ALLEN GREENE | PHOTO COURTESY PITT ATHLETICS

Just six weeks after the University of Pittsburgh fired its former athletic director, the school has tapped Allen Greene to lead the school’s expanding athletic program that’s also facing major changes.

“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 Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel in a statement announcing Greene’s appointment. “In my conversations with Allen and with many others who know him well, it is clear he will lead us successfully into the new world of intercollegiate athletics.”

As a senior deputy athletics director and chief operating officer at University of Tennessee since December 2023, Greene brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, particularly in having to manage the Name, Image and Likeness, or NIL, deals with players — a challenge facing all college athletic departments.  

At Pitt, he also takes on the responsibility of shepherding development of Victory Heights, a $240 million facility under construction to house volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling competitions and other activities. But according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, only a fraction of that cost — roughly $12 million or so — has been raised.

He will start his new job on Nov. 1, splitting his time between Pittsburgh and Knoxville, Tennessee. He replaces Heather Lyke, who had served as athletic director since 2017.

Here are six things to know about Allen Greene:

1. Greene has been a lead figure in the management of NIL programs at three separate Southeastern Conference institutions.
2. At Tennessee, he played an integral role in increasing the annual revenue in the athletics department by 30%.
3. From 2018 and 2022, Greene was director of athletics at Auburn University, where his record included eight SEC championships and 47 programs achieving Top 25 finishes in national rankings.
4. Prior to Auburn, Greene served the University at Buffalo as director of athletics from 2015 to 2018. Four Buffalo teams advanced to their respective NCAA championships over two years. Not only that, Buffalo student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or better for 11 consecutive semesters, with the football team earning its highest team GPA in program history.
5. Greene was a three-year starter for the Irish baseball team at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance in 2000. He later earned an MBA at Indiana University’s South Bend campus.
6. On a personal level, he and his wife, Christy, have three children.