Director of Athletics Gary Barta
Gary Barta begins his fourth year as the director of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Iowa and his 23rd year in athletics administration eager to build on the achievements and progress made in a challenging but rewarding 2008-09.
The Hawkeyes enjoyed a very successful 2008-09 year competitively. The UI scored a school-record 474.30 points to finish 45th in the 2009 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup competition, a finish fueled by Iowa's victory over South Carolina in the 2009 Outback Bowl, the Hawkeyes' second straight Big Ten Conference and NCAA titles in wrestling, a third straight Big Ten Tournament title and a berth in the national semi-finals by the UI's field hockey team, and a 17th place finish by the UI men's golf team at its national championship, and NCAA Tournament or national championship participation by Iowa's women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's indoor track teams, and men's and women's gymnastics programs.
Under Barta's leadership, Iowa's long-standing commitment to the academic pursuits of the more than 700 student-athletes who annually represent the UI in intercollegiate athletics competition continues. According to graduation statistics distributed each fall by the NCAA, the class of student-athletes that entered the UI at the start of the 2001-02 academic year had a graduation rate of 68 percent, a mark that compared favorably to the 66 percent rate compiled by the overall student population at the University of Iowa.
The 2008 Iowa football team ranked fifth in NCAA Graduation Success Rate (75 percent) among the 10 programs that had played in five or more January bowl games since the 2002 season.
The UI's men's cross country, women's golf, and softball teams were also singled out by the NCAA for ranking in the top 10 percent among their peers in the NCAA's 2008 Academic Progress Rate (APR), a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. All 24 of Iowa's teams exceed NCAA APR standards and compare favorable to their peers in the Big Ten Conference and nationally.
Construction of new and renovation of existing facilities also remain high priorities for the UI. The UI is working hard to reach its goal of breaking ground on a $47 million revitalization of the UI's 26-year-old iconic Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a much-needed renovation that will greatly improve the practice, strength training and conditioning facilities for a myriad of UI sports programs including, most notably, the Hawkeyes' men's and women's basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams.
The project will also provide locker room updates, team meeting facilities, and much needed office and meeting room space for more than 200 full-time coaches and staff of the UI Athletics Department. Finally, the enhancement project will also expand and improve the experience for fans of the UI with the addition of game-day entertainment spaces and restroom facilities.
The UI will complete construction of the $7 million P. Sue Beckwith Boathouse in fall 2009. This addition to the UI's physical plant will come fast on the heels of a $3 million renovation of the portion of the UI Recreation Building used by Iowa's baseball, track and field, and cross country squads; the replacement of the drainage system for the playing field inside historic Kinnick Stadium and the installation of FieldTurf in the game-day home of the Hawkeyes; and the reconstruction of Bob Pearl Field, the home of Iowa's nationally ranked softball team, and Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track, Iowa's track and field venue, two facilities severely damaged by record-setting flooding of the Iowa River in June 2008.
In fall 2010, Barta will join leaders across campus in celebrating the opening of the UI's $69 million Campus Wellness and Recreation Center, the new home of Iowa's men's and women's swimming and diving program.
Last winter, the State of Iowa Board of Regents gave the UI approval to hire architects to begin planning the renovation and expansion of administrative space and training facilities used by staff and student-athletes of the UI's nationally ranked football program. The project is to be funded entirely with private support. This important project is part of the next phases of the master plan for the UI's football facilities and will provide a comprehensive solution to the UI's current shortcomings in strength training and conditioning space, team meeting room space, student-athlete and coaches locker rooms, and indoor practice space.
The construction of the Ron and Margaret Kenyon Outdoor Practice Facility - a facility envied by many collegiate programs and NFL franchises - and the renovation of Kinnick Stadium were phases 1 and 2 of the master plan, respectively.
Barta has hired four head coaches since becoming the UI's 11th director of athletics on Aug. 2, 2006 and all four have quickly built solid foundations for their respective programs.
Todd Lickliter's 2008-90 UI men's basketball team battled through one of the nation's toughest schedules to claim 15 victories with a roster dominated by underclassmen. The 2009 season will be the second at the UI for volleyball coach Sharon Dingman, who guided the Hawkeyes to win totals of 14 overall and six against Big Ten opponents, marks that were the best for Iowa in eight seasons.
Kelly Crawford and Mark Hankins have raised the bar for both of Iowa's golf programs. Crawford's women's team finished fifth at the 2009 Big Ten Conference Championship - the program's best finish in 14 seasons. Hankins' men's squad qualified for the national championship for the first time in more than a decade. It finished 17th overall and second among the six Big Ten teams that participated. That team finish came a week after the Hawkeyes shocked the field with a fifth-place finish in NCAA regional competition. All of this came after the UI recorded its best Big Ten Tournament finish (sixth) in eight years.
Barta's involvement in the UI campus community extends well beyond intercollegiate athletics. He is a member of the cabinet comprised of vice presidents and other campus leaders that provides counsel to UI President Sally Mason. That group was instrumental in the UI's inspiring response to the record-setting flooding that besieged the campus and the Iowa City and Coralville community in June 2008.
An ability to create and cultivate mutually beneficial relationships has been a consistent theme in Barta's 22 years in athletics administration. As director of athletics at the University of Iowa, he assisted staff of the Big Ten Conference and the Big Ten Network in their negotiations with Mediacom Communications, Inc., the state's largest cable television provider, that resulted in distribution of BTN to more than 1 million households across the state. He also played a significant in role in a long list of commitments to assist in capital projects and scholarship support, including gifts of $5 million each from long-time friends of the UI Dale and Marilyn Howard, Bruce Rastetter and Richard O. Jacobson.
As the director of athletics at the University of Wyoming for three years, seven different UW coaches were named Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. He also spearheaded a fund-raising effort that netted the Cowboy athletics program $11 million in private support and $11 million in matching state fund.
As the senior associate athletics director at the University of Washington, he directed the "Campaign for the Student-Athlete," was a participant in the design, construction and/or renovation of several UW athletics facilities including Bank of America Arena and the Dempsey Indoor Practice Facility. In addition to almost doubling the amount of annual private support received by UW, Barta also managed the department's external affairs division, a task that included corporate sponsorship and radio contracts.
His responsibilities at Washington expanded over time to include hiring of coaching and administrative staff and coordinating the schedule for the Huskies' men's basketball program.
The roots of his development experience extend to his first two positions: director of athletics development and external relations at the University of Northern Iowa and director of development at his alma mater, North Dakota State University.
Barta earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication and broadcast journalism from NDSU in 1987. He was an option quarterback for Bison football squads that won the Division II NCAA national championship in 1983, 1985 and 1986.
Barta, and his wife, Connie, have a son, Luke (11) and a daughter, Madison (9). He was born September 4, 1963, in Minneapolis, Minn.
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