The Gary Barta Tenure: (at least what I've been able to find). All items are quoted from the sources listed below the quotes. Please correct if any information is not accurate. See below for the list.
1. Iowa Lottery Television Commercial (2007):
"In 2007, Iowa athletics received about $61,000 in advertising from the Iowa Lottery. A television commercial featured images of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and a reworded version of the “Iowa Fight Song.” Estate attorneys for composer Meredith Willson — who wrote the “Iowa Fight Song” and whose estate still holds the song’s copyright — threatened legal action against the Iowa Lottery for intellectual property infringement. The lottery discontinued the ads and claimed responsibility remained with the athletics department. Barta later apologized for the issue, saying the commercial “crossed a couple of lines ... I’m sorry.”" https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/a-few-tough-public-moments-for-athletics-20150726
2. Sexual Assualt Case (2007-2008):
"Two Iowa football players allegedly sexually assault a female student-athlete at Hillcrest Dormitory on October 14, 2007."
"The fact is that, according to the victim and her family, UI Athletics actively worked to keep the police from investigating the alleged assault."
"The victim was told that she could opt for criminal (i.e. call the police), "formal" (i.e. a Title IX investigation), or "informal" (i.e. internal athletic department) action, and that UI Athletics would act "swiftly and effectively" to remedy the issue in the event she chose the informal process. The victim's mother indicated that the victim was "really encouraged to try the informal route first.""
"After more than a month, UI had taken no action beyond suspending the players involved (which is basically all the "informal process" would allow because nobody with any actual authority had been brought in). One of the accused players continued to live three rooms down the hall from the victim. Basically, Iowa promised her quick, quiet resolution, and then quickly and quietly did nothing. That prompted the victim to go to the authorities, and the mom's letter. Barta's office buried the mom's letter. When that was still ignored, the mom went public with the letter -- a letter that Barta and Mims had failed to give to the Board of Regents, in what regent David Miles called "a serious breach of trust""
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#comments
3. Rhabdomyolysis (2008):
"Thirteen football players land in University Hospital following an offseason workout administered by strength coach Chris Doyle."
"First local, then national, media seized on the story. Iowa first tried to issue a press release and state that no further comment would be forthcoming. When that didn't work, they convened a press conference. In attendance on behalf of the UI: A doctor who hadn't treated the players, a football staffer and Jim Poggi's dad, Biff Poggi. Not in attendance: Chris Doyle, Kirk Ferentz or Gary Barta. We didn't hear from any of them until after Signing Day, more than a week later. And then Ferentz gave Doyle the "Assistant Coach of the Year" award, an award that had never been given before or since. One of the injured players eventually sued and settled with the UI for something like $20,000."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta
4. Margaret Krusing Lawsuit (2010):
"In 2010, a former member of the women's crew, Margaret Krusing, filed a lawsuit against the University of Iowa for permanent disabilities she received as a result of participating in a team-training program that was poorly supervised by medical and athletic training personnel. The two sides settled the lawsuit for $300,000 in October 2013. The athletic department had also previously agreed to pay $60,000 to Krusing by keeping her on her athletic scholarship after she left Iowa to finish her degree at Marquette University."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Barta
5. Lickliter Firing (2010):
"Of course, Barta screwed this up, too: Lickliter had missed a portion of the regular season due to health issues, and Iowa leaked to some press that Lickliter was going to resign due to those issues. As rumors circulated, Barta issued a noncommittal statement, then left Lickliter dangling in the wind and rumors filling the remaining air for three days while he attended conference meetings. Lickliter was forced to issue a statement denying that he would resign; only after that did Barta actually fire the guy. Barta eventually hires Fran McCaffery as basketball coach."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#comments
6. Ferentz Contract Part 1 (2010):
"Fresh off an Orange Bowl win and a new set of NFL rumors surrounding Kirk Ferentz, Gary Barta hands the longtime Iowa football coach the most ridiculous contract in the history of college athletics, a ten-year, $42 million agreement whereby Iowa would be required to pay 75 percent of the full contract value as a buyout in the event Ferentz was fired. The agreement also allowed Ferentz to leave at any time without penalty, in the unlikely event that someone would pay him more. Ferentz's team, the most talented of his tenure, promptly tanks; two years later, Iowa is 4-8 with a loss to Central Michigan and Greg Davis as offensive coordinator, and Ferentz would have been owed a staggering $26 million had that mattered to anyone."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#
7. "Think Before You Drink" (2010):
"Before the 2010 football home opener, the campus instituted a “Think Before You Drink” campaign to curb excessive alcohol consumption during tailgating. Tightened procedures led to 146 alcohol-related citations and arrests that day. While the university loosened some restrictions, the backlash has kept many fans from returning.
“I don’t regret launching the campaign, but what I do believe happened is it came on too strong the first year,” Barta said, “and there’s the perception from some is it’s still that way.""
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/a-few-tough-public-moments-for-athletics-20150726
8. Peter Gray Resignation (2012):
"Iowa cryptically announces that Peter Gray, an academic advisor for the athletics department who had been on the payroll since 2002, has resigned for "personal reasons.""
"What Barta does not disclose is that Iowa conducted an internal investigation of Gray which found that he (1) made sexual comments to recruits and parents during a presentation; (2) touched students in a manner that was creepy at best and sexual assault at worst; (3) had been repeatedly cited as a creep by student-athletes during the previous decade; (4) had inappropriate photographs on his work computer, including some straight-up pornography, and (5) had traded tickets to UI sporting events for nude photos. Oh, also, he had been let go from his previous job with a recommendation that he never be hired again. When asked for details, Barta called Gray's resignation "a personnel matter" and refused to comment further."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#
9. Barta Hires Brian Ferentz? (2012)
"Kirk Ferentz hires his son, Brian Ferentz, as an offensive line assistant. The younger Ferentz had spent two years with the New England Patriots as an assistant before that, and had enough qualifications for the job. Nevertheless, the hire did breach UI nepotism rules and guidelines. In response, Barta comically claimed that he, not Kirk Ferentz, had made the decision to hire Brian for the job. This was almost immediately contradicted by Brian Ferentz at his introductory news conference, where he stated that his dad had "reached out" to him about the job. Barta then instituted a management plan wherein he would act as the younger Ferentz's boss, rather than the head coach that Brian Ferentz would work for. The whole thing was an amazing bureaucratic sham."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#
1. Iowa Lottery Television Commercial (2007):
"In 2007, Iowa athletics received about $61,000 in advertising from the Iowa Lottery. A television commercial featured images of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and a reworded version of the “Iowa Fight Song.” Estate attorneys for composer Meredith Willson — who wrote the “Iowa Fight Song” and whose estate still holds the song’s copyright — threatened legal action against the Iowa Lottery for intellectual property infringement. The lottery discontinued the ads and claimed responsibility remained with the athletics department. Barta later apologized for the issue, saying the commercial “crossed a couple of lines ... I’m sorry.”" https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/a-few-tough-public-moments-for-athletics-20150726
2. Sexual Assualt Case (2007-2008):
"Two Iowa football players allegedly sexually assault a female student-athlete at Hillcrest Dormitory on October 14, 2007."
"The fact is that, according to the victim and her family, UI Athletics actively worked to keep the police from investigating the alleged assault."
"The victim was told that she could opt for criminal (i.e. call the police), "formal" (i.e. a Title IX investigation), or "informal" (i.e. internal athletic department) action, and that UI Athletics would act "swiftly and effectively" to remedy the issue in the event she chose the informal process. The victim's mother indicated that the victim was "really encouraged to try the informal route first.""
"After more than a month, UI had taken no action beyond suspending the players involved (which is basically all the "informal process" would allow because nobody with any actual authority had been brought in). One of the accused players continued to live three rooms down the hall from the victim. Basically, Iowa promised her quick, quiet resolution, and then quickly and quietly did nothing. That prompted the victim to go to the authorities, and the mom's letter. Barta's office buried the mom's letter. When that was still ignored, the mom went public with the letter -- a letter that Barta and Mims had failed to give to the Board of Regents, in what regent David Miles called "a serious breach of trust""
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#comments
3. Rhabdomyolysis (2008):
"Thirteen football players land in University Hospital following an offseason workout administered by strength coach Chris Doyle."
"First local, then national, media seized on the story. Iowa first tried to issue a press release and state that no further comment would be forthcoming. When that didn't work, they convened a press conference. In attendance on behalf of the UI: A doctor who hadn't treated the players, a football staffer and Jim Poggi's dad, Biff Poggi. Not in attendance: Chris Doyle, Kirk Ferentz or Gary Barta. We didn't hear from any of them until after Signing Day, more than a week later. And then Ferentz gave Doyle the "Assistant Coach of the Year" award, an award that had never been given before or since. One of the injured players eventually sued and settled with the UI for something like $20,000."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta
4. Margaret Krusing Lawsuit (2010):
"In 2010, a former member of the women's crew, Margaret Krusing, filed a lawsuit against the University of Iowa for permanent disabilities she received as a result of participating in a team-training program that was poorly supervised by medical and athletic training personnel. The two sides settled the lawsuit for $300,000 in October 2013. The athletic department had also previously agreed to pay $60,000 to Krusing by keeping her on her athletic scholarship after she left Iowa to finish her degree at Marquette University."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Barta
5. Lickliter Firing (2010):
"Of course, Barta screwed this up, too: Lickliter had missed a portion of the regular season due to health issues, and Iowa leaked to some press that Lickliter was going to resign due to those issues. As rumors circulated, Barta issued a noncommittal statement, then left Lickliter dangling in the wind and rumors filling the remaining air for three days while he attended conference meetings. Lickliter was forced to issue a statement denying that he would resign; only after that did Barta actually fire the guy. Barta eventually hires Fran McCaffery as basketball coach."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#comments
6. Ferentz Contract Part 1 (2010):
"Fresh off an Orange Bowl win and a new set of NFL rumors surrounding Kirk Ferentz, Gary Barta hands the longtime Iowa football coach the most ridiculous contract in the history of college athletics, a ten-year, $42 million agreement whereby Iowa would be required to pay 75 percent of the full contract value as a buyout in the event Ferentz was fired. The agreement also allowed Ferentz to leave at any time without penalty, in the unlikely event that someone would pay him more. Ferentz's team, the most talented of his tenure, promptly tanks; two years later, Iowa is 4-8 with a loss to Central Michigan and Greg Davis as offensive coordinator, and Ferentz would have been owed a staggering $26 million had that mattered to anyone."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#
7. "Think Before You Drink" (2010):
"Before the 2010 football home opener, the campus instituted a “Think Before You Drink” campaign to curb excessive alcohol consumption during tailgating. Tightened procedures led to 146 alcohol-related citations and arrests that day. While the university loosened some restrictions, the backlash has kept many fans from returning.
“I don’t regret launching the campaign, but what I do believe happened is it came on too strong the first year,” Barta said, “and there’s the perception from some is it’s still that way.""
https://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/a-few-tough-public-moments-for-athletics-20150726
8. Peter Gray Resignation (2012):
"Iowa cryptically announces that Peter Gray, an academic advisor for the athletics department who had been on the payroll since 2002, has resigned for "personal reasons.""
"What Barta does not disclose is that Iowa conducted an internal investigation of Gray which found that he (1) made sexual comments to recruits and parents during a presentation; (2) touched students in a manner that was creepy at best and sexual assault at worst; (3) had been repeatedly cited as a creep by student-athletes during the previous decade; (4) had inappropriate photographs on his work computer, including some straight-up pornography, and (5) had traded tickets to UI sporting events for nude photos. Oh, also, he had been let go from his previous job with a recommendation that he never be hired again. When asked for details, Barta called Gray's resignation "a personnel matter" and refused to comment further."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#
9. Barta Hires Brian Ferentz? (2012)
"Kirk Ferentz hires his son, Brian Ferentz, as an offensive line assistant. The younger Ferentz had spent two years with the New England Patriots as an assistant before that, and had enough qualifications for the job. Nevertheless, the hire did breach UI nepotism rules and guidelines. In response, Barta comically claimed that he, not Kirk Ferentz, had made the decision to hire Brian for the job. This was almost immediately contradicted by Brian Ferentz at his introductory news conference, where he stated that his dad had "reached out" to him about the job. Barta then instituted a management plan wherein he would act as the younger Ferentz's boss, rather than the head coach that Brian Ferentz would work for. The whole thing was an amazing bureaucratic sham."
https://www.goiowaawesome.com/iowa-hawkeyes-news/2018/11/3435/the-chronicles-of-barta#
