Heather Lyke, the director of athletics, has been announced to and will leave Eastern Michigan and accept the same position at the University of Pittsburgh.
The reports came in overnight and have been cleared and shown that Lyke will leave for the Atlantic Coast Conference power. This comes after months of searching for a new AD after Scott Barnes left for Oregon State.
Lyke arrived at Ypsilanti in July of 2013 and has pushed for athletic support from students and alumni throughout her tenure at EMU. In 2016, the program won the National Championship for Excellence in Management.
The hire has come after the most successful football season in 27 years where the team attended its first bowl game in 29 years at the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.
The timing of the hire also comes just weeks after the athletic department proposed a $35 million renovation and rebuilding of its facilities. This came with backlash from Eastern Michigan student government as well as students.
