University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Athletic Director, Football Recruiting Strategy
- Email:
Mark Diethorn enters his second year of his second stint with Pitt Football after rejoining the Panthers in 2025 as Assistant Athletic Director of Football Recruiting Strategy.
With nearly 15 years of experience working with Power 4 football programs, Diethorn returned to Pitt after overseeing ACC and Big Ten personnel and recruiting departments. He has built a career centered on roster construction, personnel evaluation, recruiting operations, transfer portal management, NIL strategy, branding initiatives and organizational infrastructure.
Diethorn previously served in leadership positions at Michigan State Football as General Manager and Virginia Tech Football as Director of Player Personnel. At Michigan State and Virginia Tech, he oversaw all aspects of player personnel, roster management, NIL strategy, transfer portal execution, recruiting operations and summer prospect camps.
During his Virginia Tech tenure, the Hokies signed a Top 25 recruiting class in 2019 according to Rivals and a Top 10 transfer portal class in 2020 according to 247Sports. He played a key role in the recruitment and acquisition of future NFL talent, including Mansoor Delane, the sixth overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft; Amare Barno, a 2022 NFL Draft selection by the Carolina Panthers who recorded the fastest 40-yard dash time ever by a defensive lineman at the NFL Combine; and Khalil Herbert, a 2021 NFL Draft selection by the Chicago Bears who ranked third nationally in all-purpose yards in 2020.
Diethorn’s initial tenure at Pitt spanned from 2012-18. He joined the Panthers as a recruiting assistant before being elevated to Assistant Director of Player Personnel in 2014. In 2015, Head Coach Pat Narduzzi promoted Diethorn to Director of Recruiting. Following his promotion, Pitt signed its highest-rated recruiting class in eight years according to Rivals and ESPN.
During his first stint with the Panthers, Diethorn helped recruit and evaluate seven first-team All-Americans and 38 future NFL players, including notable draft selections Kenny Pickett, Tyler Boyd, James Conner, Brian O’Neill, Avonte Maddox, Damar Hamlin, Jordan Whitehead, Dorian Johnson, Rashad Weaver and Patrick Jones II.
Diethorn gained experience within an NFL front office structure while serving as a scouting and player personnel intern with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the organization’s 2017 training camp. Working under longtime General Manager Kevin Colbert, he assisted in the evaluation of college prospects.
Diethorn began his career in college football as a recruiting assistant with the Florida Gators from 2009-10 under Head Coach Urban Meyer and veteran personnel director Mark Pantoni.
Throughout his career, Diethorn has helped mentor and develop more than 30 staff members and interns who have gone on to full-time careers in college football and the NFL.
A native of Belle Vernon, Pa., Diethorn earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business, a master’s degree in sport management from the University of Florida and a bachelor’s degree in business information technology from Virginia Tech. He is currently enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, pursuing a Master of Studies in Law with a specialization in Sports, Entertainment and Arts Law, with a focus on contracts, agents, NIL and revenue sharing.
