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Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour gets five-year contract extension, named vice president for intercollegiate athletics

Barbour, now the vice president for intercollegiate athletics, came to Penn State in August 2014. During her tenure, the Nittany Lions have won five NCAA championships and have graduated a record 90 percent of its athletes in each of the last two years.

New Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour talks with reporters in State College, Pa. on July 26, 2014. ( AP Photo / Centre Daily Times / Christopher Weddle )
New Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour talks with reporters in State College, Pa. on July 26, 2014. ( AP Photo / Centre Daily Times / Christopher Weddle )Read more

Penn State director of athletics Sandy Barbour had a five-year contract extension approved Friday by the university board of trustees’ compensation committee.

The new agreement, which runs through Aug. 31, 2023, also changes Barbour’s title to vice president for intercollegiate athletics as the head of Penn State’s 31-sport department.

“I am very appreciative of president (Eric) Barron’s and the board of trustees’ confidence in my leadership and their steadfast belief in intercollegiate athletics as a powerful and positive influence on our institution and community,” Barbour said in a university news release.

“It has been a privilege and an honor to lead this program the last four-plus years, and I look forward to the great work that lies ahead on behalf of student-athlete development and success.”

Barbour received a five-year contract upon her hiring in August 2014. The new deal replaces the final year of the original contract and is retroactive to last July 1, starting with a salary of $1,169,000 and increasing with raises of $50,000 in each contract year.

The extension also modifies performance bonus opportunities, with a maximum of $260,000 in any contract year.

During Barbour’s tenure, Penn State has won five NCAA championships in women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and wrestling. In addition, the Nittany Lions have won 20 Big Ten championships and five EIVA titles in 12 different sports.

The most recent NCAA graduation rates study released last November showed that Penn State student athletes earned a Graduation Success Rate of 90 percent, tying the school record from the previous year. Eight teams earned a 100 percent GSR.

Penn State also launched a strategic planning process in Barbour’s first year, leading to the new Morgan Academic Center. A comprehensive master plan announced in 2017 provided a 20-year proposal for addressing the needs for all the university’s athletic facilities.