The University of Pittsburgh has dismissed women's basketball coach Tory Verdi after three seasons with a 29-66 record. The decision follows a 50-point loss to NC State and comes weeks after a lawsuit from former players alleging a hostile environment. Athletic director Allen Greene cited insufficient competitive progress as the reason for the change.
Pitt Athletic Director Allen Greene announced on March 3, 2026, that the university has made a leadership change in its women's basketball program. Verdi, who was hired in 2023 after successful stints at UMass, including an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021-22, leaves with a 29-66 record over three seasons. This marks a slight improvement from the previous coach Lance White's .298 winning percentage but fell short of expectations for the program, which had a 10-20 record before Verdi's arrival.
The firing occurred two days after Pitt's 93-43 loss to NC State, dropping the Panthers to 1-17 in conference play. In his statement, Greene said: "After a thorough and thoughtful evaluation of our women's basketball program, it has been determined that we have not progressed enough competitively and now is the right time to seek a new leader for our program. We thank Tory for his dedication over the past three seasons and wish him and his family nothing but the best in their future endeavors. The search process for our next leader is already underway."
The announcement also follows a lawsuit filed less than a month earlier by six former players. The suit accused Verdi of creating a hostile work environment and Title IX violations, including public humiliation, verbal degradation, arbitrary reductions in playing time, exclusion from team activities, favoritism, manipulation of statistics, and inappropriate comments on players' physical appearance, emotional state, and performance. The players also alleged that Verdi attempted to create a racial divide on the team and that the university failed to act on reports of his behavior.
Pitt now begins a national search for its next head coach amid ongoing challenges in the ACC.
