Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz gets 2-year contract extension

Associated PressNov 5, 2022, 3:34 PM EDT

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz received a two-year contract extension, tying him to the Tigers through the 2027 season for a level of stability that has been missing from the program in recent years.

The school did not announce the terms of the extension, though a university spokesman said Drinkwitz would receive an increase in guaranteed paid. His original six-year deal paid him $4 million annually before incentives.

“You can’t do this alone, and our players, coaches and staff have worked their tails off and stuck with the process as we’ve built this program,” Drinkwitz said in a statement hours before the Tigers played Kentucky at Faurot Field.

“We feel strongly about our trajectory and are proud to represent our state’s flagship institution,” Drinkwitz said. “We are grateful for the investment in our program from the administration and excited about the future of Mizzou football.”

Drinkwitz was hired in 2019 after the program had slipped to mediocrity under Barry Odom, but his rebuild was made more complicated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drinkwitz, who won 12 games in his lone season as head coach at Appalachian State, wound up 5-5 in his debut season and 6-7 with a loss in the Armed Forces Bowl last year.

The Tigers started just 2-4 this season, getting blown out by former Big 12 rival Kansas State and losing consecutive down-to-the-wire games to Auburn, top-ranked Georgia and Florida. That slow start led some to believe that Drinkwitz, who’d been hired by athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois’s predecessor, would be on the hot seat the remainder of the season.

He was still just 15-16 and 10-13 in SEC play heading into the game against the Wildcats.

The close call against the defending national champion Bulldogs showed the Tigers were on the right track, though, and back-to-back wins over Vanderbilt and South Carolina apparently gave Missouri officials confidence in the direction of the program. The university’s board of curators voted 7-0 to approve Drinkwitz’s contract extension.

“Coach Drinkwitz and his staff have created great momentum in our football program.” Missouri President Mun Choi said. “You can feel the excitement and you see it in the fans as they have turned out in great numbers at Faurot Field.

“Coach Drinkwitz’s program is a key part of the results-driven, championship culture that AD Reed-Francois is building to help support our student-athletes. Like so many of our fans, I am excited to see what the future holds for Mizzou football.”

Earlier this week, first-year Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker agreed to an extension that will keep him with the Tigers through the 2025 season. It increased his pay from $600,000 to an average salary of $1.2 million.

“Our football team is on the right trajectory,” Reed-Francois said, “and we are seeing results in recruiting and on the field. Coach Drinkwitz is a dynamic leader who brings people together and we believe in our football staff’s combined commitment to excellence in the classroom and in the community. We are looking forward to him continuing to lead our program into the future.”

Georgia extends contract for AD Josh Brooks, plans two new football practice fields

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:14 PM EDT

Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

ATHENS, Ga. – On the heels of a second straight national football championship, Georgia has rewarded athletic director Josh Brooks a contract extension that ties him to the Bulldogs through at least 2029.

The athletic association board, wrapping up its annual spring meeting Friday at a resort on Lake Oconee, also announced plans for a new track and field facility that will free up space for two more football practice fields.

Brooks’ new contract will increase his salary to $1.025 million a year, with annual raises of $100,000.

The 42-year-old Brooks, who took over the athletic department in 2021 after Greg McGarity retired, called the Georgia job “a dream for me” and said he hopes to spend the rest of his career in Athens.

“I am extremely grateful,” Brooks said. “I got into this business 20-plus years ago as a student equipment manager. My first job at Louisiana-Monroe was making $20,000 a year in football operations.”

The Georgia board approved a fiscal 2024 budget of $175.2 million, a nearly 8% increase from the most recent budget of $162.2 million and the sign of a prosperous program that is flush with money after its success on the gridiron.

The school received approval to move forward with its preliminary plans for a new track and field facility, which will be built across the street from the complex hosting the soccer and and softball teams.

The current track stadium is located adjacent to the Butts-Mehre athletic facility, which hosts the practice fields and training facilities for the football program.

Georgia lost a chunk of its outdoor fields when it built a new indoor practice facility. After the new track and field stadium is completed, the current space will be converted to two full-length, grass football practice fields at the request of coach Kirby Smart.

“He wants to find efficient ways to practice, and there is a lot of truth to the issues we’ve had with our current practice fields,” Brooks said. “There is a lot of strain on our turf facilities staff to keep that field in great shape when half the day it is getting shade, so that has been a challenge as well. For our football program, it is better to practice on grass fields than (artificial) turf, so to be able to have two side-by-side grass fields is huge. It makes for a much more efficient practice.”

The new track and field complex, which will continue to be named Spec Towns Track, will also include an indoor facility, the first of its kind in the state of Georgia.

Iowa AD Gary Barta announces retirement after 17 years at Big Ten school

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:11 PM EDT

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa athletic director Gary Barta will retire on August 1 after 17 years at the university, the school announced Friday.

Barta, 59, is one of the longest-tenured athletic directors in a Power Five conference. He was hired by Iowa in 2006 after being the AD at Wyoming.

An interim director will be announced next week, Iowa said.

In September, Iowa hired former Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz to be deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer, putting her in position to possibly succeed Barta.

“It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve in this role the past 17 years,” Barta said in a statement. “This decision didn’t come suddenly, nor did it come without significant thought, discussion, and prayer.”

“That said, I’m confident this is the right time for me and for my family.”

Iowa won four NCAA national team titles and 27 Big Ten team titles during Barta’s tenure. The women’s basketball team is coming off an appearance in the national championship game and the wrestling team is coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA championships.

Barta served as the chairman of the College Football Playoff committee in 2020 and 2021.

He faced heavy criticism over more than $11 million in settlements for lawsuits in recent years alleging racial and sexual discrimination within the athletic department.

Lawsuits filed by former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum and associate athletics director Jane Meyer led to a $6.5 million payout.

Iowa had to pay $400,000 as part of a Title IX lawsuit brought by athletes after it cut four sports in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the agreement, Iowa reinstated the women’s swimming and diving program and add another women’s sport.

Iowa added women’s wrestling, the first among Power Five schools to compete this year.

A lawsuit brought by former football players alleging racial discrimination within the program was settled for $4.2 million last March, which prompted state auditor Rob Sand to call for Barta’s ouster.

“Gary Barta’s departure is a long time coming given the four different lawsuits for discrimination that cost Iowa more than $11 million,” Sand posted on Twitter.

The university did not allow taxpayer money to be used for the settlement with the former players.

Barta led Iowa through $380 million of facility upgrades, including renovation of Kinnick Stadium, the construction of a new football facility, a basketball practice facility and a training center for the wrestling teams.

Under Barta, Iowa has had just one head football coach (Kirk Ferentz), women’s basketball coach (Lisa Bluder) and wrestling coach (Tom Brands). All were in place when he arrived.

Barta has also come under scrutiny for allowing Ferentz to employee his son, Brian Ferentz, as offensive coordinator. To comply with the university’s nepotism policy, Brian Ferentz reports to Barta.