Lyke: 'It's a relationship business'

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What has the last 24 hours been like for Pitt Director of Athletics Heather Lyke in the wake of speculation regarding Pat Narduzzi and Michigan State? Here’s the full rundown of what she said on Wednesday.

Pat said you had some discussions last night?
Lyke: We sure did. Yeah.

Can you share them at all?
Lyke: We just obviously talked about the situation that presented itself yesterday afternoon and we wanted to make sure he knew that we wanted him to be at Pitt. You know, it’s a relationship business; that’s what we’re in, so just connected with him about his thoughts on what he was thinking and made sure he knew that Panther nation wants him here.

Did you come out of that meeting feeling confident that he’s going to stay?
Lyke: Uh, yeah. Yes. You know, the reality is, you have to sleep on things in life. So, yeah, I felt, you know, he - these are decisions, career, family life decisions you don’t make in an hour. So we talked and met again this morning.

Do you feel like his decision is made that he’s going to stay here?
Lyke: Yes.

Was there any talk of - he has a little bit of leverage in the situation - did you guys talk at all about making any changes to his contract, adjusting that?
Lyke: You know, we may evaluate that with him. Coach loves it here. And it’s not about very many things to him. What he wants to do is take care of his players and his coaches, and that’s the most important thing for him.

The timing of the announcement last night caught some people off-guard, but this has been something that - Mark Dantonio’s not going to be the head coach at Michigan State forever, and when that happens, people are going to start talking about Pat. Is this something that you had known was eventually going to come?
Lyke: Yes. Yes. I mean, it’s a natural. Anywhere you’ve ever been, you have connections and relationships to, so it certainly wasn’t a surprise in that sense, because he’s a relationship person and they did a tremendous job when he was there and they had tremendous success as well.

Is that possibility something you’ve discussed with him in the past? That it could eventually happen?
Lyke: I don’t recall specific conversations about that. We’re here and we’re focused on how to build this program, so it’s not something we would naturally spend much time on.

After hearing him talk today, did it kind of put you at ease a little bit or make you feel a little bit better that he would come out and say all of those things and his commitment to Pitt and how you’re really important to it?
Lyke: He’s equally important. Our Chancellor is important. Our board of trustees are critically important. You can’t do any of these jobs alone, so we talked about that this morning, how important it was, and he’s a pretty - he doesn’t want things to drag on and he can’t stand up in front of people and not be honest and straight forward. So I think he really wanted to come to a point in his decision to be very candid and honest with everyone.

Is it a push-pull for somebody like you, because if people are coming after one of your coaches, odds are, that coach has had some success.
Lyke: It’s a great problem. I mean, yeah. But Pitt’s a destination place. I think we’ve made that pretty clear with a number of the coaches that we’ve brought in and are keeping.

The conversation last night between you and Pat - did you call him or did he call you?
Lyke: I called him.

And then the meeting this morning, was that something that you needed or wanted to happen?
Lyke: He texted me really early this morning. Before you all were awake, I’m sure. Maybe not; I shouldn’t say that. But yeah, it was early. I told him I’d come see him.

I assume you have some colleagues at Michigan State; have you had any conversations with them in the last 24 hours?
Lyke: No. I have colleagues there, but I have not.

How much, given your background at Michigan, would you have hated to lose him to Michigan State?
Lyke: No comment.

Can you say you are completely at ease right now after talking to him?
Lyke: Yes. Yes. Yes. We’re thrilled he’s here. I’ll tell you that what’s most important to Pat are the people. He’s got a coaching staff that’s all coming back. Obviously, he has an unbelievable team, a lot of guys that had choices to make, as he referenced earlier. He’s got a new strength staff, which is extraordinary; you guys are going to get a chance to meet them. I think, in reflection, he’s like, ‘Everybody’s coming back, this program’s headed in the right direction, we have a lot to look forward to this coming season; why would I be the one that leaves?’

So for him, that’s - you know, the relationships matter most and it starts at the top. My Chancellor called, Chancellor Gallagher called him, I know a number of board members called him and relationships really matter. That’s really where it stemmed from. And I am confident that he believes we can go and be really successful and compete for ACC championships, and if you’re in the hunt for an ACC championship, you’re in the hunt for a national championship.