Pitt AD Heather Lyke 'optimistic' about return of college football, but 'not overly confident'
Heather Lyke continues to remain optimistic that there will be college football this year, but she said Thursday she is not “overly confident.”
“There are just a lot of unknowns still out there,” Pitt’s athletic director said on 93.7 FM.
“I would categorize my expectation as optimistic. But I’m relatively an optimistic person. I’m fairly optimistic, but I’m not confident.
“We’re taking it day by day. I’m optimistic. I’m not overly confident. But I am optimistic about it.”
She also restated her stance made April 2 that if Pitt is playing at Heinz Field, there will be fans watching the games.
“I can’t fathom a situation where we’re allowed to compete in college athletics, but we are not allowed to have fans in the stands,” she said.
“If we’re cleared enough to be able to have competition and interaction with all the people that are a part of any given sport team, if they’re all allowed to be in close proximity and contact, I would think that we would be at the point where fans would be permitted, as well.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting student-athletes or coaches in that setting without full clearance and full understanding that it’s a safe environment.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and an advisor to President Donald Trump, said Wednesday he envisions sports returning when the covid-19 threat subsides, but without fans and with athletes quarantined and tested regularly.
Lyke said she also agrees with the College Football Playoff Management Committee that told Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday that games won’t happen until campuses are open.
“It’s a wise position to take,” Lyke said. “Hopefully, campuses can re-open, and certainly athletics can come back to life.”
While the economic impact of the coronavirus stretches throughout the world, Lyke doesn’t see it affecting the number of sports Pitt sponsors. Cincinnati is dropping men’s soccer because of the pandemic.
“We feel at Pitt, we are incredibly blessed,” Lyke said. “I recognize the realities and the economic impact of this whole situation on our country and the world is significant.
“Everyone needs to be a lot more fiscally tight and conservative at this point, but we don’t anticipate any significant changes to our sports sponsorship.”
She also said Pitt seniors who lost their spring seasons will be granted an extra year of eligibility, in accordance with the recent vote by NCAA Division I Council.
Lyke is a member of that board, but didn’t agree with the vote.
“I was not in support of it philosophically, and our conference (the ACC) wasn’t.”
But she said only 11 or 12 seniors are coming back to Pitt, so the impact will be minimal.
“We are going to honor those seniors and allow them to come back in the limited cases that we have,” she said. “I think it’s the right thing to do at this point in time, given that the legislation was permissive.”
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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