LOGAN, Utah — Interim President Al Smith announced today the appointment of Sandy Barbour, former Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics at Penn State, as Interim Athletic Director at Utah State University. Barbour is one of the nation’s most respected college athletics directors, with over 40 years of experience as a coach and administrator. She has held leadership roles at Cal, Notre Dame, Tulane, Northwestern, and Penn State.
At Penn State, where she served from 2014 to 2022, Barbour led the athletics department through national championships, major facility upgrades, and the introduction of NIL. She was promoted to vice president for intercollegiate athletics in 2019 and was named Sports Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the Year in 2022.
Currently, Barbour is a senior advisor at Huron for intercollegiate athletics, where she supports universities in developing long-term athletics strategies, refining business and financial models, assessing facility feasibility, ensuring leadership continuity, and prioritizing student-athlete well-being.
“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.” said USU Interim President Alan Smith “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.”
Barbour will officially assume the interim role on July 21, 2025.
Interim President Smith also announced the creation of an ad hoc advisory group of internal and external stakeholders of Utah State University Athletics that will be co-chaired by Barbour and Alumnus Doug Fiefia. The committee will provide Smith with recommendations on essential and preferred job qualifications of the next USU athletic director, ways for the athletic director to meaningfully engage USU stakeholders, and critical directions for advancing the mission and national recognition of USU Athletics. The committee will complete its work by early August, after which a search for USU’s next athletic director will immediately commence.
“It is typical for interim presidents to defer major leadership hires, but given the importance of this moment, maintaining our momentum is critical,” said Interim President Smith. “We must press forward to be competitively prepared for our first season in the Pac-12, continue to modernize operations, and strengthen our financial model to ensure a sustainable and competitive future for our student-athletes and athletics program. The time is now to secure our next transformative leader for USU Athletics.”
Details about the search process will be shared as they become available. Visit usu.edu/president/committee-athletics for more information about the ad hoc advisory group.
