Due to a serious problem, the head coach of the Iowa women’s team has terminated his contract.
IOWA CITY, Iowa Contract extensions have been granted to nine head coaches of the intercollegiate athletic programs at the University of Iowa. Gary Barta, the Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair, made the announcement on Monday.
Women’s soccer (Dave DiIanni), women’s basketball (Lisa Bluder), women’s golf (Megan Menzel), softball (Renee Gillispie), field hockey (Lisa Cellucci), women’s tennis (Sasha Schmid), men’s basketball (Fran McCaffery), wrestling (Tom Brands), baseball (Rick Heller), and women’s soccer (Dave DiIanni) all had their contracts extended. Several sports’ assistant coaches also had their contracts extended.
Barta expressed his happiness at being able to give contract extensions and modifications to his head coaches in these sports. “I am pleased with our staff, coaches, and student-athletes for their competitive triumphs, but perhaps more significantly for the poise with which they conducted themselves in their academic and athletic pursuits during a highly trying period brought on by COVID-19.
In addition to six Big Ten Conference titles, the NCAA national wrestling championship, and an NCAA Final Four appearance by field hockey, Iowa athletics enjoyed overall success in 2020–21. Men’s track and field in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, women’s gymnastics in the regular season, wrestling in both the regular season and postseason, and soccer in the postseason were all won by Hawkeye teams. Iowa has finished higher in the overall sports standings since 1997, with a final ranking of 30th in the Learfield IMG College Director’s Cup.
Six Hawkeye head coaches in total were named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Three Hawkeyes won Freshman of the Year awards and were named conference Player/Athlete of the Year. Out of the 24 sports programs in Iowa, 16 teams and/or individuals qualified for postseason play.
