Steve Pederson Extension - How Pitt Fans Should Feel

Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson has signed a five-year contract extension that will keep him at the school through 2018.

Everybody that knows me recognizes that I am not a Steve Pederson fan. I have been one of his biggest critics throughout his Pitt tenure and I was critical of him at his time in Nebraska. I am not going to go that far deep into the Nebraska fiasco but all I have to say is that anybody down in big red country will tell you that he is not a beloved figure for his alma mater. He was fired after 5 disastrous years and Pitt literally hired him back the next day. (He was also the AD at Pitt from 1998-2002).

With the news of his recent contract extension, there has been a mixture of reactions from alumni and fans about their feelings towards Pederson. I am going to create a pros and cons list of Pedersons actions while at Pitt and I want the readers of the article to tell me how they feel about him.

In the Headlines for All the Wrong Reasons

The Final Four begins today!

Now let me guess, upon reading that the Final Four is nearly here, your first thought was something along the lines of “oh ya, that’s right!” instead of “I know, I’m excited!”  Am I right?

College basketball has been in the news ALL WEEK, yet there has been no preview of the Final Four matchups. There has been no talk of the “Don’t call us Cinderella” Wichita State Shockers taking on #1 overall Louisville. There has been no talk of John Beilein never defeating Jim Boeheim.

Absolutely nothing.  Yet college hoops is in the news not only on sports channels but on national news as well. When that happens, you know that there is something wrong with sports right now.

2013 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions

The brackets are out! The 2013 NCAA Tournament has now officially begun! Now it's time to break down those brackets and see who can make the run to the Final Four. March Madness is here! But, before you fill out your brackets, check out our predictions podcast. Let us help make your bracket the best that it possibly can be. We helped over 30,000 people each of the last two years in filling out their brackets, let us help make yours the best it can be! James likes the Hoosiers, Alex is picking the Cardinals. After you check out our opinions, let your own be heard! Comment, tweet, email, let us know what you think! Or better yet, put your opinions to the test by joining the 3SN Bracket Challenge by clicking HERE.

3SN Bracketology

Each year, Joe Lunardi predicts what the NCAA Tournament brackets will look like. Our own bracketologist James Dotson is setting up his own brackets. Let's see who better predicts what the Committee does for March Madness! It's Dotson vs. Lunardi! There's one difference in the 68 teams: Lunardi has California in the tournament. Dotson says there's no way they deserve a bid, and he puts Virginia in their spot. We'll find out who's right!

2013 ACC Tournament Preview

The Atlantic Coast Conference is all about the Duke Blue Devils this year. With their star Ryan Kelly in the lineup, Duke has not lost this season. They have the target on their back, can they get the automatic bid? Maryland, North Carolina, and Miami all have legit chances to take down the Blue Devils.

2013 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament Preview

The A-10 is a potential five-bid league! That’s because many teams formerly known as “mid majors” are in the conference. These teams know how to win the big game when it matters most, and they all have made significant runs in the NCAA Tournament before. Just look at the coaching history: Rick Magerus, John Chaney, Shaka Smart, Brad Stevens. Enjoy.

2013 SEC Tournament Preview

When’s the last time that a two-seed in a power conference, nevertheless the SEC, didn’t make the tournament? Well, that’s quite likely unless the Kentucky Wildcats step it up. But they’re not alone! The 3-seed Mississippi Rebels and the 4-seed Alabama Crimson Tide are also on the bubble, but on the outside looking in, and 5-seed Tennessee is in danger of missing out as well. 6-seed Missouri is considered to be securely in.

2013 Southland Conference Tournament Preview

The Southland tournament will be everybody vs. the lumberjacks. Stephen F. Austin is no doubt the team to beat in the conference this season, going 26-3 on the season. Their SOS is not very good, but they have beaten the teams they need to. They had two conference losses this season, both on the road to SE Louisiana and to the 2-seed Northwestern State.

2013 Pac-12 Tournament Preview

The Pac-12 tournament is up for grabs again, and it’s pretty much anybody’s tournament to win. UCLA stands alone at the top of the conference, three teams tied for second. The Pac-12 is a three-bid league for sure, but could expand to as many as five. Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, and Cal need to all show me something before I'll put them in the dance.

2013 Big 12 Tournament Preview

Kansas sits at the top of the Big 12 Conference, but at least five others are more than capable of knocking them off. A high scoring offense like Iowa State or a shut down defense of K-State could do the trick.

2013 Conference USA Tournament Preview

The Memphis Tigers are back in action yet again as the regular season champions of Conference USA. They went undefeated 16-0 in the conference and are 27-4 overall this season. If you take out their non-conference loss to Xavier two weeks ago, the Tigers haven’t lost since a 9 point loss to #6 Louisville on December 15. Southern Miss is the only team with a chance to knock off Memphis, and they're squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

2013 Big West Conference Tournament Preview

What a battle the Big West tournament could be this year! The difference between the one-seed and the eight-seed is just four games! Long Beach State is the defending regular season and conference tournament champions, and they got the #1 seed this year as well. Can they repeat? Pacific, Hawaii, UC Irvine, and Cal Poly are all ready to pounce on the auto-bid opportunity!

2013 Big Sky Tournament Preview

The Big Sky Conference is a two-team race yet again. The defending champs Montana will have to fight off the 2-seed Weber State if they want to go dancing again. And of course, they split their regular season games. So it’s a toss up for who can get that automatic bid!

2013 Big Ten Tournament Preview

Teams like Purdue and Iowa need big wins to get an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Some teams in the Big Ten are hot (Ohio State) while others are sort of in a stall mode (Michigan State, Indiana, Michigan). A low seed (even #12 Penn State) could make some waives in the B1G Tournament!

2013 Big East Tournament Preview

It's the biggest and the most competitive tournament in all of college basketball. Many claim that it is more difficult to win the Big East Tournament than the NCAA Tournament. Be that the case or not, we actually are witnessing the last ever "true" Big East basketball tournament. Who will get the honors of winning the last one? Otto Porter and the 1-seed Hoyas? Maybe Peyton Siva and Louisville? Could an 8- or 9-seed make the run to the top like has been done many times before? All we know for sure is that ANYBODY can win, and that's what will make this final Big East Tournament one we will never forget.

2013 Mountain West Tournament Preview

What an impressive performance yet again by the Mountain West Conference. Four teams are definitely into the NCAA Tournament, and a fifth is very possible. Who gets the automatic bid, though? Colorado State? UNLV? Can New Mexico get up to a 2-seed in the tournament? Does Boise State go dancing or will San Diego State spoil the show?

2013 SWAC Tournament Preview

A lot is happening in the SWAC, and not much of it is good. Regular season champion Texas Southern and Arkansas - Pine Bluff are banned from post-season play, as are the defending tournament champion Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils. Only one team in the tournament has a winning record (Southern University). Does anybody else have a chance? Can Grambling State win their first game of the season?

2013 WAC Tournament Preview

The Western Athletic Conference is up for grabs this season, and there is a lot of question marks heading into the Tournament in Las Vegas. Top seed Louisiana Tech had an 18-game win streak this season, but lost their last two of the season. #2 Denver rattled off ten straight wins to finish the year and get a share of the regular season crown. And defending conference tournament champion New Mexico State is right there ready to pounce as well. The difference might be "Sim and Sy"

2013 MEAC Tournament Preview

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference shocked the world last year when 15 seed Norfolk State took down the 2-seeded Missouri Tigers in the first round of the tournament. Many experts thought Missouri should have been a 1-seed, yet the Cinderella Spartans struck! They have now begun their encore, going 21-10 for the year and a perfect 16-0 in the conference on the way to the #1 seed in the MEAC Tournament. They are the overwhelming favorites to get the automatic bid again for the MEAC. But can NC Central pull off the upset?

2013 MAC Tournament Preview

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference shocked the world last year when 15 seed Norfolk State took down the 2-seeded Missouri Tigers in the first round of the tournament. Many experts thought Missouri should have been a 1-seed, yet the Cinderella Spartans struck! They have now begun their encore, going 21-10 for the year and a perfect 16-0 in the conference on the way to the #1 seed in the MEAC Tournament. They are the overwhelming favorites to get the automatic bid again for the MEAC. But can NC Central pull off the upset?