Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz hired as Iowa deputy AD and chief operating officer

In a shock announcement on Wednesday afternoon, the University of Iowa announced the hiring of Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz as their deputy athletic director and chief operating officer.

Goetz will replace the outgoing Barbara Burke, who had previously announced her retirement effective the conclusion of the 2022-23 academic year. Goetz will work directly under Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, one of the more influential AD’s in the NCAA.

“Beth is a proven, experienced, and respected leader in college athletics,” Barta said via press release. “We’re excited to have her join the Hawkeye family.”

Goetz has been an emergent name in the collegiate leadership sphere, showing acumen in the fundraising, scholastic and performance-based parts of her job. Her reputation earned her a position as the current chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee this past off-season, after previously being named a vice-chair in the 2021-22 season.

Goetz was named Ball State’s athletic director in May 2018, and immediately made her impact felt with a $15 million private fundraising campaign to finance the Scheumann Stadium Indoor Practice Facility as part of a larger growth project for the department as a whole.

Prior to her time at Ball State, Goetz had served as both a deputy and interim athletics director at Minnesota (2013-16) and an associate athletic director at Missouri-St. Louis (2001-08) and Butler (2008-13), with a brief stop at UConn to serve as a chief operating officer from 2016-18.

Under Goetz, BSU won 10 MAC titles in her tenure, with seven different teams winning in the 2021-22 campaign alone. The football team was part of that legacy, winning it all in the COVID-affected 2020 season.

Ball State was also a leader in graduation rates and academic progress, with a 90 percent graduation success rate over the last two years, one of only four MAC schools to record consecutive years over 90 percent. Ball State also earned their highest-ever Academic Progress Rate under Goetz’s tenure, scoring a 992 in 2020-21.

“The University of Iowa has a storied tradition, and I want to thank Gary Barta and President Barb Wilson for the opportunity to join the Hawkeye family,” Goetz said via press release. “I look forward to working with such an outstanding team.”

As of publication, Ball State Athletics has not released a statement regarding the move. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information comes out.