Staff Directory

C. Allen Greene

Title:
Director of Athletics
Email:

IN THE NEWS:

Highly accomplished and nationally respected college athletics administrator C. Allen Greene was appointed director of athletics at the University of Pittsburgh by Chancellor Joan Gabel in October 2024.

Greene arrived at Pitt with a sharp understanding of the college athletics landscape being reshaped in real time by conference realignment, revenue sharing and a rapidly evolving NIL environment. In his first two years, he has moved quickly and decisively to modernize Pitt Athletics and position the department to compete and win in this new era, reshaping its competitive, financial and organizational foundation to meet the demands.

In August 2026 he launched "The Gold Standard," a three-year strategic plan built around five pillars: student-athlete experience, competitive excellence, revenue generation and resource acquisition, engagement and brand advancement and operational excellence.

Greene's vision has already produced results. Pitt Athletics closed the 2025-26 fiscal year with record fundraising, as cash-in-hand grew 11.5% and new gifts and commitments rose 53% over the previous year. The department also posted a 94% Graduation Success Rate, the highest in recorded department history and well above the national average of 90%, along with a 984 score in the NCAA's 2024-25 Academic Progress Rate report. Nine Pitt programs earned a perfect single-year score of 1,000, and every one of Pitt's sport programs exceeded the NCAA's postseason-eligibility benchmark.

He has also driven significant new revenue for the department, securing a jersey patch partnership with UPMC and expanding Pitt's corporate partnership base through the June 2026 launch of H2PNIL, a comprehensive NIL platform developed with JMI Sports.

On the competitive side, Pitt volleyball has advanced to back-to-back NCAA Final Fours since Greene's arrival. Greene has also strengthened Pitt's coaching ranks, hiring Robin Harmony to lead women's basketball and Katie Kasprzak to lead swimming and diving during the 2025-26 season.

Greene oversaw the opening of the $240 million Victory Heights Arena and the Sports Performance Center in April 2026, a new home for the volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics and spirit programs that will ultimately serve 16 of Pitt's 19 varsity sports every day.

Pitt Athletics' momentum extends beyond competition and revenue. The department was named a top-10 finalist for the NACDA Community Service Award and finished 13th overall in the NCAA Helper Helper Division I rankings, the second-highest finish among power conference programs nationally.

Greene brought to Pitt a proven track record of building programs and driving revenue growth across three Southeastern Conference institutions. Most recently, he served as senior deputy athletics director at the University of Tennessee from December 2023 until his Pitt appointment, where he played an integral role in an athletics department revenue increase of more than 30%. He previously spent a year at the University of Mississippi as senior deputy athletics director for external relations and business development.

From 2018 to 2022, Greene served as director of athletics at Auburn University, where his tenure was defined by championship success and unprecedented growth. Auburn won eight SEC championships and saw 47 programs finish in the national Top 25 under his leadership. In 2021-22 alone, six Auburn programs finished in the nation's Top 10: the men's basketball team earned the program's first No. 1 national ranking and advanced to its first Final Four, the baseball team returned to the College World Series for the first time in 22 years, and the equestrian team won two national championships. Student-athlete grade-point averages rose to a combined 3.25, Auburn Athletics received its four largest individual donations in program history, and the department completed construction on the $92 million Woltosz Football Performance Center, the largest athletics facility project in Auburn history.

Prior to Auburn, Greene spent three years as director of athletics at the University at Buffalo, where he built a program marked by historic success on the field and in the classroom. Four Buffalo teams advanced to NCAA championships within a two-year span, and in 2016 the men's and women's basketball teams became the first pair of programs in the Mid-American Conference to sweep the league's basketball championships since 2002, each earning an automatic NCAA Tournament berth. The 2017-18 men's basketball team went 27-9 and won the program's first NCAA Tournament game, upsetting Pac-12 champion Arizona 89-68. Buffalo student-athletes posted grade-point averages of 3.0 or better for 11 consecutive semesters, with the football team recording its highest team GPA in program history. Greene also significantly grew donor and corporate support for the department and negotiated its first multimedia rights agreement.

Greene's own athletic career began at the University of Notre Dame, where he was a three-year starter for the baseball team and earned a bachelor's degree in finance in 2000. He was selected by the New York Yankees in the ninth round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft and spent three years in the organization's minor league system before earning a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University's South Bend campus.

Widely respected across the industry, Greene has served on the executive committee of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and as 1st vice chair of LEAD1. In July 2026, he was named to the NCAA Division I Cabinet, serving as the Atlantic Coast Conference's athletic director representative for a two-year term, a role that places him at the center of the sport's most pressing governance decisions. He was also appointed to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Council on May 1, 2026

He and his wife, Christy, have three children: daughters Rian and Seneca and son Samuel.

NATIONAL PRAISE FOR ALLEN GREENE
“Congratulations to the University of Pittsburgh and Chancellor Gabel on a home run hire! Allen is one of the most innovative, genuine and competitive leaders we have in college athletics. We are sad to lose Allen and his family on Rocky Top, but look forward to seeing their transformative impact at Pitt!”
—Danny White, Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

“Allen has added so much to our campus while in his leadership role in our Athletics Department, and I look forward to seeing the exceptional leadership he will provide the University of Pittsburgh. We are all aware of the uncertain state of college athletics right now, and I know Allen will also be a leader in that national conversation.”
—Donde Plowman, Chancellor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

“Allen Greene is an outstanding leader; man of great character; and one of the most caring, genuine people that I’ve worked with in college athletics. He is an excellent listener and will create alignment with coaches, staff, alumni and donors on the direction of the athletics department. Allen is an outstanding hire and will prove to be a great leader for the University of Pittsburgh.”
—Lance Leipold, Head Football Coach, University of Kansas

“We look forward to welcoming Allen Greene to the ACC and having him join our outstanding group of athletic directors. As a former student-athlete at one of our league institutions, Allen will be a tremendous advocate for Pitt and the ACC. To be certain, I applaud Chancellor Joan Gabel’s leadership, and Allen’s experience and skill set will be a tremendous addition to our conference. Collectively, they will continue the strong momentum surrounding the University of Pittsburgh.”
—Jim Phillips, Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner

“Hail to Pitt—Allen Greene is a fantastic hire for the University of Pittsburgh. He is a leader with the utmost integrity. He is a champion for student-athletes. He is a role model to many, and he has a wealth of experience in intercollegiate athletics that will benefit the entire Pitt community. H2P.”
—Bubba Cunningham, Director of Athletics, University of North Carolina

“Congrats to my friend Allen on this next chapter of what has already been a successful career. I went to work every day at Auburn trying to reward my boss, Allen, for the confidence he showed and the support he provided. He’s a loyal and engaged leader with an unwavering commitment to excellence. I couldn’t be happier for the Pitt community because they landed a five-star human being!”
— Bruce Pearl, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Auburn University