Alex Lang, Jason Brummond, and Dan Parr – The Daily Iowan
Iowa Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby confirmed on Tuesday evening he will leave the Hawkeyes this summer to take the AD post at Stanford University.
Bowlsby, who will take over the Stanford department in July, said he met with Stanford officials three weeks ago. A few days later, he was offered the position.
“I actually never saw myself taking another athletics job, “Bowlsby told The Daily Iowan. “I think Stanford is probably the only place I would have considered moving to, just because it is an extraordinary university with an equally extraordinary athletics department.”
Stanford’s department has a slightly larger budget – $60 million – than the UI’s $56 million. The Cardinal field 35 intercollegiate sports teams, compared with the Hawkeyes’ 24 squads.
The Waterloo native said he didn’t expect the announcement of the move to come so early. The “premature “news left Bowlsby unprepared to discuss the situation with colleagues. In a meeting earlier in the day with coaches, he didn’t mention his plan to leave.
Bowlsby’s family situation also aided a move to Stanford. His youngest child, Kyle, will graduate from City High in May and enter the UI next fall.
“Some of it was the right time at the right place, “Bowlsby said. “It’s an exciting new adventure and a great place. It was the convergence of a lot of things.”
Bowlsby has spent the past 14 years as the Hawkeye athletics director, overseeing a merger between the men’s and women’s athletics departments, hiring new coaches in all four major sports, and approving a $90 million renovation to Kinnick Stadium, where the football team has enjoyed unprecedented success under his tenure.
The 54-year-old had to replace state icons Hayden Fry, Tom Davis, and Dan Gable – with Kirk Ferentz, Steve Alford, and Jim Zalesky – in the past decade.
Read more at the Daily Iowan.
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