Pat Narduzzi remembers being in Arizona in 2017 with his son for a coach's event when he was randomly paired up with Allen Greene for a golf outing. The pair spent the day together on the golf course and by the end of the day, Greene had made enough of an impression on Narduzzi that the two exchanged phone numbers and have stayed in touch ever since.
"Everything happens for a reason," Narduzzi would say. It turns out he was right.
Pitt announced Greene's hiring as the school’s new athletic director Friday afternoon and he will begin his responsibilities on Nov. 1.
"He was a guy that I wanted to stay in touch with. It was kinda like 'This guy is top-notch,' and that starts with the people," Narduzzi said about the day he spent with Greene. "I haven't watched how he ran an athletic department, I'm not worried about that, the chancellor took care of that. But as far as people and wanting to work with somebody, the chancellor did an unbelievable job of nailing that hire. It's significant. So I thank her and I'm excited to work with Allen."
Narduzzi added: "I thank chancellor (Joan) Gabel for doing such a great job on this thing. I think Allen is a slam-dunk hire. I don't think you could've gotten anybody in the world better."
Greene, 47, has been Tennessee's senior deputy athletic director/chief operating officer since December 2023 and was an athletic director at both Auburn and Buffalo. He also spent seven years working in multiple roles at his alma mater, Notre Dame, and has worked at Ole Miss on two different occasions.
Greene replaces Heather Lyke, who served as Pitt's athletic director for seven years but was fired in early September by Gabel.
“Pitt Athletics is the front porch of the University of Pittsburgh, serving as a crucial access point for so many across our campus, our region, our nation and the world,” Gabel stated. “In Allen Greene, we have a proven national leader who exemplifies the Pitt way, and who has all of the experience and intangibles to elevate our athletics program in competition and in the classroom. In my conversations with Allen and with many others who know him well, it is clear that he will lead us successfully into the new world of intercollegiate athletics.”
Jennifer Tuscano, who has worked in Pitt's athletic department for nearly two decades, has served as the interim athletic director since Lyke was fired.
When Gabel fired Lyke, she stated: "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" and Greene is hoping to bring that vision and leadership to Pitt.
“I am tremendously grateful and honored to receive the opportunity from Chancellor Gabel to join the University of Pittsburgh, an institution and athletic tradition I’ve long admired,” said Greene. “It was apparent from my very first conversation with Chancellor Gabel that Pitt has the highest of aspirations in every endeavor it undertakes. That’s tremendously energizing to me and a challenge I fully embrace. I am inspired by the storied history of Pitt Athletics and am fully dedicated to helping our Panthers reach even greater heights in the future. I am looking forward to meeting and working on behalf of Pitt’s student-athletes, coaches, staff and campus leaders. The Greene family is incredibly thankful and excited to proudly wear Pitt’s blue and gold.”
Greene has a history of fundraising success for athletic departments across the SEC as he helped Tennessee's athletic department increase its annual revenue by over 30%. He also spent the previous year at Ole Miss as its senior deputy athletics director/external relations and business development. He was the chief operating officer, oversaw the department's external operations, and also oversaw the football program.
As Auburn's athletic director from 2018-2022, Greene had success fundraising for the department as his five-year stint was highlighted by the construction of a $92 million, 233,000 square-foot football facility. It was the largest capital project in the athletic department's history and included two of the four biggest donations in the program's history.
In 2019, Greene also reportedly decided to cut all of the sports program's budgets by 10%. Greene told AuburnSports.com: "We are reallocating our budgets and making priority investments to build on our future. By becoming more efficient, it will allow for us to commit to the things that are most impactful to our department: the student-athlete experience, elite-level coaching staffs and current and future facility upgrades."
This decision came early in Greene's tenure at Auburn, but it also came after a successful year for Auburn sports. The men's basketball team had gone to the Final Four, the baseball team had gone to the College World Series, the equestrian team won a national title, the women's golf team advanced to match play at nationals, men's golf qualified for nationals and the gymnastics team made a trip to its first-ever Sweet Sixteen. However, as part of the budget cuts, Greene asked coaches to "think more deeply about where their money goes" after the trip to the Final Four was reportedly $500,000 over budget.
Greene also fired Gus Malzhan at the end of the 2020 season before hiring Bryan Harsin, who is seen as one of the worst hires in the program's history. Harsin lasted less than two seasons and was fired two months after Greene reportedly decided to "step away" from Auburn in August 2022 with five months left on his contract.
Before Auburn, Greene was the athletic director at Buffalo from 2015-2018 and had success at the mid-major.
Despite his success in being able to raise money for infrastructure improvements, Greene's time at Pitt will be judged by his ability to raise capital for NIL initiatives, which is something the university has been looking to improve in this new era of college athletics. Either way, Narduzzi believes that Greene is the type of guy that can do it all.
"I think he’s the whole package, I think he’s got it all … but I think everything is important, you can’t just have a guy or gal who just does one thing," Narduzzi said. "I think he’s a superstar because he’s a great person, he’s got a personality, he’s going to go out and help us raise money, whether that’s for the athletic department or if it’s for NIL for our collective. I think he can do it all.”
Greene graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in finance and played baseball for the Fighting Irish before being selected by the New York Yankees as a ninth-round draft pick.
