Utah State Names Interim Athletics Director Following Diana Sabau’s Departure
Jul 18, 2025, 9:27 AM
The Old Main Building at Utah State University in Logan is pictured on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State University has tabbed former Penn State AD Sandy Barbour as the interim Director of Athletics.
The school announced the move on Friday, July 18. Barbour will officially step into the interim role on July 21, 2025.
“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.”
RELATED: AD Diana Sabau Leaving Logan For Maryland
News: Utah State announces that former Penn State and Cal AD, Sandy Barbour, will serve as the Aggies interim AD.
Utah State also says it expects to begin searching for its next AD in August.
— CollegeAD (@collegead) July 18, 2025
Interim Utah State President Alan Smith also announced an ad hoc advisory group of internal and external stakeholders of Utah State Athletics. Barbour will act as co-chair alongside Aggie Alumnus Doug Fiefia.
“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.”
About Sandy Barbour
Barbour served as the Director of Athletics for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 2014 to 2022. Under her stewardship, Penn State athletics won multiple national titles, raised funds for major facility upgrades, and began the transition into NIL.
Barbour was promoted to Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics in 2019 and was named Athletic Director of the Year by the Sports Business Journal in 2022.
Most recently, Barbour has served as a senior advisor for intercollegiate athletics at Huron.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
