By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Beth Goetz being promoted to full-time Iowa Athletic Director is hardly a surprise.

The only surprise would’ve been if someone else had been hired to replace Gary Barta, who retired this past August after serving as the Iowa Athletic Director since 2006.

It seems that Goetz, who was hired as Iowa’s Deputy Director of Athletics in 2022, was brought in to be the eventual successor to Barta.

Nobody with knowledge of the situation would ever confirm that, but it’s easy to form that opinion based on the facts and circumstances.

Barta retired sooner than most probably expected, but his decision also came just months after Iowa agreed to pay $4.175 million to 12 former Iowa football players and their attorneys as part of a settlement in a discrimination case.

It was the latest in a series of costly settlements that occurred under Barta’s watch.

The fact that he retired less than six months after the football settlement was reached might just be a coincidence.

Or it might not be.

Whatever the case, Goetz was already in place when Barta stepped down, and she didn’t hesitate to exercise her authority as a leader.

She served as Iowa Interim Athletic Director since this past August, but that temporary title certainly didn’t stop Goetz from performing her duties.

She shocked Hawkeye nation by firing Brian Ferentz as the Iowa offensive coordinator with four games left in the regular season.

Goetz obviously didn’t act alone in making this decision as she had the support of Iowa President Barbara Wilson, or it wouldn’t have happened.

To say that Goetz took a bold stand would be an understatement.

She as an interim athletic director did what Barta rarely did, which was make someone be accountable for the ongoing deficiencies on offense.

Goetz had the courage to fire Kirk Ferentz’s son because she apparently had seen enough.

She had to realize that Kirk Ferentz would resent the decision, and that Kirk Ferentz wields a lot of power and influence.

But she did it anyway.

It seems that most fans agreed with the decision to move on from Brian Ferentz, but some didn’t like the timing, with it being in season.

Barta basically had let Kirk Ferentz do whatever he wanted with Brian Ferentz’s job title despite rules against nepotism.

So, it was stunning to see such a drastic change with how Goetz handled the situation.

Goetz is clearly qualified for this job from an experience standpoint.

She joined the Iowa athletics staff from Ball State University, where she had served as Director of Athletics since May, 2018. At Ball State, she directly supervised 19 Division I Intercollegiate sports teams, all head coaches, and the senior athletics department professional staff.

Prior to arriving at Ball State, Goetz was the chief operating officer/senior woman administrator at the University of Connecticut from 2016-18

Goetz also previously served as Minnesota’s Deputy Athletics Director from 2013-15 and interim Athletics Director during the 2015-16 season.

She has steadily worked her way up the administration ladder, and she is now being rewarded for her determination and vision.

Goetz played soccer in college for Clemson and for Brevard College in North Carolina.

She then became a soccer coach before shifting to athletic administration.

Goetz takes over at a critical time in which name, image and likeness, the transfer portal and television revenue have changed the college athletic landscape like nothing else before.

The Big Ten is about to expand to 18 schools, while the college football playoff will expand to 12 teams starting next season.

Goetz will have to be flexible as she leads in this new environment. She needs to have a vision moving forward.

But all signs point to her having those qualities.

She certainly had a vision about the Iowa offensive coordinator job.

And in fairness to Barta, he left Goetz with an athletic department that is sturdy, stable and highly competitive right now.

Kirk Ferentz, Fran McCaffery and Lisa Bluder all have the distinction of being the all-time winningest head coach in program history for their sport.

All the Iowa head coaches issued statements on Thursday in which they praised the decision to promote Goetz.

A cynic might call it just lip service.

But ever since Goetz came to Iowa and started doing her job, she has continued to gain the confidence, respect, and admiration of the head coaches.

That comes from being a leader.

The late, great Dr. Christine Grant, who served as the Iowa Women’s Athletic Director from 1973 to 2000, and who passed away in 2021 at the age of 85, would be so proud of what Goetz has achieved with this hire.

Grant was a pioneer and she helped pave the way for women in collegiate sports with her vision and with her determination.

The fact that Goetz is a woman probably shouldn’t be a big deal, but on the other hand, she has risen in a profession that has long been dominated by men.

She is the only woman athletic director in the Big Ten, and one of just seven at the Power Five level.

That is a big deal.