Firing, hiring basketball coach among many challenges for Iowa AD

IOWA CITY - Gary Barta's toughest decision so far in his four-year tenure as University of Iowa's athletics director wasn't picking Fran McCaffery to coach his men's basketball team on Sunday. It was firing former coach Todd Lickliter two weeks earlier.

Barta called the decision to fire Lickliter “painstaking,” and it cost his department $2.4 million in severance.

To cover up the blight of men's basketball, Barta turned toward McCaffery. The hiring required the frank and quick negotiations that were part of Barta's strategy. Ultimately, they may go down as part of his Iowa legacy.

McCaffery, a successful coach at Siena, was offered coaching jobs by Big East Conference schools Seton Hall and St. John's. Barta was in a competitive situation, and any delay could have cost him his coach.

“Clearly when you're interested in somebody that other schools are interested in, you have to make sure that communication is very strong, that he knew where I stood and I knew where he stood,” Barta said. “I had intended to offer him the job early Sunday morning/late Saturday night, and I didn't know the dynamics of who else was talking to him Sunday morning or Saturday night. So I knew that he was the right guy Saturday night and why spend any more time waiting?”

“It was as forthright and open and honest as it could possibly be,” McCaffery said. “That's what makes me want to work here for him.”

While Barta agonized over firing Lickliter, alumni and boosters supported his decision Monday at McCaffery's introduction. Former player Jess Settles has seen the program plummet from annual NCAA tournament berths in the 1990s to a school-record 22 losses this year.

“I tip my hat to him for making the change,” Settles said. “It was a tough call. Whenever you get rid of somebody, you're disrupting lives. But I'm glad he cut the tie, and he's trying to start over.”

Barta spent the first 15 minutes of Monday's news conference describing the hiring process and why he picked McCaffery. That connected with Burlington booster Dick Benne.

“He just handles himself with class,” Benne said.

Barta led a five-member search committee that included former Iowa player and current radio analyst Bobby Hansen. Barta defined Hansen's role as that of a sounding board and basketball expert.

“(Barta) kind of threw all the scenarios out there that everybody's heard and all the different names that were out there, and we discussed all of them,” Hansen said. “Gary took it all in and ultimately made his decision.

“This is Gary's hire, let's face it.”

Barta replaced Bob Bowlsby as Iowa's athletics director in 2006. Iowa's other three high-profile athletics programs - football, wrestling and women's basketball - have sustained success with Bowlsby's hires. Barta has selected several Olympic sports candidates that have made modest improvements.

Off the field, Iowa's athletics department budget has become self-sustaining under Barta. It grew from $46 million in fiscal 2006 to $66 million in 2009, dropping slightly this year.

Facility projects, the financial details and hiring coaches all enter into Barta's Iowa legacy. That's how he prefers it, at least.

“I want to be defined by a total breadth of what Iowa was before I got here, and then hopefully I leave and they say I made it better,” Barta said. “I don't intend to be defined by one hire.”