Former Notre Dame baseball player hired as Pitt athletic director

Great to see him doing well.

A face familiar to Notre Dame sort of will be reuniting with the Irish in the ACC. [autotag]Allen Greene[/autotag], who played baseball at Notre Dame for three seasons, has been hired as Pittsburgh’s new athletic director, effective Nov. 1. He will leave his current role as chief operating officer and senior deputy athletic director at Tennessee.

From 1996 to 1998, Greene slashed .329/.413/.538 for the Irish, resulting in a .951 OPS. He hit 15 home runs, had 113 RBIs and stole 22 bases. After his final season, the New York Yankees selected him in the ninth round of the MLB draft, but he never got above High-A.

Since then, Greene has worked a seven-year stint at Notre Dame, had two stints at Ole Miss and served as the athletic director at Buffalo and Auburn for a combined eight years. He clearly found his calling after his playing days ended, and it’s great to see him thrive in it:

https://twitter.com/PeteThamel/status/1847260012298600647

Best of luck to Greene in his new role (though not against the Irish).

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Former Auburn AD Allen Greene reportedly to take over Pitt AD role

Greene will once again get an opportunity to run his own athletic department.

According to college football insider Pete Thamel, former Auburn athletic director Allen Greene is set to take the same role with the Pitt Panthers. Following his dismissal from the Plains, Greene was recently with the Ole Miss Rebels and Tennessee Volunteers.

The move comes after the University of Pittsburgh fired former athletic director Heather Lyke in September.

Greene will need to immediately work on building up the NIL presence for Panthers in football and basketball among other sports. Having worked with Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, he might be the best served in this avenue given how strongly the three universities have performed in this area.

Despite being behind on the NIL front, the Panthers are enjoying the 6-0 start to the college football season. Pitt will next take the football field on Oct. 24 when the Panthers host the Syracuse Orange.

As for Greene, he will need to hit the ground running in his new role as he will once again run the athletic department. The former Auburn AD served in that role from 2018 until he stepped down in 2022. Prior to that tenure on the Plains, Greene was the AD with Buffalo from 2015 to 2018.

Social media reacts to Tennessee hiring Allen Greene

Social media reacts to Tennessee hiring Allen Greene.

Tennessee announced the hiring of Allen Greene as senior deputy athletics director on Thursday.

Greene served as Auburn’s director of athletics from 2018-2022. He also served as director of athletics at Buffalo from 2015-18.

“One of the key objectives from our strategic plan “Rise Glorious” was to attract goal-driven and intensely competitive teammates to strengthen our family-oriented, innovative and fearless culture and Allen is a tremendous addition to our leadership team,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “Allen’s one of the most dynamic and engaging leaders I’ve been fortunate to work alongside, and I am thrilled to be able to add one of the stars of our profession and his wonderful family to Rocky Top.”

Social media reaction following Greene’s hiring at Tennessee is listed below:

Tennessee hires Allen Greene as senior deputy athletics director

Tennessee hires Allen Greene as Senior Deputy Athletics Director.

The University of Tennessee announced the hiring of Allen Greene as senior deputy athletics director on Thursday.

“One of the key objectives from our strategic plan “Rise Glorious” was to attract goal-driven and intensely competitive teammates to strengthen our family-oriented, innovative and fearless culture and Allen is a tremendous addition to our leadership team,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “Allen’s one of the most dynamic and engaging leaders I’ve been fortunate to work alongside, and I am thrilled to be able to add one of the stars of our profession and his wonderful family to Rocky Top.”

Greene served as Auburn’s director of athletics from 2018-2022. He also served as director of athletics at Buffalo from 2015-18.

“I’m very appreciative for this opportunity to once again be a teammate with Danny and join the talented executive team he has assembled at Tennessee,” Greene said. “The Tennessee brand is second to none and I am looking forward to help propel UT athletics in this modern era of our industry. My family and I can’t wait to get started on Rocky Top.”

Auburn promotes Rich McGlynn to deputy athletics director

John Cohen has made his first move as Auburn’s athletic director.

Auburn’s new athletics director [autotag]John Cohen[/autotag]’s most important hire will be to hire a new football coach but it will not be his first move.

That was to promote [autotag]Rich McGlynn[/autotag] to deputy athletics director, a role in which the two will work together to “further elevate the Auburn athletics department,” the university announced.

McGlynn served as Auburn’s interim athletic director while the Tigers searched for a replacement for [autotag]Allen Greene[/autotag]. Before that, he was Auburn’s executive associate athletics director for compliance, a role he has served in since 2006

While overseeing the compliance department, McGlynn is most known for helping keep Cam Newton eligible during the 2010 BCS national championship season and the investigation around the men’s basketball program.

“Given his experience as a Southeastern Conference Athletic Director and knowing he’s empowering Rich McGlynn, this is the best of both worlds,”  [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] said of Cohen in a release. “I’m excited about our new leadership team. It’s time for the Auburn family to come together as we move forward.”

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Auburn names new Interim Athletic Director

The university will still search outside the athletics department to find a new permanent candidate.

Auburn has named its Interim Athletic Director after the firing of [autotag]Allen Greene[/autotag] last month.

The university announced on Wednesday that Rich McGlynn would take over as the school’s Interim Athletic Director in Greene’s stead. The announcement seemed to make clear that the Tigers are still searching for a new AD outside of the organization and that McGlynn will run operations during this transition period.

Here is what McGlynn said in the school’s press release.

“I’m excited and humbled to help lead Auburn Athletics through this transition period. I’m thankful to Dr. Chris Roberts for this opportunity. I have such enthusiasm and love for Auburn. We’ve raised our family here, all four of our children have attended Auburn and we bleed orange and blue.”

Previous to this role, McGlynn joined Auburn’s staff in 2006 and was a sport administrator for men’s basketball, equestrian and swimming and diving. He also aided Auburn in matters relating to NCAA compliance, as he previously worked for the NCAA before joining Auburn’s athletic department.

McGlynn was also the sport administrator for football when the team won the 2013 SEC Championship and competed in the last BCS National Title Game.

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Former athletic director Allen Greene says final goodbyes

The former AD had kind words for Auburn and the people that make it.

Former athletic director Allen Greene gave his finals send-off to the Plains on Wednesday.

It was reported earlier in the week that Greene and the university had mutually agreed to part ways. In a release on Auburn’s website, his final “From the Desk of Allen Greene” article outlined his gratitude for the university, boosters, student-athletes and more that were a large part of his tenure on the Plains.

Here is a little bit of what he had to say, including his closing remarks about Auburn:

Together we’ve navigated a pandemic, celebrated two equestrian national championships, and invested in capital projects that will help this Everything School remain competitive for generations. The journey is far greater than the destination. My family and I will forever cherish our Auburn journey and none of it would have been possible without you. It truly has been my pleasure to serve. Today and every day, it’s great to be an Auburn Tiger!

Greene played baseball at Notre Dame in college and served as an assistant athletic director at Ole Miss and Buffalo before becoming Buffalo’s athletic director for four years. He was named Auburn’s athletic director in 2018 and served until just before the fall of 2022.

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247Sports’ analysts discuss the future of Harsin following Greene’s exit

What is it going to take to keep Bryan Harsin on the Plains after Allen Greene’s exit?

Prior to the kickoff for the 2022 season for the Auburn Tigers, there was a huge move made. Athletic director Allen Greene, who hired Bryan Harsin from Boise State over former assistant Kevin Steele, stepped down from his post ahead of his contract expiring in January.

The consensus, at least among the boosters, seemed to be that they favored Steele over Harsin. There was even an attempted coup in February where the head coach came under fire at the 6-7 season that ended with a loss to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.

Auburn finished 6-5 with a loss in the Citrus Bowl in 2021 when the school relieved Gus Malzahn of his duties after an eight-year run with the Tigers. He led them to a national championship game berth in year one of his tenure but the Tigers never reached that height once again.

On an episode of ‘The Block’, Carl Reed and Blake Brockermeyer of 247Sports discussed what happens now with Harsin. As Brockermeyer stated, the head coach and athletic director are often tied to one another but how can Harsin avoid the same fate as his former boss?

Reed believes that nothing short of a national championship in 2022 or beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa will keep Harsin employed on the Plains. Brockermeyer had a similar statement as Reed. He believes that Auburn has to win the SEC West for the former Boise State head coach to keep his job with Auburn.

With their backs against the wall, we will soon find out if the team rallies around Harsin in 2022.

The full segment can be found on 247Sports.

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Allen Greene’s exit ‘discouraging’ to Auburn legend Frank Thomas

Frank Thomas does not sound happy to see Allen Greene leaving the Plains.

[autotag]Frank Thomas[/autotag] did not shy away from sharing his reaction to the departure of [autotag]Allen Greene[/autotag] as Auburn’s athletic director.

The baseball great took to Twitter Friday night to share his thoughts on Greene stepping down and what it means for the entire athletic department, not just the football program.

“I’m still so shocked by this Allen Greene situation at my alma mater,” he wrote. “The entire sports department has flourished under his leadership! Yes the AU football program has struggled over the last two years. That’s another conversation period. Auburn football will bounce back!!”

“For him not to get another few years to make things right is discouraging in my eyes,” Thomas added in a second tweet. “I was just getting to know this man and he has left an impression on me that will last forever. He cares about Auburn University and I wish him well in the future.”

In his tenure as athletic director, Auburn won eight conference championships, reached the Men’s Final Four, reached a No. 1 ranking in men’s basketball, and made two Men’s College World Series appearances.

Thomas, who is in the MLB Hall of Fame, played at Auburn from 1987-89 before having a 19-year MLB season where he was twice named the MVP.

Auburn announced earlier Friday that Greene was resigning after a four-and-a-half-year tenure as athletic director. Auburn appointed Marcy Girton as acting athletic director while Auburn embarks on a national search for his permanent replacement.

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Former Duke, Notre Dame athletic director comments on Allen Greene’s departure

Former Notre Dame and Duke AD Kevin White didn’t have kind words for Auburn.

Former athletic director Allen Greene’s surprise departure on Friday has already drawn some controversy.

Former Notre Dame and Duke athletic director Kevin White, whom Greene worked under briefly after graduating from Notre Dame, had a few comments on Greene’s departure and the Auburn Tigers as a whole.

In a released statement, White called Greene’s dismissal “terribly disturbing” and “utterly shameful”, as well as claiming Auburn’s athletics department has “legendary” dysfunction. Aside from what he called a “tone deaf” move from the Tigers, White had quite a bit of praise for Green and his family, referring to the former athletic director as “classy”, “talented” and “intellectual.”

It comes as no surprise that White would stick up for someone who worked under him as Greene did, and his sudden departure when some fall sports have already kicked off is bound to raise more eyebrows than White’s. Whether his comments on Auburn’s dysfunction are correct, however, will remain to be seen when the Tigers begin the process of hiring Greene’s replacement in the coming weeks.

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