Iowa announced Thursday that interim athletic director Beth Goetz will be promoted to the permanent position.
A source told ESPN that he agreed to a five-year contract. Goetz has held the interim position since the summer. Goetz left the athletic director position at Ball State to take the position of Iowa's director of operations in 2022.
Goetz's promotion had been long expected. He replaces Gary Barta, who retired in May after 17 years as Iowa athletic director.
Goetz is the first woman to be athletic director at Iowa. It's a job that tends to have longevity, as Barta, Bob Bowlsby and Bump Elliott were the three previous athletic directors and each spent at least 15 years in the position.
“I am truly humbled and honored to lead Iowa's historic athletics program,” Goetz said, “and I thank 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 athletic excellence and I look forward to continuing to partner with our coaches and staff to support all of our student-athletes.”
Goetz brings an extensive resume. In addition to nearly four years as Ball State's athletic director, she also worked at Connecticut, Minnesota and Butler.
Goetz made national headlines in October when he fired the football team's offensive coordinator, Brian Ferentz, son of head coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes have had one of the worst offenses in the country for three straight years.
Search committee chairwoman Nicole Grosland, a professor in the College of Engineering, said several sitting athletic directors from around 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 football at Clemson and coached at Missouri-St. Louis before moving into athletics administration.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
