team from also-ran to national power. He's noticed the recent onslaught of attention, first from students, then spreading throughout the city.

"I might say Pitt is becoming a basketball school, but I wouldn't say it is a basketball school," Morris admits. "I don't think you'll ever look at Pittsburgh and think basketball...not like a Kentucky or a UNC. Certainly when you look at us now as opposed to five years ago, Pittsburgh is definitely becoming a good basketball school."

Fox TV college basketball analyst Frank Burleson also isn't sure that Pitt has become a basketball school, but says the days of thinking football-first are over.

" Pittsburgh is a city, and even a school, with such great football tradition. I'm not sure they'll ever be able to be looked upon solely as a basketball school," Burleson says. "But both programs should both be able to have success without stepping on each other's toes."

Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan does not see nearly as much middle ground when it comes to Pitt's perception nationally.

" Pittsburgh 's view may never change, but to the outside world, the premier program at Pitt is basketball," Ryan said, in no uncertain terms. "Why would I even think of Pitt as a football school? They're only a so-so football program. Basketball is the story.

"Pitt is the Peterson Events Center ...not anything to do with football," Ryan adds. "Any fair-minded, logical-thinking all-around sports fan would say that basketball is what Pitt sports is all about."