IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa athletic director Gary Barta will announce his retirement effective Aug. 1, multiple school and industry sources said. Athleticism.
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 chairman in 2020 and 2021. Barta and Kirk Ferentz are the oldest athletics directors and football coach in the country. combination in a school.
Iowa has enjoyed unprecedented longevity as athletic director. Bump Elliott, a College Football Hall of Fame inductee, worked at Iowa from 1970 to 1991 and was succeeded by Bob Bowlsby in 1991. Bowlsby, who retired last year as commissioner of the Big 12, worked in Iowa until 2006.
Iowa will appoint an interim director of athletics next week, likely assistant director of athletics Beth Goetz.
Barta’s impact
Iowa has won four NCAA championships (all in wrestling), won 27 Big Ten team titles, and produced nearly 500 All-America winners under Barta. The average GPA of Iowa student-athletes has topped 3.0 eight years in a row with an 89% pass rate.
During Barta’s tenure, Iowa completed more than $380 million in facility upgrades and new construction projects and raised more than $650 million in private support for athletic scholarships, operations , facilities and endowments.
Barta and his athletics department have settled sex discrimination, racial discrimination and Title IX lawsuits for $11 million over the past six years.
Probable replacement
Goetz, 48, came to Iowa in September after serving as Ball State’s athletic director since 2018. A native of the St. Louis area, Goetz played soccer at Clemson, coached soccer at Missouri-St . Louis and served as interim athletic director at Minnesota in 2015. Although Iowa will likely open up its job search, Goetz is the favorite to replace Barta.
(Photo: George Gojkovitch/Getty Images)