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As one search ends, another begins.
Scott Barnes, Utah State's athletic director since 2008, was introduced as Pitt's new athletic director on Friday, setting an agenda filled with many of the things that made him a success at Utah State — from fundraising to enhancing the college experience for the student-athletes at the school.
Barnes, who attended the news conference with his wife, Jody, said it was a "great day to be a Panther."
He noted he technically won't start with Pitt until July 1.
"I'll have two jobs until then, but we'll make it work," he said.
Barnes thanked Utah State for "seven blessed years," but is eager to move forward with Pitt.
"Pitt's exceptional student-athletes and coaches, loyal fan base and storied history are true assets that we can build on together," Barnes said. "In addition, our membership in the ACC brings continued opportunities for Pitt Athletics to achieve excellence in every way."
Utah State president Stan L. Albrecht said the Aggies were sad to see Barnes go.
"The fact that he has been courted by programs across the country, including the University of Pittsburgh, is surely a testament to the outstanding job he has done here at Utah State and to the amazing success he has brought to all of Utah State's athletic programs," Albrecht said. "We certainly will miss his skills as one of the best ADs in the country, bar none. In my mind, he is the model for what an athletic director should be."
Now comes the task of finding his replacement.
Thanks to Utah State's move to the Mountain West Conference and its success on the field and in fundraising, the position is more attractive than it was when Barnes took the job.
School officials haven't set a time frame for its search to fill the vacant position, but expect the Aggies to move quickly since they are in the midst of several important projects such as the stadium renovations that will start in May.
The Aggies' task now is to find a replacement to carry on the momentum Barnes began.
A few of the names the Aggies might tap could be Ken Beazer, SUU's athletic director who is a former assistant athletic director at USU, Jerry Bovee, the athletic director at Weber State who previously worked with the Aggies, Kent Haslam, the athletic director at Montana who is a Logan native and Kyle Brennan, Utah's deputy athletic director who has overseen much of the recent development in Utah's athletics department.
Gene Bleymaier, the current athletic director at San Jose State, could also be on the Aggies' list. He was the former AD at Boise State and was a finalist for the Colorado State job that recently went to Joe Parker, the former deputy director at Texas Tech.
Ryan Conway, of the website collegead.com which tracks athletic director hirings, expects the Aggies to go after a candidate with a solid fundraising background like Barnes had.
National candidates who could fit that description Conway said could include Stephen Ponder, the senior executive associate athletic director at Ole Miss, Brian Wickstrom, the athletic director at Louisiana Monroe, Dr. Renee Baumgartner, the deputy athletic director at Syracuse, Kurt Gulbrand, the associate athletic director at Colorado and Hunter Yurachek, the chief operating officer at Houston.
Yurachek is a final candidate for the Houston AD job, with Mack Rhodes leaving for Missouri, and could be high on the Aggies' list if he doesn't get the job.
Twitter: @lyawodraska —
Possible USU AD candidates
Ken Beazer • Has been SUU's athletic director since 2005. Previous to his current position he spent four years at USU where he served as director of athletic development
Jerry Bovee • Bovee has been Weber State's athletic director since 2009. Previously he worked as the assistant director for the Utah High School Activities Association (1996-2006) and at Utah State as the Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing and Promotions at USU (1992-95)
Kent Haslam • Montana's athletic director since 2012, Haslam is a native of Logan and a BYU graduate. He has held several positions in Utah, such as serving as manager of the media and communications for the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee from 1998-200 and as the director of communications and corporate development for the Salt Lake Buzz baseball team from 1993-98.
Kyle Brennan • Utah's Deputy Athletics Director, Brennan has earned a good reputation since he joined the Utes in 2008. He has overseen several projects such as the construction of the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center and men's and women's basketball practice facility.