Reports: Utah State AD Barnes among finalists for Pitt vacancy


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LOGAN — By most accounts, Scott Barnes’ tenure as athletic director at Utah State University has been a remarkable success.

Under Barnes’ watch, the Aggies’ athletic program has named two new football coaches in Gary Andersen and his successor, Matt Wells, then made a similar move with the announcement of men’s basketball coach Tim Duryea. He also presided over the renaming of Romney Stadium, a move that brought with it a major corporate sponsorship between Utah State and Maverik, Inc.

Since 2013, he’s been the chairman of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, acting as committee spokesperson this past season and earning a spot on the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors’ top 28 ADs for 2013-14.

With so much buildup in Logan under his watchful gaze, Barnes is being eyed for larger roles at other universities, according to multiple reports.

The former Fresno State basketball player is reportedly a finalist for the vacant athletic director position at Pitt, according to Pittsburgh TV reporter Rich Walsh. Barnes is one of four finalists for the position, alongside Villanova athletic director Vince Nicastro, Boise State’s Mark Coyle and Northern Illinois’ Sean Frazier.

Just found out 4 candidates for Pitt Athletic Dir. job Vince Nicastro (Nova) Mark Coyle (Boise) Sean Frazier (N. Ill) Scott Barnes (Utah St) — Rich Walsh KDKA (@RichieWalsh) April 14, 2015

Frazier, however, denied he is a finalist in a report by huskiewire.com.

“I’m flattered, don’t get me wrong,” Frazier told the news website. “But the only job I am looking at is at the beloved Northern Illinois University.”

Pitt is using the same search committee as Syracuse University, prompting a syracuse.com report that the four finalists may be considered for the vacant athletic director role in upstate New York.

“The four men identified in the Pittsburgh search are all currently serving as athletic directors at smaller schools, making Syracuse a logical jump,” Syracuse Post-Standard sportswriter Chris Carlson wrote. “All boast fundraising success, enhanced facilities and academic benchmarks on their resumes.”

Barnes came to Utah State in 2008, officially taking over as a university vice president and director of athletics on April 1. He presided over the athletic department during unparalleled expansion in Aggie sports, including a move to the Mountain West Conference and implementation of several on-campus sports venues, such as the Wayne Estes Center, which houses the school’s basketball practice facility and volleyball court. The school was named the most economically efficient athletic department in 2009 by a Texas A&M study, and it has stayed in the top 20 every year through 2013.

Before his stop at Utah State, Barnes was the senior associate athletics director for advancement at Washington from 2005 to 2008 and athletics director at Eastern Washington from 1999 to 2005. He hired six head coaches at Eastern Washington, and four of them won Big Sky Coach of the Year honors.

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