Iowa AD Gary Barta to retire after 17 years

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa director of athletics Gary Barta will announce his retirement effective August 1, multiple school and industry sources said. the athletic.

Barta, 59, ranks fifth among Power 5 athletic directors and has led Iowa’s athletic department since 2006. He also served as college football playoff chair in 2020 and 2021. Barta and Kirk Ferentz are the longest-serving athletic directors and football coaches in the country. combination in a school.

Iowa he has enjoyed unprecedented longevity as director of athletics. College Football Hall of Famer Bump Elliott worked at Iowa from 1970 to 1991 and was succeeded by Bob Bowlsby in 1991. Bowlsby, who retired last year as Big 12 commissioner, worked at Iowa until 2006. .

Iowa will name an interim athletic director next week, who will likely be assistant director of athletics Beth Goetz.

Bartha’s impact

Iowa won four NCAA championships (all in wrestling), won 27 Big Ten team titles, and produced nearly 500 All-America honorees under Barta. The average GPA of Iowa student-athletes has topped 3.0 eight years in a row with an 89 percent graduation success rate.

During Barta’s tenure, Iowa completed more than $380 million in facility improvements and new construction projects and raised more than $650 million in private support for athletic scholarships, operations, facilities, and endowments.

Barta and his athletic department have settled lawsuits related to gender discrimination, racial discrimination and Title IX for $11 million over the past six years.

Likely replacement

Goetz, 48, arrived in Iowa in September after serving as ball state‘s director of athletics since 2018. A native of the St. Louis area, Goetz played soccer in Clemson, football coach at Missouri-St. Louis and was the interim director of athletics at Minnesota in 2015. Although Iowa is likely to open his job search, Goetz is the favorite to replace Barta.

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