Penn State shocked the college athletics realm today with the hiring of former Cal athletic director, Sandy Barbour.
Having served in that post for a decade before Berkeley's chancellor fired her due to their need for a "change in leadership," Barbour will replace former Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner, who is retiring on August 1st. Barbour's first day on the job will be August 16th.
She will reportedly be getting a $100,000 raise.
Here's a headline from the San Francisco Examiner, dated July 01, 2014:
Sandy Barbour was a mistake from the beginning for Cal
*steeples fingers* Tell me more, Glenn Dickey....
[..] She fired Tedford and hired Sonny Dykes, who coaches an offensive system that doesn’t work on the Pac-12 Conference level. The Bears went 1-10 last year and their prospects for the future are dim. And though Dykes was campaigning for the job, Barbour gave him a five-year contract. That means her successor will have to pay off three years of that contract when Dykes is fired after another dreadful season.
[...]
Otherwise, though, the picture is grim. The graduation rate for football players is dead last in the conference, despite the fact that more players are opting for easier academic schedules. In other words, they’re not winning or getting an education. The daily double.
And Barbour has been tone deaf on Cal tradition. She wanted to put this year’s Big Game at the 49ers’ new stadium before she heard from irate alumni.
To be fair, Barbour set fundraising records at Cal and likely won't have to hire a football coach for a long time.
But, this is a puzzling move that came out of left field.
Source: @McMurphyESPN
