Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sandy Barbour Announces Retirement

Story posted March 16, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Zech Lambert

Penn State’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Sandy Barbour, announced she will retire from the university this summer.

Barbour has been a part of Penn State since 2014, originally joining as the athletic director before being appointed the vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics in 2019.

As of right now, there is no replacement for Barbour, but the university said in a release that it will conduct a “national search” and details will be “forthcoming.”

During Barbour’s time at Penn State, varsity teams won six NCAA championships and 39 conference championships.

Among these conference championships were 31 Big Ten titles, including a football conference championship in 2016.

The football team appeared in seven bowl games during Barbour’s eight years, three of which were New Year’s Six bowl games.

Other teams saw success under Barbour as well, such as the men’s basketball team, who won the NIT in 2018.

The wrestling team has also seen massive success. Cael Sanderson’s squad won five of the seven national championships during Barbour’s tenure.

Both women’s volleyball and women’s soccer both hoisted national champion trophies throughout the eight years Barbour was at Penn State.

One of Barbour’s final moves with Penn State came when the university announced a 10-year, $70 million extension for James Franklin in December.


Zech Lambert is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email zbl5146@psu.edu.