This makes Pitt a public school, not a private school. As a public entity, Pitt would be subject to FOI and open records requests, but PA laws give them exemptions to FOI, which is what this argument was really about. Arguing over the private/public status of Pitt is irrelevant if Pitt and PSU are protected by PA laws.
Maybe Pitt and Wake were asked to talk with B1G schools because of protection from FOI, but how damning can this information really be? Phone calls between Pitt and PSU take place daily, including between athletic departments to discuss scheduling. And if PSU was asked to join the ACC, how is that different than MD being asked to join the B1G (except for that MD actual accepted)?