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Pitt Panthers Research Paper

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With nine national championships, 74 first-team All-Americans, and 712 all-time wins, the Pitt Panthers have long been one of college football’s premier programs. Few schools can rival the players my dad and grandpa grew up watching, such as Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino. What do they have in common? Both played at historic Pitt Stadium, home of the Panthers since 1925. This, along with the iconic Pitt Script logo and their royal blue and mustard yellow color scheme, gave Pitt an unmistakable identity. However, this all changed when Steve Pederson became the new athletic director in 1997. After four straight losing seasons, Pederson thought it would be best to put his own mark on the program by changing the school’s colors to navy blue and vegas gold and getting rid of Pitt’s decades-old logo. Worst of all, he tore down the 75-year-old stadium and replaced it with a new basketball arena, which alienated him with the entire alumni base and led to decreased support almost overnight. Following this, Pitt football moved to the newly built Heinz Field, also home to the Steelers. While this sounds nice in theory, it created a problem: it was off campus. …show more content…

Right now, there’s no nostalgic feelings or reliving memories at Heinz Field. On-campus stadiums create a unique setting, as there’s a natural relationship between football and campus life. The alums and fans that come on campus each Saturday would not only give the university a new image, but also bring in hundreds of new patrons for Oakland’s businesses. Many businesses were hurt from the lost revenue of no Panther football games when they moved in 2000; some even went out of business. Bringing football back on campus would give them a much-needed boost and could help revitalize the entire neighborhood of

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