Auburn Tigers fans who remember their previous athletics director, Allen Greene, got a blast from the past on Friday when news broke that Greene had been hired at Pittsburgh from his role as Senior Deputy Athletics Director and Chief Operating Officer at Tennessee.
Greene, the man who infamously hired Bryan Harsin to The Plains after he fired Gus Malzahn, left Auburn in August of 2022 with just months left on his contract when it appeared his time was up. Auburn went on to hire former Mississippi State AD John Cohen, who also coached baseball in Starkville.
Greene is back in a major role as Pitt’s athletics director, and he received high praise from brass at the school.
“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,” said Pittsburgh chancellor Joan Gabel. “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.”
RELATED: (2023) Former Auburn athletic director Allen Greene takes job at Tennessee
Greene released a statement of his own thanking the school for having the faith in him to make him their new AD.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
