There is an unmistakable briskness in Steve Pederson's walk. It is a stride that conveys this clearly is a man on the move.
Spend 10 minutes talking to him about the state of Pitt Athletics and you understand his enthusiasm to get from place to place.
This past March was a perfect example. In the span of three days, Pederson flew between a pair of men's and women's NCAA Tournament sites, where Pitt's nationally ranked teams were competing, and back to Pittsburgh for the beginning of spring football practice.
The Pitt athletic director wouldn't have it any other way.
Pederson's many travels by planes, trains and automobiles mean the Panthers are going to some exciting places. That was especially true during the 2008-09 academic year.
The University of Pittsburgh was one of only four institutions nationally to have its football team advance to a bowl game, its men's basketball team reach the NCAA's Elite Eight and its women's basketball team make the Sweet 16. (The others were Connecticut, Oklahoma and Michigan State.)
Each of those three Pitt teams were fixtures in the Top 25 last year. Men's basketball, in fact, reached No. 1 in the polls -- twice -- for the first time in school history. The women's basketball team finished with a No. 15 ranking, matching its highest final rating ever.
Individually, Pitt student-athletes earned All-America and Academic All-America honors, while continuing to graduate and achieve in the classroom at unprecedented levels.
But, as Pederson likes to say, "As great as the past has been at Pitt, the future is even brighter. I get up every morning so excited to come to work at this great university."
Pederson enters his ninth year as Pitt athletic director. His initial tenure, from 1996-2002, was characterized by a dramatic revitalization of the Panthers' fortunes - on and off the fields of play. His return to the university in November 2007 gave the Pitt Athletic Department an instant shot of adrenaline that continues to be felt two years later.
His ability to galvanize people and programs prompted Pitt chancellor Mark Nordenberg to say, "In my judgment, and this assessment is shared by countless others, Steve Pederson is one of this country's most talented and accomplished athletic directors."
The key to accomplishment, Pederson believes, is aspiration -- the Panthers will work hard and aim high in every endeavor. That philosophy resonates with each Pitt student-athlete and staffer, and is the driving spirit behind his department mantra of "Only Big Dreams."
Pederson has Pitt dreaming big again for 2009-10.
On the eve of the new academic year, he announced an exciting partnership with Nike that will make the Panthers one of the finest outfitted programs in the country. Each of the Panthers' 19 intercollegiate sports teams will wear Nike footwear, uniforms, practice gear and equipment. The long-term partnership will outfit more than 450 student-athletes at the University of Pittsburgh.
Also kick-starting the year has been the continued progress being made in the construction of an Olympic Sports Complex at the peak of upper campus. The complex will transform 12 acres of land and result in state-of-the-art facilities for Pitt's baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's track and field programs. This initiative will not only give Pitt student-athletes nationally competitive facilities, but also rejuvenate an untapped area that neighbors the University of Pittsburgh campus.
To those familiar with Pederson's first tour at Pitt, the tremendous momentum of the past 18 months comes as no surprise.
During his initial Pitt tenure, Pederson hired six Big East Conference Coach-of-the-Year honorees (football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, track and field and volleyball), an unprecedented achievement by a Big East athletic director.
In 1999 he charged an unknown coach from Northern Arizona University with the task of resurrecting the Panthers' struggling men's basketball program. That coach, Ben Howland, would build Pitt into a Big East power and was named the consensus National Coach of the Year in 2002.
Pitt, which had not been to the NCAA Tournament in nine years, advanced to the "Sweet 16" in 2002 after posting a school-record 29 victories. The following season, Pitt would reach No. 2 in the polls, capture its first Big East Tournament championship and again advance to the NCAA regional semifinals. Since that time, Pitt basketball has become one of the nation's most consistent winners, advancing to eight consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2002-2009.
Current Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon, the 2009 Naismith National Coach of the Year, recalled how instrumental Pederson was in helping to lure him to Pittsburgh to serve with Howland a decade ago.
"Steve was the person who originally convinced me to come to the University of Pittsburgh back in 1999," Dixon said. "He has continued to be a tremendous friend and a person I have regularly sought out for advice and direction over the years...Everyone in our department is going to benefit from his leadership."
Pitt football also was renewed under Pederson's watch. Upon his arrival, the Panthers were coming off seven consecutive seasons without a bowl. By the end of his tenure, Pitt earned four bowl berths in six years, including back-to-back postseason wins in 2001 and 2002. The '02 team finished 9-4, the program's best mark in 20 years, and ranked No. 18 in the final polls.
One of the stars of that 2002 team was receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who would become a unanimous All-American and now is an All-Pro performer for the Arizona Cardinals.
"When I decided to go to Pitt, it was for many reasons - a great school, a great football tradition and great people," Fitzgerald said. "Steve Pederson was one of those great people who made me feel like Pitt was the place for me. I couldn't be happier that Steve is back."
While Pederson was instrumental in helping to revive Pitt football's present, he was very attentive to honoring the program's historic past. One of his first major steps as athletic director was to retire the jerseys of all-time Pitt greats Mike Ditka, Marshall Goldberg and Joe Schmidt. Pederson later initiated the Pitt jersey retirement of Mark May, the Panthers' lone Outland Trophy winner.
Pitt enjoyed tremendous achievements in attendance under Pederson. In NCAA Division I men's basketball, Pitt ranked among the nation's top five schools in attendance increase for two consecutive years (2001-02 and 2002-03). The 2002-03 basketball season - the inaugural campaign in the 12,508-seat Petersen Events Center - was sold out. Capitalizing on the exciting and unanticipated success of the 2001-02 basketball team, Pitt held a highly successful "select your seat" campaign for prospective season-ticket holders that simultaneously achieved customer satisfaction as well as enhanced fundraising.
In football, Pederson formed a marketing and ticket pricing plan that resulted in record attendance for the 2003 season. Season tickets were soldout for the '03 campaign as the Panthers averaged an all-time record 59,197 fans for their home season, surpassing the previous mark of 54,818 set in 1982.
Pederson's tenure witnessed a major strengthening of Pitt's athletic infrastructure. With Chancellor Nordenberg, he helped shape the vision of the Petersen Events Center, the state-of-the-art convocation center that dramatically revolutionized Pitt's campus upon its opening in 2002.
The Events Center is widely considered one of the finest college basketball venues in the country and has also been a major asset for student life, providing outstanding recreational facilities and a fitting place for graduation ceremonies.
Pederson was at the forefront of the football program's move into the UPMC Sports Performance Complex, which included the forging of a unique relationship between UPMC, a professional sports franchise and college athletic program. He personally oversaw the design and layout of the Panthers' Duratz Athletic Complex, which houses Pitt's football offices and training areas, and has been described as the finest facility for a college football program in the country.
Pitt football gained a sparkling new home in Heinz Field under Pederson's watch in 2001.The Panthers gained a prominent presence at the new stadium with their logos on the seating, gates and signage. Pederson additionally initiated the renaming of Martindale Street to "Tony Dorsett Drive" to further enhance Pitt's identity on the North Shore.
"Steve Pederson made many important contributions during his first tenure as Pitt's athletic director from which the university is still seeing the benefits today," said Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney. "He played an integral role in the development of Heinz Field and the UPMC Sports Performance Complex where both Pitt and the Steelers run their football operations."
Fitzgerald Field House underwent a major renovation in 1998-99, providing Pitt's Olympic sports programs with new locker and training facilities. Trees Field also underwent major upgrades to accommodate both baseball and Pitt's new softball program.
During his five years at Nebraska (2002-07), Pederson was also at the forefront of significant facilities construction, including a $51 million expansion to Memorial Stadium. The project resulted in new football facilities as well as new strength, sports medicine and indoor facilities for baseball, softball, soccer and sand volleyball. Additionally, the women's volleyball, gymnastics and rifle teams received a new office complex. Athletics fundraising doubled over his final four years, going from $9 million annually in 2003 to $16 million his final year.
Nebraska achieved at exceptional levels athletically and academically during his tenure. In 2006-07, the Cornhuskers won the national championship in women's volleyball, while the football team won the 2006 Big 12 North title and advanced to its first New Year's Day bowl game since 2001. Overall, 15 Nebraska teams earned NCAA invitations. Academically, Nebraska earned a school-record 94% graduation rate, the highest in the Big 12 as Cornhusker student-athletes achieved a combined 3.0 grade-point average during the 2007 spring semester.
Pederson and his wife Tami have three children: Mark, Kari and Kristin. Mark was married to the former Brooke Gillette in July 2009.
