He’s only been President at Penn State University for a few months, but on saturday, Eric Barron announced his choice to take over the school’s athletic department. 31 varsity teams, over 800 student-athletes and a 155-million dollar budget, that’s what the Athletic Director deals with a Penn State.
On Saturday, Sandy Barbour was named Athletic Director for the Nittany Lions. She held the same position at the University of California for the past 10-years, overseeing a program that produced 19 national team titles. Barbour has also worked at Notre Dame, Tulane and Northwestern. The football team is trying to elevate itself back to prominence and Penn State is a perennial contender in many other sports. Barbour is thrilled about landing this job.
“You dream about the opportunity to lead a program like Penn State Athletics, why? Because it represents an opportunity to have it all. Athletic excellence, academic achievement, community engagement and fiscal responsibility,” Barbour said.
Barbour is now head football coach James Franklin’s new boss; he has already gone public with his approval of the choice. Barbour won’t make as much money as Franklin, but the terms of her contract are public. Her base salary is $700,000 with $200,000 more possible in bonuses.