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Just hours after UConn announced president Susan Herbst would be stepping down in the summer of 2019, the school announced that athletic department’s Chief Operating Officer and Senior Woman Administrator Beth Goetz accepted an offer to become the AD at Ball State.
“Beth is a truly outstanding leader and athletic administrator in higher education. Any university would be lucky to have her as its athletic director,” Herbst said in a statement. “We at UConn are very sorry to lose someone of Beth’s immense talents, but we are happy for her as she begins this new chapter of her career. It was a pleasure to work alongside her.”
Goetz came to Storrs in June 2016 as part of David Benedict’s staff. During her time with UConn, Goetz was a mainstay at games all over campus and oversaw multiple departments, ranging from sports medicine to Title IX and Gender Equity. She also served as the lead administrator for multiple programs such as football, women’s ice hockey, and men’s soccer.
Prior to joining UConn, Goetz spent three years at Minnesota, serving as the interim athletic director in the 2015-16 academic year. Before her time at Minnesota, Goetz spent five years at Butler as the Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator.
Now, Goetz will have her first athletic director role as she replaces Mark Sandy, who will retire in June. Goetz will be the second female athletic director in the Mid-American Conference, joining Western Michigan’s Kathy Beauregard.
“The term “Rising Star” is used quite often when someone gets their first AD job. In this case, Beth’s star had risen a long time ago. We were very fortunate that she decided to come to UConn and I will be forever grateful for her dedication to our coaches, student-athletes and the department over the past two years,” Athletic director David Benedict said in a statement. “Beth brings a unique set of experiences, skills, and passion to our profession that will continue to serve her and Ball State University well into the future. I commend President Mearns and the search committee for recognizing what they had in Beth and ultimately providing her the opportunity to lead their athletic department.”