Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour has been named one of five finalists for the Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the year. Barbour joins Lisa Campos of UT- San Antonio, Sean Frazier of Northern Illinois, Tom Holmoe of BYU, and Hunter Yurachek of Arkansas as finalists.
Barbour, who announced her retirement March 16, has led one of the most successful athletic programs in the country since taking over the Nittany Lions program in 2014.
During her tenure, Penn State has had 32 student-athletes earn CoSIDA Academic-All-America honors, including Women’s Soccer Academic All-American of the year in Kerry Abello. Penn State has won six NCAA Championships, won the postseason NIT championship for men’s basketball in 2018 and its football program has played in three New Year’s Six bowl games in Barbour’s time.
In 2021, the Nittany lions achieved a 92 percent graduation rate, featuring ten teams achieving a 100 percent. Barbour also oversaw 162 student-athletes receiving their degree during the 2021 calendar year, and all 31 athletic teams had a team GPA overall of 3.0.
The winner will be announced in New York City on May 18 by a group of 40 industry executives.
Twitter: @bwalkerdadon
