Pitt's search for an athletic director began with a phone call by Chancellor Mark Nordenberg, seeking advice on how to handle a struggling football program.
Steve Pederson had quickly become an expert in that area but wasn't available to take the call because he was headed to a meeting where he would learn of his dismissal as head of Nebraska's athletic department.
The ironic sense of timing, Pitt's need for an athletic director and Pederson's sudden availability, led to what Nordenberg called a "very deliberate and very confidential two-person series of conversations" about an opening created when Jeff Long left for Arkansas in September.
On Friday, the search committee of one formally introduced Pederson as Pitt's athletic director, five years after he left for Nebraska and almost 11 years to the day from his first arrival on the Oakland campus.
Pederson's contract length and terms weren't disclosed.
"I always did feel that Steve had that same talent and drive and ambition that distinguished him even from very, very good people who were intercollegiate athletic professionals," Nordenberg said. "The real key for both of us was trying to make certain that the same energy would be there, that the same enthusiasm would be there and that there would be the recognition that the institution is a different place and the challenges are going to be different than they were back then."
The Oct. 15 firing from his alma mater appeared to humble Pederson, 50, who presided over radical changes to Pitt's athletic department and facilities from October 1996-December 2002.
The Panthers unveiled new school colors and football uniforms, razed Pitt Stadium and built Petersen Events Center in its place, moved the football facilities to the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side and began playing home games at Heinz Field.
Pitt's revenue-earning programs benefited almost immediately. The football team went to four bowl games in six years, while the men's basketball team won the Big East Conference -- Pederson wore the championship ring yesterday -- and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2002.
"It was both an exciting time and a demanding time because achieving those levels was not easy," Nordenberg said. "We faced both difficult and sometimes divisive decisions and daunting challenges. But with a lot of support from others, we both faced them and grew professionally."
Perhaps most memorably, Pederson demanded that Pitt be referred to as the University of Pittsburgh, an identity change that drew as much resistance as the demolition of 75-year-old Pitt Stadium, one that has since been reversed.
"This is Pitt," Pederson said with a smile when asked to which school he was returning. "In 1996, this was a different place, and to some extent, we were fighting for anybody's attention. We made some decisions at that time that we thought were in the best interests of the perception of our program and the association of our program.
"We're really proud of the City of Pittsburgh, and I think what's really neat is how the city and the university are intertwined. That's why we made some of the decisions we made at the time.
"But we've had enough logo changes around here. I like our uniforms. I like the way we look. We're going to worry more about supporting our teams and our programs than that."
Pederson's reputation suffered a blow at Nebraska, where he fired football coach Frank Solich following a 9-3 season. Although the hand-picked successor to Tom Osbourne had a 58-19 career record, the Cornhuskers were 16-12 in Solich's last 28 games at Nebraska. Pederson infamously vowed to "refuse to let the program gravitate toward mediocrity."
Pederson hired Bill Callahan, who instituted a pass-oriented offense and went 27-22 in four years, including a pair of five-win seasons.
Two days after Nebraska's 45-14 loss to Oklahoma State, Pederson was fired -- despite signing a five-year contract extension in June -- in part because of accusations that he had alienated Nebraska alums.
Pederson promised the same won't happen at Pitt.
"We know we have work to do," Pederson said, "and we are going to work extremely hard to have respect for everybody in the way we go about our business."
Nordenberg ignored his search committee and focused on bringing Pederson back to Pitt. Nordenberg said he "discreetly" contacted people at Nebraska and the Big 12 Conference for outside perspectives on Pederson.
"Their responses were uniform," Nordenberg said. "Whatever had led to the unraveling of relationships at (Nebraska), Steve Pederson was one of the best, or one of the best, athletic directors in America."
Where Pederson overhauled Pitt's athletic department in his first tenure -- making notable hires in football coach Walt Harris and men's basketball coach Ben Howland -- he inherits a football program that has gone 15-19 and without a bowl appearance in three years under Dave Wannstedt.
Instead of cutting ties, Pederson is throwing his full support behind Wannstedt. According to sources close to the program, Pitt is expected to announce today that it will extend Wannstedt's contract through 2010.
With a $2 million buyout from Nebraska, Pederson had the financial wherewithal to wait for the right opening before returning to collegiate athletic administration.
Instead, he jumped at the chance to return to Pitt, where he will now have to practice patience for the first time in his career.
"I think it would have had to be a pretty special opportunity to get back in it right away," Pederson said, "and this was a pretty special opportunity."
