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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Iowa announced on Thursday that interim athletic director Beth Goetz will be promoted to the permanent role.
A source told ESPN that she has agreed to a five-year deal. Goetz has been in the interim role since the summer. Goetz left the athletic director job at Ball State for Iowa’s chief operating officer position in 2022.
Goetz’s promotion had long been expected. She replaces Gary Barta, who retired in May after 17 years as Iowa’s athletic director.
Goetz is the first women to be the head athletic director at Iowa. It’s a job that tends to have longevity, as Barta, Bob Bowlsby and Bump Elliott were the three prior athletic directors and each spent at least 15 years in the job.
“I am truly honored and humbled to lead Iowa’s storied athletics program,” Goetz said, “and I am grateful to President [Barbara] Wilson and the search committee for their confidence in my leadership. The University of Iowa is a world-class institution with a demonstrated commitment to athletics excellence, and I look forward to continuing to partner with our coaches and staff in support of all our student-athletes.”
Goetz brings an extensive résumé. Along with nearly four years as Ball State’s athletic director, she also worked in roles at Connecticut, Minnesota and Butler.
Goetz made national headlines in October when she fired the football team’s offensive coordinator, Brian Ferentz, son of head coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes have had one of the nation’s worst offenses three straight years.
Search committee chair Nicole Grosland, a professor in the College of Engineering, said multiple sitting athletic directors from across the country were interviewed.
“Beth emerged as a finalist with a strong vision to lead the department at this crucial time,” Grosland said.
Goetz played soccer at Clemson and was coach at Missouri-St. Louis before going into athletics administration.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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