Pitt moved to replace athletic director Heather Lyke on Monday, with chancellor Joan Gabel saying the program needs a “new vision and a new leader.”

Lyke, 53, took over the Panthers’ athletic department in March 2017 after working as the AD at Eastern Michigan from 2013-17.

“Today, I informed University of Pittsburgh director of athletics, Heather Lyke, that I was making a change in the leadership of our athletics program,” Gabel wrote in her statement. “Upon her arrival at Pitt in 2017, Heather guided our program through a unique period in college athletics and we thank her for her leadership during that time.

“Her tenure included successes from football’s first ACC championship to volleyball reaching its first-ever NCAA Final Four, while representing the University at the conference and national levels. However, as we enter a new era in college athletics, one that seems to change by the day, we need a new vision and a new leader of our athletics department. On behalf of all Panthers, we wish Heather and her family the best with appreciation for their service to Pitt.

Jennifer Tuscano was named the interim athletic director while Pitt launches a national candidate search.

Notable hirings during Lyke’s tenure include men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel and women’s soccer coach Randy Waldrum, both in 2018. She also signed football coach Pat Narduzzi, volleyball coach Dan Fisher and men’s soccer coach Jay Vidovich to extensions.

The Panthers won ACC Coastal Division titles during the 2018 and 2021 seasons, capturing their first-ever ACC championship in the latter campaign. The men’s basketball program made the NCAA Tournament in 2023, its first appearance since 2016.

Lyke was an assistant athletic director at Cincinnati from 1996-98 and rose to the same position at Ohio State from 1998-2013.

–Field Level Media