Heather Lyke
American sports administrator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heather Lyke is the assistant athletic director at Syracuse University. She was previously the athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh, Eastern Michigan University, and served in administrative roles at Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati.
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Lyke in 2020 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Assistant Athletic director |
| Team | Syracuse |
| Conference | ACC |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 19, 1970 Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1988–1992 | Michigan |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1996–1998 | Cincinnati (assistant AD) |
| 1998–2013 | Ohio State (assistant AD) |
| 2013–2017 | Eastern Michigan |
| 2017–2024 | Pittsburgh |
| 2025– | Syracuse (assistant AD) |
Career
During her tenure at Eastern Michigan University, Lyke oversaw significant growth in the school's athletic programs thanks to a 51% increase in athletic donations. This increased funding was used for capital upgrades to athletic facilities. The school won seventeen MAC titles during her tenure. The football team made its first bowl appearance since 1987, with a 20–24 loss to Old Dominion in the 2019 Bahamas Bowl under head coach Chris Creighton.[1]
She was announced as the athletic director for the University of Pittsburgh in March 2017 following the departure of Scott Barnes and was relieved of her duties on September 9, 2024.[2][3]
In July 2025, Lyke was hired by Syracuse Athletics in an advisory role in conjunction with director of athletics John Wildhack and Chancellor Kent Syverud.[4]
In February 2026, Lyke was named in a Title IX lawsuit filed by six former players on the Pittsburgh women's basketball team against coach Tory Verdi and the school over allegations of abusive coaching methods and a failure to investigate the reports of abuse. The lawsuit claims that players and staff repeatedly brought concerns about Coach Verdi’s behavior to senior administrators, specifically naming Lyke and two other senior administrators, and that despite this notice, Lyke and her team took no corrective action, allowing a "hostile, discriminatory, and retaliatory environment" to persist. The lawsuit also notes that Lyke hired Verdi in 2023 based on their prior relationship at Eastern Michigan. [5] [6]
