One Thing I Would Change at the University of Pittsburgh

If I could change one thing at the University of Pittsburgh, I would build an on-campus football stadium. Currently, the Pitt Panthers play at Heinz Field in downtown Pittsburgh. It is a great professional football stadium, but the distance from campus is problematic. This negatively affects the football program due to a half filled stadium and a lack of pride for the team. An on-campus stadium would propel the Football team to new heights by increasing attendance and creating a stronger campus atmosphere on game days.

Right now, a trip to a football game is an all day event. Students have to wait to get on a bus and then take a 20 minute ride to the game. For big games like Florida State and Notre Dame, it can take over 45 minutes to arrive and then another 30 minutes to get back to campus. This is a large turnoff to the casual fan at Pitt. Some students choose not to go due to the time commitment, and even more leave early after Sweet Caroline to beat the rush and get home. An on-campus stadium could possibly eliminate over an hour of travel time, and as a result more students would attend and stay for the duration of games.

The atmosphere before games might also tremendously improve with an on-campus stadium. People would be everywhere showing off their Pitt pride and cheering on the team. Huge crowds, tailgating, and music would be out in full force. Football game days would be a blast to take part in and every student would have a great time. This atmosphere would also be a large selling point to prospective students. They would see the spirit of the students and want to experience that for themselves.

The mixture of increased attendance and an amazing campus atmosphere would hopefully lead to results on the field. Top Football recruits want to play in front of a raucous crowd, not one that leaves right after the 3rd quarter. They want to play for a school that packs the stadium for every game and supports its team 100%. The on campus stadium would do...