AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. — Pitt fans got a taste of a 30-second shot clock in the National Invitation Tournament this year, but next season it could be the standard in college basketball.
Panthers coach Jamie Dixon said Tuesday that, based on discussions at the ACC spring meetings this week, he expects the 30-second shot clock and 4-foot restricted arc under the basket to be in place for next basketball season. The rules can’t be formally adopted until later in the offseason, but Dixon got the sense coaches were moving in that direction.
While he said he expected the rule changes to boost scoring, Dixon doesn’t think he’ll have to change his coaching style significantly to account for a shorter shot clock.
“I don’t think that’ll be a big factor,” Dixon said. “You’re always changing, you’re always adjusting, but I don’t know that 30 seconds will have that much impact. How many shots are in the last five seconds of the [35-second] clock?”
New Pitt AD eyes revenue
Incoming Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes said one of his top priorities when he officially takes the role is “resource development.”
“We, in the bottom third of the ACC in budget and revenue generation, aspire to be toward the top and competing for championships and graduating our student-athletes,” Barnes said.
Pitt is 12th in the ACC in overall athletic revenue, according to the Department of Education, and Barnes hopes to improve that. He did note, though, that it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, as Pitt only sponsors 19 varsity sports, fewer than all but four ACC schools.
Schedule adjustments possible
One of the logistical challenges facing the ACC is a long scheduling layoff for games between non-divisional opponents.
Pitt, for instance, won’t welcome Florida State back to Heinz Field until 2024 at the earliest under the current model. If the league sticks with eight conference games and one permanent crossover opponent, that might be tough to change. But Seminoles athletic director Stan Wilcox said athletic directors are talking about possibilities, even though he wasn’t willing to divulge specifics.
“They’ve provided the options that we will look at and then come back and talk about,” he said.
New start date for Barnes
Barnes said he moved up his start date at Pitt. He originally was slated to start July 1, but now plants to take over as athletic director June 15.
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG.
First Published: May 13, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
