University of Pittsburgh Athletics
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08/29/2016
Pitt Athletics Launches Panther Club Donor Acquisition Campaign
Campaign to Reach Over 220,000 Constituents Over Next Three Weeks
08/15/2016
Pitt Hosts Fall Olympic Sports Media Day
06/02/2016
Pitt Partners With Populous on Facilities Master Plan
Plan to Address Facility Upgrades and Additions
05/16/2016
#PittScript Makes a Full Return Wednesday
Pitt Officially Transitions to Script Logo
04/20/2016
13 Pitt Programs Exceed National APR Average
NCAA Announces 2014-15 NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate Scores
Entering his second year as the University of Pittsburgh's Athletic Director, Scott Barnes continues to drive an ambitious vision for the Panthers. Built on the stated goals of "inspiring pride and building champions," this vision has mobilized Pitt people nationwide and has the Panthers poised for a new era of athletic and academic excellence.
Barnes invested a significant amount of his initial 12 months at Pitt engaging and listening to student-athletes, staff, alumni and supporters. Within days of arriving in Pittsburgh, he launched the inaugural Panthers Fans Experience Committee, a group that has served as the pulse of the Pitt fan. Midway through his first year, Barnes hosted a Pitt Town Hall Meeting, during which he outlined the current state of the athletic department, discussed future goals and answered any and all questions from the nearly 500 people in attendance.
The result of Barnes' wide-ranging internal and external engagement was the development and unveiling of the Plan for Pitt Athletics.
With the student-athlete experience serving as its centerpiece, this strategic blueprint details how Pitt will achieve competitive success while maintaining program integrity, develop the finest student-athletes and staff, graduate its student-athletes, strengthen and prioritize its resources, and continue to enhance engagement and communication with the department's numerous constituencies.
In short, it is a plan that will impact the Panthers in the classroom, on the field and in the stands for years to come. Barnes has likened collegiate athletics to a "front porch" for universities.
"It is not the most important room in the house," said Barnes. "But it is the most visible, and what comes with that are opportunity and responsibility."
Ever cognizant of this responsibility, Barnes has shaped a vision for Pitt Athletics that reflects the values of the University and its commitment to the overall development of young people.
"We will inspire pride and build champions in academics, in athletics and in life," Barnes said. "Our mission is to develop the best athletic programs and serve as a great source of pride in representing the University of Pittsburgh community, the city of Pittsburgh and our alumni and friends worldwide."
To best position Pitt Athletics and its people for excellence, Barnes initiated an organizational restructuring that has dramatically improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall department.
From an infrastructure standpoint, the Panthers' facilities master plan has been completely reenergized. The Petersen Events Center will be significantly enhanced in 2016-17 with a sparkling new basketball court, LED displays and graphic updates. An expansive renovation of Trees Pool includes new locker rooms, a student-athlete lounge, a team meeting room and a state-of-the-art video scoreboard. Moreover, football's Duratz Complex is undergoing a second phase of improvements, highlighted by a dramatic new entrance, new hydrotherapy room and Pitt-branded FieldTurf outdoor practice field.
In addition to many impactful administrative initiatives, Barnes' first year as athletic director was memorable for many other exciting achievements as well. Among the highlights are the following:
- Under the direction of new head coach Pat Narduzzi, Pitt football achieved an 8-4 regular-season record--its best 12-game mark since 2009--and a berth in the Military Bowl. The Panthers finished as the runner-up in the ACC Coastal Division with a 6-2 mark, their best conference record ever.
- Dominic Giordano became the first Pitt swimmer or diver to win an NCAA championship when he took top honors on the 3-meter board. Giordano also earned All-America status on the 1-meter board and was named ACC Diver of the Year.
- The gymnastics team won its first-ever East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) championship. Lindsay Offutt, the EAGL champion on the beam and in the all-around, qualified for the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships.
- Men's basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in the past 15 seasons, becoming one of only eight programs nationally to accomplish that feat.
- The Pitt Script was reintroduced as the primary mark for each of the Panthers' 19 varsity sports programs. Each team will be donning new uniforms featuring the classic mark in 2016-17. ESPN.com and CBSSports.com, in fact, both recently named Pitt's football uniforms the best in the ACC, with the former ranking the Panthers as one of the five best-looking teams in the "Power 5" conferences along with Michigan, Oregon, Baylor and LSU.
- In the classroom, 379 Pitt student-athletes were honored for achieving a grade point average of at least 3.0 during the 2015 spring or fall terms, while 24 earned a perfect 4.0. The Panthers had a record 245 student-athletes named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.
- Three Pitt student-athletes--Artie Rowell (football), Lindsay Offutt (gymnastics) and Amanda Orchard (volleyball)--were selected as 2016 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship recipients. They were honored for having performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.
Barnes arrived in Pittsburgh having already distinguished himself as one of the top administrators in collegiate athletics. Prior to Pitt, he spent seven years as Athletic Director at Utah State, adding the title of Vice President in 2012. Under his direction, the Aggies enjoyed unprecedented athletic, academic and fundraising success.
During his tenure, Utah State won 20 conference team championships. Individually, USU student-athletes perennially produced all-conference, All-America and all-academic performances.
From 2012-15, the Utah State football program averaged 10 wins a year. The Aggies compiled a 30-11 mark during that span and won a school-record three consecutive bowls. (Prior to this three-year period, USU owned just one bowl victory in its first 114 seasons of competition.) In 2012, Utah State went 11-2, the winningest season in school history, and finished 16th in the final Associated Press poll.
USU's success in athletic arenas was mirrored by academic achievement, including an 87% Graduation Success Rate (GSR) the last year of Barnes' tenure.
Utah State achieved all-time fundraising records under Barnes. He cultivated the two largest lead gifts in USU Athletics history: $5.25 million for the Wayne Estes Center (a basketball practice facility and volleyball competition venue) and $3.7 million for the ICON Sports Performance Center (which serves 16 sports programs and more than 400 student-athletes). He additionally increased private funding to the football program by $2.5 million through the Merlin Olsen Fund for Football Competitive Excellence.
With fundraising at an all-time high, Barnes oversaw the completion of the $6.5 million 26,329-square-foot ICON Sports Performance Center in 2013 and the $9.7 million 32,000-square-foot Wayne Estes Center in 2014. He also announced a long-term naming rights partnership that provided key funding for Utah State's $36 million football stadium renovation project scheduled to be completed for the 2016 season.
Barnes not only built significant momentum for Utah State Athletics but did so in a fiscally prudent way. USU was lauded as the most economically efficient athletic department in the nation in 2009 following a study done by Texas A&M's Laboratory for the Study of Intercollegiate Athletics. In four subsequent studies, Utah State finished in the top 20 each year, including three times in the top six.
The Aggies' progress under Barnes earned national praise and recognition. He was a 2014 recipient of the Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year Award. Well versed on collegiate athletics issues, Barnes has served on multiple NCAA committees and in 2015 concluded a five-year appointment on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. He is a member of the 1A Athletic Directors' Institute Faculty and a regular presenter for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).
Prior to his tenure at Utah State, Barnes spent nearly three years (2005-08) at the University of Washington as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Advancement. In that capacity, he was responsible for all external operations for the Huskies' athletic department, including fundraising, ticket sales, multimedia rights, marketing and communications.
Barnes served as Athletic Director at Eastern Washington University from 1999 to 2005. He increased the department's operating funds by securing the largest single gift in EWU athletics history and a $3 million university soft drink contract. Barnes hired six head coaches at Eastern Washington, including four who would earn Big Sky Coach of the Year honors. His work at EWU was recognized by NACDA when the organization honored him as the Division I-AA West Region Athletic Director of the Year.
Barnes' initial athletic director appointment was at Humboldt State University in California from 1997-99. He spent four years at Iowa State University, serving as the Cyclones' Director of Athletic Development (1994-95) and Associate Athletic Director for Development and Special Projects (1995-97).
From 1990-94, Barnes was an Associate Athletic Director at the University of the Pacific, serving as the Executive Director of the Pacific Athletic Foundation. He began his career in college athletics at the University of San Diego as Director of Athletic Development from 1989-90.
Barnes' career in college athletics was inspired by his own student-athlete experience as a basketball player at Fresno State University. Playing under legendary Bulldogs coach Boyd Grant, Barnes was an All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) performer at center and set the school record for single-season blocks (48). In 1983-84, he helped Fresno State to the PCAA Tournament title--capped by a 51-49 victory over Jerry Tarkanian's 10th-ranked UNLV Rebels-and an NCAA Tournament berth.
Barnes played professional basketball in Germany in 1985-86 and was the general manager of the Fresno Flames of the World Basketball League (WBL) from 1988-89.
He earned his bachelor's (1986) and master's (1993) degrees from Fresno State in physical education with an emphasis in athletic administration. His wife, Jody, was also a Fresno State student-athlete as a member of the track team. The couple has two children: daughter Milanna and son Isaac.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
BORN: June 23, 1962
HOMETOWN: Spokane, Wash.
ALMA MATER: Fresno State, 1986
FAMILY: Barnes and his wife Jody have two children: daughter Milanna and son Isaac.
COLLEGIATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO, 1989-90, Director of Athletic Development.
UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC, 1990-94, Executive Director of the Pacific Athletic Foundation and Associate Athletic Director.
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY, 1994-95, Director of Athletic Development; 1995-97, Associate Athletic Director for Development and Special Projects.
HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY, 1997-99, Athletic Director.
EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, 1999-2005, Athletic Director.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, 2005-08, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Advancement.
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY, 2008-15, Athletic Director; 2012-15, Vice President.
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 2015-Present, Athletic Director.
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