Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta retiring after 17 years

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KWQC) - Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta announced he is retiring after 17 years leading Hawkeyes athletic department.

Barta, Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair is set to retire on Aug. 1 from the University of Iowa, According to a media release.

“Gary’s achievements at the University of Iowa are significant, and our coaches and student-athletes have enjoyed tremendous success on and off the field during his tenure,” says University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson. “I’m grateful for his leadership as a Hawkeye and I wish him well in his retirement.

Barta joined the Department of Athletics in 2006 after holding a similar position at the University of Wyoming, according to a media release from the Iowa Department of Athletics. Barta has served on numerous NCAA committees over the years, including the NCAA Division I Council for four years. He also served for three years, from 2019-2021, on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, two of those years as chair, and was named the 2015-16 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics/Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year.

According to the University of Iowa Department of Athletics, an interim athletics director will be announced next week.

According to a media release from the Univerity of Iowa’a Athletic Department, while Barta was in leadership, the department has had the following achievements:

• Numerous teams achieved on-the-field success, including four NCAA team titles; 27 Big Ten Conference team titles; numerous individual Big Ten titles; nearly 500 All-America honorees; more than 160 student-athletes recognized as first-team All-Big Ten; multiple national player of the year award winners; Big Ten player of the year recipients; and coach of the year recognitions.
• More than 750 Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholar recipients, and for eight years in a row Iowa recorded a 3.0 or higher student-athlete average GPA, 89 percent Graduation Success Rate, and all teams meeting or exceeding the NCAA standards for Academic Progress Rate.
• More than $380 million in facility upgrades and new construction projects, including Kinnick Stadium’s North End Zone; Hansen Football Performance Center; Gerdin Athletic Learning Center; Carver-Hawkeye Arena Howard Family Pavilion; Goschke Family Wrestling Training Center; Nagle Family Clubhouse and Hoak Family Golf Complex; Iowa Soccer Operations Center; P. Sue Beckwith Boathouse; and the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center natatorium, among others.
• Raising more than $650 million in private support for athletics scholarships, operations, facilities, and endowments. During Barta’s tenure, the athletics endowment grew from $31.6 million to $76 million, creating numerous student-athlete scholarships in addition to administrative and coaching endowments.
• Naming Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium in 2021 and the creation of the Duke Slater sculpture as part of the north end zone renovation.
• Becoming the first Power Five school to add women’s wrestling in 2021.

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