Pitt's fall sports entering national conversation, 'breeding belief' across athletic department

Abby Schnable / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The morning of No. 1 Pitt volleyball’s match against No. 3 Penn State, the Pitt football team had its weekly press conference in front of the media. Both the football and volleyball teams were undefeated. Dan Fisher’s squad had just earned its first No. 1 ranking, and quarterback Eli Holstein earned his second ACC Rookie of the Week honor earlier that week.

Holstein was on the podium that day and was asked about the potential sellout at Petersen Events Center. He said many of the players from the football squad would be there, himself included.

"They're the best team on campus,” Holstein said. “We're trying to be like them."

That night, there were at minimum three rows of football players in attendance. Men’s basketball player Jaland Lowe was joined by some of his teammates, including Papa Kante and Guillermo and Jorge Diaz-Graham. Members of the women’s and men’s soccer teams were there, too. Essentially, if a Pitt athlete didn’t have class or practice, they were in the building that night.

It’s not common that a bunch of football players are attending a midweek volleyball game, especially when they had the Backyard Brawl in just a few days. But those athletes were cheering just as loud as any other fan.

“It's really just inspiring,” Pitt volleyball setter Rachel Fairbanks said. “We always value our team being close-knit, stuck on our goals and motivated. When you go outside and go to other sports, they have similar high-achieving goals. It's just cool to constantly be surrounded by elite athletes.”

Since then, all of Pitt’s fall sports have jumped into the national conversation. Volleyball had maintained its No. 1 ranking while staying undefeated until this weekend, when SMU defeated the Panthers in five sets on Saturday. Men’s soccer is ranked No. 1 in the country. Football earned its first Associated Press poll ranking in two years. Women’s soccer might not be ranked, but they have a top-20 RPI and an 8-3-2 record.

All of this comes at an interesting time for the university. Former athletic director Heather Lyke was relieved of her duties Sept. 16. Despite this, Pitt is the only Division I school to have two teams ranked No. 1 across the entirety of fall sports.

“The success, the recognition and the rankings are a good thing because we have really good teams,” interim athletic director Jennifer Tuscano said. “They deserve it. There's no question that Randy [Waldrum], Jay [Vidovich], Pat [Narduzzi] and Dan [Fisher] would say that they prefer to be No. 1 closer to postseason or at the end of the year. When you see how hard they are working in practice, watching film, preparing for opponents, it's really not a surprise that our success is coming when you see the work that they're putting into it.”

Six days after Pitt volleyball earned its No. 1 ranking, Pitt got its second top program, as the men’s soccer team rose to the best team in the country after starting the season unranked. Wins over Georgetown and SMU put them into that top spot, and it’s only gotten more exciting since.

The Panthers had their first packed game of the season on Tuesday when No. 6 Denver came to town. Michael Sullivan is at just about every game he can be for the other teams, so when he saw the support from the women’s soccer team — as well as a few volleyball and football players showing up — he was ecstatic.

Of course, it helped that Ambrose Urbanic Field was standing room only that night. Sullivan himself scored his first goal of the season in front of the home crowd.

“It's fantastic on a Monday night to have the place packed like that,” Sullivan said. “It's a tremendous statement for the way the guys are playing and competing. It's a big thing for us to have a crowd like that. It's a statement about Pitt soccer. It’s a statement about Pitt athletics.”

The Panthers have been able to rally to the top this season after a premature exit in last year’s NCAA tournament. They came in with a chip on their shoulder and have been able to dominate so far this season with just two losses, including Friday’s 1-0 result against Cal.

“Within the department is just that belief that we can win,” Vidovich said. “It’s more than us. Football is undefeated. Volleyball is on another level. The women's soccer, what they did this last weekend against Clemson and out at Stanford getting the tie. Everybody is just rolling, and that just keeps breeding belief in the department.”

A team that needed belief coming off of a 3-9 season last year was the football team. And they have risen back into national conversations. Narduzzi’s squad is currently undefeated and one of four ACC teams in the AP poll.

It hasn’t been an easy journey, as Narduzzi completely overhauled the offensive staff. It’s been working for them, though. Pitt is one of the best offensive teams in the country, averaging 522.2 total yards per game. New offensive coordinator Kade Bell’s offense has really allowed for explosive plays, a fast-paced game and some insane comebacks.

Tight ends and special teams coach Jacob Bronowski said some of the credit does have to go to the other sports rubbing off on the football team.

“Anytime you can be around winners,” Bronowski said, “I always tell our guys, ‘People love winners.’ That's the way of life. That's the way America works. It's neat to be at a place right now and see the other sports in volleyball tearing it up, soccer and obviously us. It's an exciting time to be a Pitt Panther. It’s contagious, and truly, that's what makes sports so amazing. It just helps an entire place get through anything.”

Perhaps no one is enjoying the fall sports excitement more than the Coffield family. Ellie Coffield is a senior on the women’s soccer team, but her parents also used to play for Pitt. Her mother, Kelly, was a four-year letterwinner for volleyball (1995-98), while her father, Grant, lettered as a kicker/punter in 1997.

When Ellie was asked about the fall sports excitement, she said her mom was “on Cloud 9.”

“I’m just so proud,” Kelly Coffield said. “Just proud of where Pitt is in the national conversation across the board. Football gets so much attention as it should, but to be able to talk about some other sports alongside football — when football is successful, as well — it just makes it that much easier to be just all in on Pitt. It's just so fun. The more successful your teams are, the more fun it is, period.”