I will be the first to admit that I am a lifelong Pitt fan, and I always will be. I have stuck with them through a lot, and that will not change. But the arrogance on display today is just intolerable and unacceptable.
Today, it was first reported by Jerry DiPaola of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review during an interview with Pitt head coach Jeff Capel that the 2020 City Game with the Duquesne Dukes at PPG Paints Arena would not be held.
Despite having previously agreed to forego the annual contest for the 2019-2020 season and resume it during the 2020-2021 season in March of 2019, according to Alan Saunders of Pittsburgh Sports Now, the teams will now not see each other on the schedule for the second consecutive season.
Sure, give me the "What does Pitt have to gain from this game?" argument. I am all ears. Since the turn of the century, Pitt has won 16 of 18 meetings...I get it.
Food for thought: What did Pitt have to gain by playing at Robert Morris in the opening game of the UPMC Events Center last season?
Pitt was fresh off the heals of an embarrassing loss at home to Nicholls State, and Robert Morris was set to open a brand new arena in front of a sold-out crowd.
One could very well make the argument that if the "me-first" Panthers actually showed up and beat Nicholls State, they would have walked into Moon Township and got a wake-up call from the Colonials, who would eventually win the Northeast Conference and earn a bid to the 2020 NCAA Tournament prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
That was evidenced when Robert Morris went on an 18-0 run to take an 18-7 lead and put Pitt in a tough position. They rebounded, however, and would win the game by a 71-57 score.
Back to my original question: What did Pitt have to gain?
Was it their 31st win in 31 tries against the boys from Moon Township? Was it their first road victory since February of 2017? I will wait.
From all signs so far, Robert Morris is not heading to the Petersen Events Center for a return game. Pitt simply did them a favor in opening up the new arena.
If a program can be so arrogant, compare Pitt's head-to-head results versus both Duquesne and Robert Morris.
They have won all 31 meetings with the Colonials, while grabbing 16 of the last 18 contests from the Dukes. If you are not getting anything back from Robert Morris, you have proved that you got absolutely nothing from them except a road win that really meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, considering they only won one road game the rest of the season.
My main gripe is with the Panthers' head coach, Jeff Capel. Maybe it is because of his pedigree...which I love. But, where on God's green Earth does all this arrogance come from?
In a piece today by Saunders, he referred to a sitdown with Capel in December, where Capel said, "It's my schedule, so I have involvement in that."
Wait, wait, wait. Your schedule? I do not understand how someone who is supposed to mold young men into great athletes and great individuals can preach such arrogance. This is a group effort, not an individual's effort.
The surface level reasoning to this decision to back out is the fact that Duquesne is a team on the rise. The Dukes won 21 games in 2019-2020 and are poised to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 for the first time since 1977 under fourth year head coach Keith Dambrot.
I also love what Heather Lyke is doing to transform the program. But she came out today and said that playing Duquesne just simply did not fit their scheduling mold.
ARE WE SERIOUS?
Some more food for thought: Did the following games fit the scheduling mold of Lyke and Capel?
-Non-conference wins in 2018-2019 over Youngstown State (12-20), Virginia Military Institute (11-21), Troy (12-18), Central Arkansas (14-19), North Alabama (10-22), and Maryland-Eastern Shore (7-25)
-An embarrassing 2018-2019 non-conference loss to Niagara (13-19)
-Another embarrassing 2019-2020 non-conference loss to Nicholls State (21-10, Southland Conference)
-Non-conference wins in 2019-2020 over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-26), Binghamton (10-19) and Canisius (12-20)
-Not to mention three losses to bitter rival West Virginia over the last three years (although these were agreed to prior to the hiring of Heather Lyke)
Nothing says fitting a schedule mold like that gauntlet of tough opponents.
It is absolutely true that Duquesne would benefit more from a game like this than Pitt would. If Duquesne wins, it is likely a win against an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. If Pitt wins, it may be a quality win, but would be a devastating loss.
I also get that Pitt has many schedules to fill that can prohibit such a contest from taking place.
In Pitt's 2019-2020 November/December schedule, the Panthers faced a series of Power Five teams, including Florida State (Atlantic Coast), West Virginia (Big 12), Kansas State (Big 12), Northwestern (Big Ten), Rutgers (Big Ten) and Louisville (Atlantic Coast).
This year will likely be no different. Pitt will likely have two conference games in the season's first two months. Furthermore, they will get three games at the Myrtle Beach Invitational from the pool of teams which includes Dayton (Atlantic 10), Nebraska (Big Ten), Loyola-Chicago (Missouri Valley), Missouri (Southeastern) and Utah State (Mountain West). The Panthers are also scheduled to head to Morgantown for a date with West Virginia, while they will also likely travel to a Big Ten school for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Last year, Duquesne played zero games against Power 5 teams. In 2020-2021, the only marquee matchup for the Dukes is on November 22, when they will travel to College Park to meet the Big Ten's Maryland Terrapins.
I see the counterargument. Duquesne would ABSOLUTELY make noise for an at-large bid with a win like this. If Pitt loses and Duquesne does fall off the radar, it has the potential to be a devastating blow to the Panthers' postseason aspirations.
I have also heard a lot of rumblings about how general citywide interest was declining for the annual City Game. This could not be more wrong.
The series moved to Consol Energy Center/PPG Paints Arena prior to the 2010 meeting. Nine match-ups have taken place at Pittsburgh's crowned jewel.
The arena has a basketball seating capacity of 19,100. Here are the attendances for each of the nine meetings in the arena:
-2010: 12,860 (67% full)
-2011: 15,880 (83% full)
-2012: 13,089 (69% full)
-2013: 11,146 (58% full)
-2014: 14,905 (78% full)
-2015: 13,906 (73% full)
-2016: 10,997 (58% full)
-2017: 10,118 (53% full)
-2018: 12,246 (64% full)
Attendance exceeding 50% capacity on all occasions and topping 60% on six of nine meetings is not too shabby.
For reference, Duquesne's UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is currently under construction and is forcing the Dukes to find temporary homes. One of those venues is PPG Paints Arena.
During the 2019-2020 season, Duquesne played at the arena six times. Here is what the attendance figures looked like:
-November 5 vs Princeton (2,213 - 12% full)
-January 15 vs Fordham (2,356 - 12% full)
-January 29 vs #7 Dayton (7,001 - 37% full)
-February 2 vs La Salle (2,450 - 13% full)
-February 19 vs George Washington (1,934 - 10% full)
-March 6 vs Richmond (3,211 - 17% full)
The comparison speaks for itself. The City Game attendees showed they clearly care about the rivalry. It is also clear that Capel does not.
In a press release put out by Duquesne athletic director Dave Harper, the AD said that the Dukes have been offered to play at the Petersen Events Center in the 2020-2021 season.
For basketball in this city's sake, this game better take place.
It is a surefire sellout, the only possible non-conference sellout against a local team with the exception of West Virginia.
See what game all players and coaches involved rise up more for: the inner-city rivalry game between two teams on the rise, or the Thursday night game against Central Arkansas with 1,500-2,000 people in the seats. The answer is pretty obvious.
Duquesne is my school, but they are not off the hook. It is almost like some type of inferiority complex has been built.
Despite Duquesne being a bigger school in a bigger conference, the Dukes backed out of their annual pact with the Robert Morris Colonials after Robert Morris won seven of eight meetings.
For summary, here is what we have: Pittsburgh will not play Duquesne because it is a potential loss, Duquesne will not play Robert Morris because it is an inevitable loss and poor Robert Morris is just looking for games to fill the schedule. Do not blame Andy Toole.
Here is a very simple and deliberate idea: a four-team event with rotating annual opponents. It is very plausible and has been seen across the country. Here are some examples:
-Champions Classic (Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State)
-CBS Sports Classic (Ohio State, Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina)
-Northeast Ohio Classic (Cleveland State, Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State)
-Beehive Classic (Utah, Utah State, Brigham Young, Weber State)
-Crossroads Classic (Notre Dame, Butler, Purdue, Indiana)
Get Pitt, Duquesne, Robert Morris and perhaps Penn State or West Virginia together every November or December at PPG Paints Arena. All four schools have large fanbases in the Pittsburgh area and all the programs would benefit from a matchup with a respective on-the-rise opponent.
Basketball in this city is growing. Robert Morris will have another formidable roster capable of winning another conference title, while Duquesne and Pittsburgh are probable NCAA Tournament at-large contenders as well.
It is a real shame that so many "what-ifs" are preventing the annual meetings of these schools that would drastically increase the growth of basketball in the region.
For right now, unfortunately, it looks we will be seeing Duquesne and Pitt play inferior competition until some type of annual agreement can be reached once again.
And it all could have been prevented without a simple backing out of an agreement.
What a shame for the city of Pittsburgh.
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