Iowa AD Barta receives contract extension

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta received a contract extension that will keep him in his current position through June 30, 2024.

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Katina Zentz

Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta speaks during the second day of Big Ten Football Media Days in Chicago, Ill., on Friday, July 19, 2019.

Pete Ruden, Sports Editor

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta has received a contract extension that will keep him a Hawkeye through June 30, 2024.

With the new deal, Barta is set to make $1 million from July 1, 2020, until June 30, 2021, with a $650,000 base salary. When that date is reached, Barta will begin making $1.05 million annually.

“I’m grateful to President [Bruce] Harreld and everyone at the university for the opportunity I have to work in a great environment at a world-class institution,” Barta said in a release. “Our student-athletes, coaches, and staff are having incredible success. We have the best fans in the country, and their support is truly appreciated. And I believe the best is yet to come.”

Barta is in his 14th year as the head of athletics at Iowa. Over the past academic year, four Hawkeye programs won Big Ten titles. The men’s track and field team won the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, and the women’s basketball squad picked up a Big Ten Tournament title, while the wrestling and men’s gymnastics teams each tied for first in the Big Ten during the regular seasons.

Harreld also noted Iowa’s success in the classroom, with more than 300 student-athletes making the Dean’s List or President’s List, and more than 200 student-athletes earning academic All-Big Ten honors. Iowa also boasted a graduation success rate of 90 percent, Harreld said.

“Gary Barta has shown an unwavering commitment to the University of Iowa and to our key athletics principles of winning, graduating our athletes and operating with integrity,” Harreld said in a release. “While I join all Hawkeyes in celebrating the incredible success we had this past year in Big Ten and national competition, I am most proud that under Gary’s leadership our student-athletes competed at this elite level while also excelling in the classroom … This is what collegiate athletics is all about, and I’m glad we will have Gary Barta at the helm for many years to come.”