Mr. Duquesne: Meet The Man Behind The Curtain Of Duquesne Athletics

    At the age of 62, Paul Hightower continues to run his athletic program the same way he has for the last 33 years- based on the maintenance of great relationships with those around him. Described as the jack-of-all-trades in his time at Duquesne, Hightower has used his interpersonal relationships to maintain his position as Senior Assistant Athletic Director of Facilities and Home Events for over three decades, an uncommon feat in today’s modern workforce. He says that the key to staying young is keeping up with the kids around him.

    Hightower began his pursuit of a sports management career during his latter two years of college at Radford University. He originally had aspirations to be a sound engineer his Freshman year before switching his major to Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Having grown up around deaf friends, Hightower sought a career path that would put him in a position to help hearing-impaired children. However, he found that he preferred helping kids from a coaching or teaching perspective, rather than studying scientific intricacies. After this discovery, he changed his major to Recreation and Administration, setting him on the sports management path.

    “I knew I belonged on a college campus,” Hightower said with a smile.

    He began his career as an Intramural referee, worked his way up to Intramural Supervisor, then became a night manager. He would later take on a grad assistantship and become an academic advisor for six years at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. 

    Paul Hightower then went to a small, Division I oasis in the heart of Pittsburgh- Duquesne University. The school sponsors 17 athletic teams, 15 of which compete in the Atlantic 10 conference. Being in this competitive conference means that Hightower can’t base the success of his programs on pure wins and losses. 

    “Other teams in the A10 fund better, if we outplay them, we're overcoming the hand we've been dealt,” said Hightower. “Did a student-athlete get better? Were they treated with respect? Did they get good coaching? That's success.”

    Hightower continued to explain the most rewarding part of his job: the relationships he makes along the way. He keeps coming to work each day to watch freshmen enter a new, independent phase of their life, grow into seniors, and later become adult friends of his. 

    Megan Penrod, one of the student-athletes in the track and field program, is also an employee of his in the athletic department. As a freshman, she has earned the title of Gameday Operations Student Manager, meaning she helps Hightower with all home provisions during competitive events. These duties include hospitality management and facilitating amenities for both home and away teams. Penrod is the second in her family to work directly under Hightower. She, after working so close to Hightower over the past year, provided insight into their relationship.

    “He’s more than a boss, he’s like a dad,” laughed Penrod. “He’s my mentor. As much of a boss as he is to me, he also cares about my academic and athletic performance. He cares about my life outside of Duquesne.”

    Penrod credits much of her success in her first few months at Duquesne to the mentorship of Hightower. Although she holds this position, she doesn’t have aspirations to work in the sports management field (she is a Speech-Language Pathology major like Hightower once was). Regardless of this, Penrod says that Hightower still trusts her enough to complete any task he gives her. This, she claims, gives her more confidence in herself to complete more tasks outside of her comfort zone. 

    Other employees had similar experiences to share. Travis White, a 30-year-old from Mount Pleasant, has been at Duquesne for the last seven years. He credits his reason for staying at the University almost solely to Hightower. 

    “He’s the best,” said White. “I think he is much more invaluable than people think. If you remove him, it would be an entirely different atmosphere.”

    White graduated from Seton Hill in 2015 and received his Master's degree in Sports Management from West Virginia University in 2017. He began at Duquesne as a Facilities Manager and, in his time under Hightower, has worked his way up to his current position of Facilities and Events Coordinator. White continued to voice how vital Hightower is to all athletics that take place on campus.

    “He's making sure this place stays afloat while everyone else does their job,” continued White. “He’s the guy behind the curtain who pulls the strings to get everything up and running. He is Mr. Duquesne.” 

    It's unclear what the future holds for Paul Hightower, but a future in wine is a likely outcome. For the last 15 years, Hightower has been learning about the intricacies of winemaking. These intricacies range from how the wine is made to where the grapes are grown and how various wines get their taste. He sees his time at Duquesne coming to an end, perhaps as soon as within the next three to five years. 

    “This profession has changed a lot,” sighed Hightower. “It has gotten very much away from the day-to-day of the teams. It's a professional league now where you have to go to class.”

    Hightower is referencing the recent NIL changes made to NCAA sports. Starting in the summer of 2021, athletes were allowed to receive money in exchange for the marketing of their (N)ame, (I)mage, and (L)ikeness. This means student-athlete can be granted payments for promotions, receive gifts, and become brand ambassadors. As of last year, the average Division I athlete made $3,711 from their NIL deals, according to Icon Source. Hightower isn’t against the recent changes, but he is wary of how much the athletes are getting paid currently and how much they may make in the future. 

    However, even in light of recent changes, Hightower’s employees were not so quick to assume his retirement is coming soon.

    “That man will die here probably,” joked Penrod.

    They were, on the other hand, quick to affirm that he has cemented his legacy at Duquesne University.

    “They're gonna make a statue of the guy,” said White. “There's gonna be a bobblehead night at a basketball game. He is very much the heart of what we do.”

    

The Duquesne University Press Box: The location Paul Hightower can be seen from as he watches over home games on Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field