Pitt women’s volleyball is undefeated and ranked number one in the country, and so is Pitt’s men’s soccer. So why have I only seen that blue beacon from the top of the Cathedral four times this year?
According to Pitt’s website, the victory lights started in 2008 when Director of Marketing and Ticket Operations, Justin Acierno suggested them. At first, the lights were just gold and yellow. That is until 2018 when Chris Bickell (a 1997 graduate) donated the blue beacon. The lights are set to shine after football and championship wins. Bickwell has donated over 20 million dollars to Pitt football, so it’s no surprise he wanted his lights to shine for his team. However, many think the lights should shine more than a few times a year.
As a freshman, I thought that the lights shone for any major Pitt victory. This seemed fair to me, after all, we have one of the best volleyball programs in the country, so I thought the light would at least shine for them. After watching women’s volleyball take down the University of Kentucky last May, my friends and I rushed out of our dorms hoping to see the Cathedral all light up. When I saw Cathy without the lights, I was disappointed but assumed Pitt, like my high school, prioritized male sports. Then basketball season came, and after a few monumentous victories with no lights realized this was truly a football thing.
I understand that football attracts a lot of attention from potential students and makes the most money out of all our athletic programs. According to College Factual found that Pitt’s football program made over $40 million in revenue and almost $8 million in profit. This is by and large the biggest profit; however, basketball came in second place with $2 million in profits. While this is significantly less than football, it’s no drop in the bucket. When looking at the lights from a purely economic standpoint, one would think they should at least light up for basketball, right?
Economics and money aside, it would make sense for the lights to light up to celebrate any Pitt win. As I said before, the women’s volleyball team is currently the best in the country, same goes for men’s soccer. Why can’t we celebrate them the same? The players work just as hard, if not harder. They deserve to see the lights up for them as well.