The man who changed Pitt's identity, literally, from Pitt to Pittsburgh is coming back to town tomorrow for a party thrown by some of his close friends from the Pittsburgh community, two days before his new team plays Pitt at Heinz Field.

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Steve Pederson, now the head of athletics at the University of Nebraska, made headlines here for more than the Pitt-Pittsburgh flap. Other controversial decisions Pederson made during his seven-year tenure as Pitt's athletic director included demolishing Pitt Stadium, disbanding the influential Golden Panthers booster club and his extensive reorganization of the university's athletic department.

There were good times, too. He hired Ben Howland, who transformed the men's basketball team into a national power. He got the Petersen Events Center built. And he forged a relationship with the Steelers that led to the Panthers having Heinz Field as a home stadium.

Some say Pederson, a polarizing figure at Pitt, united, while others say he divided the university and its sports fans.

"I just wanted to do the right thing," Pederson said over the phone Monday afternoon from his university office.

Many of the people of Nebraska thought Pederson did the wrong thing when he fired Frank Solich after the Cornhuskers went 9-3 last season. Solich was a longtime Nebraska assistant coach under Tom Osborne and led the Huskers to a national championship game in 2001 as head coach.

He was 58-19 in six seasons and is a Nebraska alumnus, class of '66. But according to the Lincoln Star Journal, Pederson had Solich's picture removed from Memorial Stadium upon his dismissal. The picture had hung alongside those of Osborne and Bob Devaney in the stadium's lobby.

Pederson hired Bill Callahan as Solich's replacement after a controversial search that lasted 41 days and included Miami Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, Arkansas coach Houston Nutt, Kansas City Chiefs assistant Al Saunders and Dallas Cowboys assistant Mike Zimmer not getting hired.

Callahan promptly changed the Huskers' trademark option offense to a West Coast style passing game.

The way Pederson saw it, the option was about as archaic as Pitt Stadium.

"When you hire a coach, I don't think you hire him to run a specific offense or defense," Pederson said. "When we hired Ben, his teams led the nation in 3-point shooting percentage [at Northern Arizona]. At Pitt he did different things. You hire a coach because you understand what it takes to be successful at a school.

"All of the coaches we spoke with said there needed to be a change in the offensive philosophy. That's always the coach's prerogative. If he wants to throw the ball, we'll let him throw the ball. Yeah, there were some dramatic changes. But I'm certain that whatever coach we hired, changes with the offense were going to be made anyway."

All of this led to 401 Nebraska residents voting Pederson as "No. 1 Enemy of State" in a Sports Illustrated poll. Pederson beat out such hated Nebraska antagonists as former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer and Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.

"I remember when Steve was the No. 1 enemy of Pittsburgh for knocking down the stadium," said Howland, now the basketball coach at UCLA. "We're all resistant to change in many respects. Looking back on the decisions Steve and the chancellor made, how can anyone even say any of them were questionable?

"Steve is one of the reasons I'll always treasure my time at Pitt. I consider him one of my best friends. He's a high-energy guy with an unbelievable work ethic. He exudes a winning attitude."

Carol Sprague, a senior associate athletic director at Pitt, has worked in the school's athletic department since 1974. She said Pederson's legacy will be his ability to unite factions at the university.

"The key to Steve's success is that he and the chancellor and the provost, they were a great team," Sprague said. "They were on the same page. That group hadn't always been focused on the same vision. Steve worked with them in the planning, and he brought an energy to it.

"Steve is a big-picture guy. He made people believe. He was a big agent of change."

Despite Pederson's successes at Pitt, he managed to alienate some influential people. Ralph Cindrich, a local sports agent and a former Pitt linebacker, did not renew his football season tickets after strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris was replaced by Pederson crony Dave Kennedy, who followed Pederson to Nebraska. Several other of Pitt's NFL alumni, including Tom Ricketts, Mark Stepnoski and Jeff Christy, also voiced their displeasure with the way Pederson communicated with alumni about fund-raising.

"There's not any question, a lot of good came as a result of his tenure," Cindrich said. "I think it remains to be seen how long lasting that all is, whether the alienation will have a more lasting negative effect."

Morris was one of several Pitt employees Pederson dismissed. Shortly after his arrival, he fired seven athletic department employees and reassigned 18 others. He later fired track coach Steve Lewis, who upon his dismissal, alluded to "racial and gender hate" and "dollar mongers" at Pitt.

Where does the truth lie? Perhaps somewhere in between. But for those who know Pederson, it seems they either love him or hate him.