Pat Narduzzi wasn’t on the search committee, and he said he did not have input into Allen Greene becoming Pitt’s next athletic director — his next boss.

But when the Pitt head coach sits down with Greene in the coming days, it will be a getting reacquainted meeting — not two strangers planning how they will try to work together.

Their first meeting occurred several years ago — Narduzzi believes it might have been 2017 — at a coaches’ and athletic directors’ convention in Arizona called the Fiesta Frolic.

Accompanied by his son, Patrick, Narduzzi attended, was paired with Greene on the golf course and spent the day with him.

“I didn’t ask to be paired with him, but things happen for a reason,” Narduzzi said Friday. “Stayed in touch the entire time (since then).

“I think Allen is a slam-dunk hire. I don’t think you could have gotten anybody in the world better, and I say that for a couple reasons. He was a guy that I wanted to stay in touch with. It was kind of like this guy is top notch. And, as a matter of fact, when he got that Auburn job (in 2018), I texted him, ‘Hey, congrats, happy for you. You’re going to do a great job down there.’

“You know, I haven’t watched how he ran an athletic department. I’m not worried about that. The chancellor (Joan Gabel) took care of that. But as far as people and wanting to work with somebody, the chancellor did an unbelievable job of nailing that hire. So, I thank her.

“I’m excited to work with Allen. Talked to him this morning as well, congratulated him and his family. He is pumped up to be here. We’ll get a chance to sit down next week, him and I.”

Greene most recently was at the University of Tennessee, where he has been senior deputy athletic director since December 2023. He officially will assume his Pitt duties Nov. 1 after fulling his responsibilities at Tennessee.

He also has served as athletic director at Buffalo (2015-2018) and Auburn (2018-2022) and worked at Ole Miss and for seven years at Notre Dame, his alma mater. At Ole Miss, Greene was senior deputy athletics director for external relations and business development from December 2022 to November 2023.

Greene, 47, brings with him extensive experience in handling name, image and likeness programs at Ole Miss, Auburn and Tennessee. The Tennessee athletic department’s annual revenue increased more than 30% in his time there, according to a Pitt news release. Last month, Tennessee athletic director Danny White announced a 10% fee on football tickets “to help fund the proposed revenue share” for athletes.

While Greene was at Auburn during the 2021-2022 academic year, the school received its four largest individual donations in history and the $92 million Woltosz Football Performance Center was constructed.

Greene also cut budgets 10% across the board after the baseball team reached the College World Series for the first time in 22 years and the men’s basketball team played in the Final Four.

Nonetheless, Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl issued a statement Friday, praising Greene.

“Congrats to my friend Allen on this next chapter of what has already been a successful career,” Pearl said in a statement released by Pitt. “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!”

During his four years at Auburn, its teams won eight SEC championships, and 47 programs finished in the Top 25 in national rankings.

After the 2020 season, Greene fired football coach Gus Malzahn, who had served eight seasons and compiled a 68-34 record, 8-17 against SEC rivals Alabama, Georgia and LSU. Malzahn received a buyout of $21.7 million, according to ESPN. com.

Malzahn’s replacement at Auburn, Bryan Harsin, was fired in the middle of the 2022 season with a 9-12 record and Greene left two months later. A Sports Illustrated story pointed to Greene’s power waning at Auburn after university Chief Operating Officer Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess was brought in to help oversee athletics.

After Greene resigned, Auburn president Christopher Roberts called him “an asset to Auburn.”

“Allen arrived on The Plains with vision, passion and experience to elevate Auburn athletics to the next level,” Roberts said in a statement at the time. “In the brief time that I have worked alongside Allen as president, he has proven to be an asset to Auburn, enhancing our athletics programs and facilities, and has been dedicated to our student-athletes, to integrity and to our University.”

At the time, former Arizona State, Notre Dame and Duke athletic director Kevin White slammed Auburn’s failure to keep Greene, calling it “a death blow moment.”

White’s son, Danny, the athletic director at Tennessee, said on Twitter at the time, “Congratulations @AGreeneIV for getting the heck out of a crazy situation for greener pastures! I admire how you managed that chaos with class & integrity. Look forward to seeing your next chapter!”

Greene was the younger White’s deputy athletic director at Buffalo and took over for him when he left for the University of Central Florida.

“I am tremendously grateful and honored to receive the opportunity from Chancellor Gabel to join the University of Pittsburgh, an institution and athletic tradition I’ve long admired,” Greene said in a statement. “It was apparent from my very first conversation with Chancellor Gabel that Pitt has the highest of aspirations in every endeavor it undertakes. That’s tremendously energizing to me and a challenge I fully embrace.

“I am inspired by the storied history of Pitt Athletics and am fully dedicated to helping our Panthers reach even greater heights in the future. I am looking forward to meeting and working on behalf of Pitt’s student-athletes, coaches, staff and campus leaders. The Greene family is incredibly thankful and excited to proudly wear Pitt’s blue and gold.”

Greene will replace Heather Lyke, who was fired last month after seven years in the position. Jennifer Tuscano has been Pitt’s interim athletic director.

Gabel pointed to “a new era in college athletics” when she relieved Lyke of her duties, calling for a “new vision.”

“Pitt Athletics is the front porch of the University of Pittsburgh, serving as a crucial access point for so many across our campus, our region, our nation and the world,” Chancellor Joan Gabel said in a statement. “In Allen Greene, we have a proven national leader who exemplifies the Pitt way, and who has all of the experience and intangibles to elevate our athletics program in competition and in the classroom. In my conversations with Allen and with many others who know him well, it is clear that he will lead us successfully into the new world of intercollegiate athletics.”

Added Pitt men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel, who served on the athletic director search advisory committee: “Allen brings to Pitt an outstanding reputation as an innovative leader who is personally invested in the student-athletes and staff under his watch. His impressive administrative experience will be a tremendous asset not only for our athletics department but also the entire University. We greatly look forward to his arrival on campus.”

Greene, who was a three-year starting outfielder at Notre Dame, was a ninth-round draft choice of the New York Yankees in 1998. He played three years in the Yankees’ minor-league system.

Greene earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Notre Dame and a Master of Business Administration at Indiana University’s South Bend campus.

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

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