Easy to forget that Gary Barta is Kirk Ferentz’s boss
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz already had won two Big Ten titles and was well on his way to becoming a Hawkeye coaching legend when Gary Barta was hired as the Iowa Athletic Director in 2006.
Barta has since become Ferentz’s biggest fan and supporter to where it’s easy to forget that Barta is actually Ferentz’s boss.
Barta has the final say about Iowa athletics, even with the football program, although, there is a perception that Ferentz answers to nobody, and that Barta’s main responsibility and concern is to keep Iowa’s all-time winningest football coach happy.
That perception is based partly on Ferentz’s contract in which he clearly has more leverage due to a 10-year guarantee and to a lucrative buyout that came as part of the negotiations.
Barta also recently fueled that perception by expressing his full support for Ferentz despite multiple accusations of racial disparities and bullying within the Iowa football program by former black Iowa players.
Barta said at a press conference in mid-June that Ferentz had his full support and that he was confident that Ferentz was the right person to fix what needs to be fixed.
Barta felt that way about Ferentz despite being fully aware of the damaging information that came from a 2019 Diversity Task Force report that showed a serious racial bias within the football program.
Barta felt that way despite multiple former black players having said on social media this spring and summer that they were mistreated at Iowa.
And Barta felt that way despite not knowing what the independent review will find during its investigation, which is currently ongoing and being conducted by a Kansas City law firm.
The independent review almost seems anti-climactic since the full Diversity Task Force report was posted on HawkeyeNation.com Monday morning.
The report basically paints a disturbing picture in which black players were stripped of their identity and forced to adapt or conform to a white culture, or leave the program.
Iowa made some changes in response to the report, such as allowing players to wear hats, earrings and hoodies.
But unfortunately, it was too little and too late.
“But what I learned here is there’s a lot more to it,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ve got to dig deeper, listen better and act on things that count.”
The problem with that statement coming from Ferentz in June is that the Diversity Task Force report already had dug deeper and listened in great detail in 2018, but it was up to Iowa to act on the report, and it was up to Barta to make sure that Ferentz acted appropriately.
It now seems painfully clear that Iowa didn’t act appropriately because that that’s why former Iowa center James Daniels felt compelled in early June to tweet about the racial disparities in the first place.
Daniels wasn’t satisfied with how Iowa responded to the Diversity Task Force report, and then George Floyd was killed on May 25th and that created the right environment for Daniels to finally speak out.
Barta and Ferentz both were wrong in believing or assuming that enough action had taken place in response to the Diversity Task Force report.
They both were wrong in underestimating the anger, frustration and resentment that was building with some of the former black players.
Barta started crying on at last two occasions during his most recent press conference in mid-June. It was hard not to be sympathetic as Barta admitted to having not done enough to address the racial disparities in the football program.
I was impressed at the time, but now looking back, it was another case of too little and too late.
Barta had plenty of time, and plenty of reasons to take action much sooner, but he didn’t.
Chris Doyle would likely still be the Iowa strength and conditioning coach if James Daniels hadn’t tweeted in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Iowa had no choice but to reach a separation with Doyle after so many former black players had accused Doyle publicly of mistreating them.
It would have been a public relations disaster and recruiting suicide if Iowa had kept Doyle on the staff.
Of course, this is said with the advantage of hindsight, but it now seems obvious that Barta didn’t take the Diversity Task Force report serious enough until he absolutely had to because of the changing circumstances.
Barta put his trust in Kirk Ferentz as he always does, but this time it backfired, partly because Kirk Ferentz put his trust in Chris Doyle.
Ferentz admitted in June to having a blind spot where Doyle was concerned.
It made sense at the time, but now with the Diversity Task Force having been published, you wonder if Ferentz’s blind spot was more a case of him refusing to rein in Doyle after they had spent 20 years together.
And while it’s true that positive changes are occurring within the Iowa football program, the timing still leaves much to be desired.
You could argue that some of the changes look forced and are only occurring because the Iowa program was exposed and is now in full damage control mode.
I’m not ready to say that anybody else besides Doyle should lose their job at this stage.
But it’s obvious that the Iowa football program failed to act in an acceptable manner to the Diversity Task Force report.
Kirk Ferentz didn’t do enough until James Daniels kicked the door open with his tweet, while Barta didn’t make Ferentz do enough as his boss until there was no other choice.
It makes you wonder what kind of discussions that Barta and Ferentz had after the Diversity Task Report was completed.
Did Barta make recommendations, only to have Ferentz dismiss them?
Or did they both agree on a plan moving forward?
Iowa’s initial response to the Diversity Task Force report is the latest in a growing list of controversies that have occurred under Barta.
Iowa had a to pay a $6.5 million settlement in 2017 to end a three-year legal battle with former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum, and with former UI athletic administrator Jane Meyer.
A jury found that school officials discriminated against Meyer based on her gender and sexual orientation, retaliated against her for speaking out and paid her less than a male counterpart.
Regardless how you feel about the settlement, it was a horrible look for the Iowa Athletic Department, and for Barta.
And now this current controversy is a horrible look for the Iowa football program, and for Barta
It didn’t take long for the Diversity Task Force report to spread on social media after it was posted, and the negative response has been predictable.
Kirk Ferentz is the face of Hawkeye football, and has been for over 20 years.
But he also answers to Gary Barta despite how it might seem at times.