Utah State tabs former Penn State athletic director to interim role

LOGAN (KSL.com) — Utah State has an interim athletic director named by an interim president a year while the school fills in the final year before heading to the new-look Pac-12.

Former Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour was appointed interim athletic director at Utah State, university interim president Alan Smith announced Friday morning. Barbour’s role will begin Monday.

In addition, the Aggies also announced the creation of an ad hoc advisory group of both internal and external stakeholders that will provide recommendations for the Aggies’ next athletic director. Barbour will co-chair the group with alumnus Doug Fiefia, the Utah state senator for District 48 in Salt Lake County.

Barbour replaces Diana Sabau, the former Big Ten administrator who is returning east to become the deputy athletic director at Maryland after about two years in Logan.

The respected Big Ten administrator with over 40 years of experience as a coach and athletic director was Penn State’s AD from 2014 through 2022, leading the Nittany Lions to national championships, major facility upgrades and the beginnings of the modern era of name, image and likeness in college athletics.

The former chair of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, Barbour was named Sports Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the Year in 2022 before retiring in the summer of 2022. She’s worked as a senior advisor at Huron, which supports universities in athletic strategy, business and financial models, and ensuring leadership continuity.

“Barbour, and the team at Huron, bring extensive experience and expertise in championship-level Division I athletics, including NIL, operations, finance, recruiting, facilities management and marketing,” Smith said in a statement “They will provide a valuable national perspective on the evolving college athletics landscape and our transition into the Pac-12, while also bringing stability to our athletics leadership team.”

Under the committee, whose members have not been fully finalized, Utah State will look to provide the following recommendations for the university’s leadership, according to a news release:

-Essential and preferred job qualifications of the next athletic director.

-How the new athletic director can most meaningfully engage various USU constituencies during the first 60 days in the role.

-Critical directions for advancing the mission and national recognition of USU athletics.

-Becoming “Pac-12 ready” by July 1, 2026.

The committee, which will also include Utah State athletes, alumni, friends and donors of the university, community leaders, faculty and athletics staff and supporters, will provide recommendations to Smith for the new athletic director by early August, when a search for the next full-time AD will begin.