Pitt athletic director Jeff Long knows there is a lot of unrest among Panthers fans because he had to fill the football schedule by adding a Division I-AA team (Youngstown State) for the second consecutive season. He also knows the reality of trying to build a schedule for a big-time football program is not easy especially given the obstacles Pitt has had to overcome the past two years.
"People think it is just as simple as calling a school and scheduling a game," Long said. "It isn't. There are so many factors that go into it. We held out until the very last minute again [to complete the football schedule] and we reached out to a lot of Division I-A's.
"Youngstown State is a regional opponent, so from that standpoint it makes sense. And people seem to forget we are playing Notre Dame and Nebraska, so it is not like we don't have any high-quality opponents next season."
Long said the main issue this year was the fact that Pitt needed a home game -- the Panthers need at least six home games to have a chance of meeting their annual athletic budget -- but did not have a return game to give back until at least 2007, more likely 2008.
The Panthers' schedule already is full for 2006. And there is some tinkering needed for the 2007 non-conference schedule because the Big East schedule is unbalanced so the number of non-conference games Pitt needs varies each year. The Panthers are not the only Big East team worried about future schedules, all Big East teams will have to deal with this issue in years to come.
"We were asking teams to play us next year, to come here and to do so knowing we likely couldn't return the game to their place for two or three years," Long said. "That isn't practical. Most teams have equal number of home and away conference games, so the number of home and away non-conference games is fixed, and they count on home-and-homes in consecutive years."
The addition of Youngstown State to a home schedule that also will include South Florida, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Syracuse and Notre Dame has proven to be a public relation's headache. There seems to be no interest for the Youngstown State and South Florida matchups.
The grumbles, however, likely will turn to growls soon when Pitt unveils its new seat-pricing plan for season tickets that's a part of a new fund-raising effort by the athletic department. The goal of the overall campaign, called "Quest for Excellence" is to raise $45 million for the athletic department by June 2007.
Fans will be asked to pay a premium (it is called donor-based seating and similar to personal seat licensing), which essentially is a donation to the Panthers' club in order to have the right to purchase season tickets for about one-fourth of the seats at Heinz Field. The same type of set-up exists for all seats at the Petersen Events Center for men's basketball games. The donation level will vary based on location.
Traditionally, Pitt has had trouble selling football tickets, and casual fans are lukewarm to games against what they perceive as inferior opponents. Season-ticket sales might rise because the new coaching staff has generated a buzz, but, considering the opponents, the donor-based seating and increased pricing plan, they might be a tough sell.
Some fans have suggested Pitt would be better off playing away games against big-name opponents with huge stadiums (like Michigan or Ohio State) instead of home games against Division I-AA teams. Long said that is not true, that a home game against Youngstown State is financially better for Pitt than a road game against a marquee opponent. Every Big East school will have to go this route in the future. This despite the fact that a team like Youngstown State requires a guarantee -- Pitt is paying the school about $200,000 to come to Heinz Field -- and the game likely won't be televised.
"It doesn't matter, when you take everything into consideration we still are better off playing at home, because that would be our extra conference home game that we don't have," Long said. "There is parking, concessions, tickets sold, etc. It still is financially better for us to play a home game. And you have to balance the schedule competitively."
Long said that fans should probably get used to the idea of Pitt and many other Big East teams playing Division I-AA teams because the practice will become the norm once the NCAA passes the "12th game legislation."
"There just aren't enough teams out there for everyone to schedule another non-conference game against I-A opponents," he said.
And some conferences will just add another conference game, so the pool of available I-A teams will shrink even more."
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