Last week ahead of the first football game of the season, the Pitt football programmed created some waves after announcing it had received a 20 million dollar donation from 1997 Pitt graduate Chris Bickell. It is the largest single donation in Pitt athletics history.
Bickell is currently the CEO of WellHive, a firm that helps veterans with health care services. The Pitt alum was on-hand for Pitt’s 51-7 over UMass on Saturday.
“I’m extremely proud to make this donation," Bickell told reporters ahead of the game. “I’m extremely confident in the people that are here at Pitt. I’ve always had confidence in the folks here, but lately in the past five years with the addition of Heather (Lyke), Pat Bostick leading the charge and Coach Narduzzi and the folks in the athletic department this was an easy decision for me.”
Bickell attended Pitt during some lean years for the football program, but that never wavered his support for for his alma mater.
“I was here and we struggled a little bit,” Bickell said of his time as a student. "We lost to 72-0 to Ohio State and that always stayed with me. We struggled with Penn State and that didn’t sit well with me.”
Bickell’s 20 million dollar gift will be put to use right away. $10 million will be used immediately to enhance the training program. The remainder of the gift will be placed in an endowment to support such efforts in perpetuity. According to the press release from Pitt, ‘$10 million will be used immediately to enhance the training, nutrition and learning environment infrastructure. The remainder of the gift will be placed in an endowment to support such efforts in perpetuity.’
Bickell echoed that statement saying this donation is to help the team in the present.
“I strongly believe in what Pitt’s doing,” BIckell said. "I believe we have a national brand and can compete for ACC championships and that’s really the reason to do this other than the fact that I’m a Pitt man. I want this bad. I want our team to compete at the national level, we already do, but I want it to be more consistent like everyone does.”
A new weight room at Pitt’s practice facility on the South Side appears to be one of the plans in the works. If you were hoping for a stadium, Bickell said don’t hold your breathe. He wants the donation to help the program immediately.
“Everyone is asking me, ‘Is this for a stadium?’ No, it’s for right now,” he explained. "We want to win right now. We want to attract the talent for next year and the year after.”
Pitt named the head football coaching position in Bickell’s honor. The position is now called: Chris Bickell '97 Head Football Coach.
“I have so much respect for the University of Pittsburgh,” Bickell said of the name recognition. “For the brand that it has nationally academically and then you throw sports in there.”
Bickell believes this could start a chain reaction of sorts from a donation standpoint. He believes more donors may step forward and commit to the program. He joked about former interim athletic director Randy Juhl’s one-liner from 2014.
Juhl, who helped hire Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi, once said, “If Pitt can help cure polio and invent CPR, it sure as hell can win 10 football games.”
Bickell believes that as well.
“We have the means, we’re the University of Pittsburgh. We can do this.”
