Hawkeye Athletics Director Gary Barta has received a contract amendment in which he will forgo his scheduled pay increase for 2018, the University of Iowa announced on Aug. 24.

According to a statement from UI President Bruce Harreld, Barta is voluntarily amending his contract in response to increased competition for resources. The move is not a reflection of his performance or support of his leadership, the university said.

“Athletics Departments across the Big Ten are facing new challenges and headwinds, and I’m proud to have an athletics director so committed to the success of our student-athletes and his team,” Harreld said in the release.

Iowa baseball head coach Rick Heller and Barta have also agreed on a contract amendment that will run through 2024.

Heller has guided the Hawkeyes to five-consecutive 30-win seasons, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2015, the program’s first since 1990. In 2017, Heller coached Iowa to its first Big Ten Tournament title in school history.

“Rick has done a tremendous job from Day 1, winning, graduating, and building this program the right way,” Barta said. “Rick has turned this program into one that contends annually in the Big Ten Conference and nationally. This amendment puts us in a position to keep Rick in Iowa City for the foreseeable future.”

With five players getting picked in the 2018 MLB Draft, Heller has now coached 20 draft selections — the most in a five-year span at Iowa.