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Washington Evening Journal
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University of Northern Iowa names Bob Bowlsby interim athletic director
The University of Northern Iowa has named Bob Bowlsby its interim athletic director. He will take over after David Harris departs next year.
Bowlsby, former UNI athletic director and retired Big 12 Commissioner, will return to the role on a temporary basis in January, pending approval from the Iowa Board of Regents. Harris will leave UNI, where he’s worked since 2016, and head to Tulane University in January to start his new position in the same role.
UNI President Mark Nook said in a news release that Bowlsby will stay in the role until a candidate is selected from a national search.
“Bob’s passion for our institution and his dedication to Panther Athletics are both well documented, as well as his extensive resume of expertise in collegiate athletics,” Nook said in the release.
“Bob was the first individual that came to mind when this opening arose and we are thankful that his wife, Candice, their children and grandchildren have agreed to ‘loan’ him to us in this interim role until our next Director of Athletics is in place.”
Bowlsby, a Waterloo native, served as UNI’s assistant director of athletics facilities from 1981-1983 and athletic director from 1983-1991, and is currently a member of the steering committee for the university’s $250 million fundraising campaign. He was inducted into the UNI Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
After leaving UNI, Bowlsby held positions at the University of Iowa and Stanford University. He was appointed as Big 12 Commissioner in 2012 and retired in 2022. He’s held multiple NCAA council and committee positions, and served on the United States Olympic Committee board of directors from 2007-2014.
“Very few opportunities could have lured me out of retirement, even on a short-term basis,” Bowlsby said in the release. “Plenty of people have contacted me, but when President Nook called I certainly listened intently. The invitation to help set up the next Director of Athletics at UNI for success was an opportunity that I simply couldn’t refuse.”
