By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Beth Goetz was announced as the Iowa Athletic Director on Jan. 18, 2024 after having served five months as UI’s interim athletic director.

She has now been the head Hawk for almost exactly 2 1/2 years, which is enough time to start forming some opinions about her job performance, but not enough to make any final judgements.

More time and more results will ultimately determine Goetz’s legacy as the Iowa Athletic Director.

But so far, the good outweighs the bad, and it isn’t even close.

In fact, it’s hard to think of anything that Goetz has done that would be considered bad, or a lack of leadership.

Some would say that she showed a lot of courage as interim athletic director by firing Brian Ferentz as the Iowa offensive coordinator with four games left in the 2023 season.

Goetz knew that this decision wouldn’t sit well with Brian Ferentz’s father; Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, who some believe was grooming his son to be his successor.

But she did it anyway, with the support from her bosses in the UI Administration, namely President Barbara Wilson.

There was speculation that Kirk Ferentz would protest this decision by stepping down as the Iowa head coach after more than two decades on the job.

Turn back to today, though, and Kirk Ferentz is now preparing for his 28th season as the Iowa head coach.

Whatever hard feelings that might have come from Brian Ferentz’s termination might still fester. But in fairness to Kirk Ferentz, he has moved on, put personal feelings aside and made it work.

He and Goetz have figured a way to co-exist in an environment where co-existing can be extremely difficult, and that speaks positively about both of them.

Goetz has made several head coaching hires, which is arguably the most important part of being an athletic director, and one of them already has produced amazing results.

That, of course, was her decision to hire Ben McCollum as the Iowa men’s basketball coach.

But first, she had to fire Fran McCaffery, which was no easy task since he was Iowa’s all-time winningest head coach.

The program was in shambles when Fran McCaffery replaced Todd Lickliter as head coach in 2010.

Three straight losing seasons under Lickliter, coupled with an alarming number of player defections had decimated the program, on the court and in the stands where attendance had dropped significantly.

By year two, Fran McCaffery had Iowa playing in the National Invitation Tournament.

He would go on to lead Iowa to seven NCAA Tournament appearances over 14 seasons, and to the 2022 Big Ten Tournament title, while also coaching some of the best players in program history, most notably Luka Garza and twins Keegan Murray and Kris Murray.

But Fran McCaffery also failed to lead Iowa past the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and that eventually led to his demise, along with sagging attendance.

And then after failing to make the NCAA Tournament for two straight seasons in 2023 and 2024, Goetz pulled the plug on the Fran McCaffery era.

She then wasted no time in hiring Iowa native Ben McCollum, who had just led Drake to a 31-4 record in his only season as head coach in the 2024-25 season.

McCollum also had led Northwest Missouri State to four Division II national titles over 14 seasons.

So he had clearly shown that he was a winner.

However, other than a few wins over Power 4 opponents while at Drake, McCollum hadn’t shown it at the highest level.

Goetz took the chance anyway, and now she looks like a genius, though some fans probably weren’t thinking that when Iowa only finished 10-10 in Big Ten play.

It’s amazing how three straight wins in the NCAA Tournament can change how a head coach is perceived.

Other head coaching hires under Goetz include Jan Jensen in women’s basketball, Jen Llewellyn in gymnastics and Stacy May-Johnson in softball.

The decision to promote Jensen to head women’s basketball coach after Lisa Bluder retired in May 2024 was widely expected and probably would have happened no matter who was the athletic director.

Jensen had been Bluder’s long-time assistant coach and top recruiter dating back to their days at Drake more than two decades ago, so it made sense to promote Jensen.

And though Iowa has yet to advance past the second round of the NCAA Tournament under Jensen, her record as head coach is a very respectable 50-18, including 27-7 this past season.

The Hawkeyes have also continued to recruit at a high level with Jensen as head coach, landing a five-star prospect in each of the past two recruiting cycles.

Jen Llewellyn, meanwhile, was named WCGA North Central Region Head Coach of the Year in her second season, becoming the second coach in program history to earn the honor. She led Iowa to a 14–6 overall record and a 6–3 Big Ten mark this past season, finishing fourth in the regular season B1G and fifth at the Big Ten Championships. The Hawkeyes ended the year ranked No. 17 nationally and posted a 9–0 home record.

Iowa made its 26th straight NCAA Regional appearance and set a program record with a 197.225 against Nebraska on Feb. 7. The Hawkeyes recorded three of the top 18 team scores in school history and broke the uneven bars school record twice, most recently with a 49.575 at NCAA Regionals. The team added a 49.475 on floor against Penn State on Feb. 21, tying the sixth‑highest score in program history.

So it’s fair to say that the decision to hire Llewellyn looks pretty good so far.

As for Stacy May-Johnson, it’s hard to draw any conclusions since she has only coached her alma mater for one season, finishing 27-27 overall, including 7-17 in Big Ten play.

It was reasonable to assume that the Iowa softball team would struggle in year one under May-Johnson because so much of the roster had to be rebuilt in the wake of the coaching change.

Goetz could have promoted 2025 interim head coach Karl Gollan and it would have made sense, considering how well Gollan handled a difficult situation in 2025 when previous interim head coach Brian Levin resigned in protest during a March 2025 team meeting in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Levin quit after multiple players knelt for the national anthem, which sparked tensions over team culture.

Despite the distractions, Iowa would go on to finish 35-18 under Gollan, including 15-7 in the Big Ten.

The players had rallied around Gollan in 2025 and he certainly had their support when the search began for a permanent head coach.

But Goetz still chose to go in another direction by hiring May-Johnson, who was a three-time All-Big Ten selection at Iowa, and the 2003 Big Ten Freshman of the Year while playing under legendary head coach Gayle Blevins.

May-Johnson returned to Iowa City with nearly 20 years of coaching experience, including head coaching stints at Fresno State (2022-25) and Utah Valley (2020-21). She was associate head coach at Eastern Kentucky (2018-19), an assistant at Purdue (2017), Louisville (2015-16) and Iowa (2011-14) and a volunteer assistant at Louisville (2008-10).

During her time in Fresno, the Bulldogs improved their win total in each of her four seasons, recording 112 victories overall. In 2025, she led Fresno to 37 wins and to the Mountain West Championship title game.

In February, Goetz hired Dean Ward to replace Dave DiIanni as the Iowa soccer coach.

DiIanna had built Iowa into a Big Ten power, so losing him to Big Ten rival Michigan was a blow.

However, DiIanni is a Michigan native and that reportedly played a role in his decision to resign.

Goetz responded by hiring Dean Ward as head coach in February.

Ward has nearly two decades of collegiate soccer coaching experience, most recently leading Xavier University to 31 victories as head coach over the last two seasons.

He led the Musketeers to 16 wins in 2025 – tying for second most in a single-season in program history — while also capturing the BIG EAST Tournament Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Xavier won eight league matches in 2025 to finish the regular season as BIG EAST runners-up for a second straight year.

Following the season, Ward and his staff were recognized as United Soccer Coaches (USC) East Region Staff of the Year.

Goetz as a former soccer player at Clemson said in a recent interview on KCJJ radio that she took a very hands-on approach in picking Iowa’s next soccer head coach.

And while time and performance will ultimately determine if it was the right hire, Ward’s credentials are impressive.

It was also announced in June that Iowa had accumulated its highest point total ever in the history of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup in 2025-26 athletic year, finishing with 662 points. It marked just the third time since the competition’s inception in 1993-94 that the Hawkeyes amassed more than 600 points (658.5 in 2021 and 629.5 in 2019).

The Hawkeyes, who placed 37th, recorded points as a result of successful participation in NCAA postseason competition in 12 sports: field hockey, football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s indoor track & field, women’s indoor track & field, women’s soccer, men’s wrestling, women’s wrestling, men’s outdoor track & field and women’s track & field.

The goal of every athletic director is to build a broad-based department in which multiple sports excel at a high level, and that’s starting to happen under Goetz’s leadership.

Assuming Goetz still is the Iowa athletic director when Kirk Ferentz finally decides to retire, she will face a monumental challenge that will probably have more to say about her legacy than anything else she does.

There is also a good chance that Goetz will hire the next Iowa wrestling coach with Tom Brands now 58 years old.

Iowa still ranks among the top programs in the country, but is nowhere close to matching Penn State, which has won 13 national titles under current head coach Cael Sanderson, including five straight.

At some point, Goetz will have to address Penn State’s dominance, but that is much easier said than done.

Goetz also faces the ongoing challenge of navigating through this age of NIL and the transfer portal.

Iowa announced in a release this past Wednesday a “strategic transition that reflects the rapidly evolving landscape of college athletics and name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities.”

As part of this transition, The Swarm will phase out its membership payments, end auto-renewals, pause future NIL activations, and direct remaining organizational resources to the University of Iowa Athletics Department’s Flight Funds in support of Hawkeye student-athletes.

The Swarm, which was created in 2022 under the supervision of CEO Brad Heinrichs, helped University of Iowa student-athletes capitalize on NIL opportunities by connecting them with fans, businesses, and charitable initiatives while providing meaningful support during the early years of the NIL era.

“The Swarm was created during a pivotal moment in college athletics, and its impact on our student-athletes and programs cannot be overstated,” Goetz said in a release. “There will always be a deep appreciation for Brad stepping up and creating the collective and in addition to the donors who helped support the initiative.

“We still need those individuals to help today’s Hawkeye student-athletes. The incredible support our Flight Funds received this past year highlights the opportunities in today’s current environment. Our team continues to work hard highlighting how any donor, at any level, has an impact on the success of our teams.”

The ability to raise money has always been a key part of being an athletic director, but even more so in this new age.

Goetz has a plan and a vision for how it should be handled and steps are now being taken to carry out her plan.

She is also looking for ways to improve the game-time experience at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which has been long overdue.

Iowa has added a courtside seating riser along the south baseline for students that holds over 200 fans, creating more of a home-court advantage.

Gary Barta preceded Goetz as the Iowa athletic director, serving from 2006 to 2023. And while Barta excelled as a fundraiser, he also hired Todd Lickliter, former softball coach Marla Looper, both of whom were ultimately fired, as well as three volleyball coaches that were dismissed.

Barta’s time as athletic director was also rocked by law suits and by costly legal settlements.

Goetz is part of a growing trend in which more women are being hired as Division I athletic directors.

In 2025, there were 62 female Division I athletics directors, up 82 percent over 10 years.

Iowa has only had four athletic directors since 1970: Bump Elliott, Bob Bowlsby, Barta and Goetz.

That would suggest that Goetz might be here for a while.

And based on her performance so far, that is reason to be encouraged.