Beth Goetz hired as Iowa’s athletic director after serving interim role since August

Beth Goetz has become Iowa’s athletic director after serving in an interim role since August, the school announced Thursday.

Goetz joined the Iowa athletics staff in September 2022 as deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer. She succeeds Gary Barta, who retired on Aug. 1.

Goetz, 49, was Ball State’s athletic director for four years before she went to Iowa. She was chief operating officer and senior women’s administrator at Connecticut from 2016-18 and Minnesota’s interim AD in 2015-16 after serving two years as deputy athletics director.

Goetz will have a five-year contract paying $850,000 annually with the opportunity to earn up to $175,000 in bonuses, according to a term sheet obtained by The Associated Press.

University President Barbara Wilson conducted a national search and said Goetz emerged as the best candidate following a remarkable stint in the interim role.

Goetz made national headlines in October when she fired the football team’s offensive coordinator, Brian Ferentz, the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes have had one of the nation’s worst offenses three straight years.

“I am truly honored and humbled to lead Iowa’s storied athletics program,” Goetz said, “and I am grateful to President 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.”

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 was named to the NCAA Competition Oversight Committee in 2018 and served as vice chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee in 2021-22.

Goetz played soccer at Clemson and was coach at Missouri-St. Louis before going into athletics administration.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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