Beth Goetz Named Permanent Athletic Director at Iowa
IOWA CITY — The University announced in a written statement on Thursday that Beth Goetz had been named the permanent athletic director, following a nearly six-month stint as interim athletic director following the retirement of previous AD Gary Barta. Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, Goetz was hired on a five-year contract. Goetz becomes the 13th athletic director at the University of Iowa.
Prior to her ascension to interim athletic director, Goetz had served as the deputy AD under Barta since starting at Iowa in September 2022. She had been a finalist for the permanent role at Wisconsin in 2021 before coming to Iowa, and had also served as deputy director of athletics (2013-15) and interim athletics director (2015-16) at Minnesota, as well as chief operating officer/senior woman administrator at UConn (2016-18), and director of athletics at Ball State (2018-22). Goetz was a star soccer player at Brevard College and Clemson, as well as a head coach at Missouri-St. Louis before transitioning to administration.
“Beth is a talented and dynamic leader and the national search we conducted has substantiated that she is the best athletics director for the University of Iowa,” UI President Barbara Wilson said in the statement. “She has done a remarkable job as interim, and I am confident she will lead our athletics department and student-athletes to new levels of achievement both on the field of play and in the classroom.”
"I am truly honored and humbled to lead Iowa's storied athletics program, and I am grateful to President Wilson and the search committee for their confidence in my leadership," Goetz said in the statement. "The University of Iowa is a world-class institution wit ha 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. It is a privilege to serve our campus and our passionate Hawkeye supporters."
Goetz's appointment was met with praise by the head coaches within the Iowa athletic department as well. "I am pleased that Beth has been officially hired as our university's newest director of athletics," said Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz. "Since arriving at the University of Iowa, Beth has shown a tremendous dedication to the university and a passion for our student-athletes. She has a vision that is respectful of the traditions of out athletics programs while embracing opportunities in the rapidly changing college sports landscape. Beth is highly professional, and I believe is well-equipped to navigate this new era of collegiate sports."
"President Wilson hit a home run with the hire of Beth Goetz to lead our Department of Athletics," enthused Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder. "Beth is a unifying leader who communicates and listens with great effectiveness. Beth is the right person to lead our department into this ever-changing athletic landscape."
"I am so excited about the future of the department and our program," added Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery. "Beth has been a tremendous asset to the university since she stepped foot on campus and I am thrilled she will continue to lead the Iowa Department of Athletics. I have had the opportunity to work closely with Beth and that experience and her vision for the department has been impressive. The ability to work closely with her helps our program immensely."
"Beth Goetz earned her way into the business by not making it about business. She is about the right things. The Hawks got the best, said Iowa wrestling coach Tom Brands.
Several other Iowa coaches also praised the hire; their comments are available in Iowa's official release.
Goetz's tenure at Iowa has been widely regarded as an early success, especially after a series of fan-friendly moves once named interim director. Goetz helped spearhead the effort to stage the hugely successful Crossover at Kinnick event, the women's basketball exhibition game between Iowa and DePaul at Kinnick Stadium, which set a new attendance record for women's basketball (55,646).
As interim AD, Goetz also prioritized better alignment between the athletic department and the SWARM collective regarding NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rights and. That improved relationship has helped put Iowa on a path to better outcomes for Iowa student-athletes and Iowa athletic programs as well as Iowa donors and the fanbase as a whole.
In October, Goetz announced that Iowa had begun a feasibility study for renovations to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a 40-year old facility. Potential changes that have been discussed include improved fan amenities, the addition of premium seating, and modifying the student section. In particular, Goetz noted that the discussions focused on bringing students “a little bit closer to the floor to create that great fan environment."
October also saw the creation of the Hawkeye Women RISE podcast with Goetz's support. The podcast is designed to spotlight "the past, present and future of Iowa women’s sports."
Goetz also made arguably her most consequential move as interim director of athletics at the end of October, announcing that Brian Ferentz would not be returning to the Iowa football staff after the 2023 season. Goetz's predecessor, Gary Barta, had modified Ferentz's contract for 2023 to include requirements to win 7+ games and average 25+ ppg for the season. While the former requirement was met easily, Iowa fell far short of meeting the latter requirement, averaging just 15.4 ppg in 2023.
For many Iowa fans, the Goetz hire is a win simply because she's not Barta, and while the point's hardly valid — there are plenty of ways to run an athletic department worse than Barta did — simply cleaning up his sporadic habit of expensive, self-inflicted errors will be a significant win in and of itself. Thus far, there's been no hint of that type of mistake in her leadership of Iowa's athletic department.
Goetz takes over as Iowa's permanent director of athletics with college sports at a crossroads, with conference realignment, NIL rights, and multiple legal challenges to the NCAA creating a complicated and uncertain future. The success of Goetz's tenure as athletic director will be measured by her ability to help Iowa navigated these tumultuous times.
Adam Jacobi also contributed to this story.