Pitt reportedly tabs Utah State’s Barnes as new athletic director

After a four-month process, Pitt has found its new athletic director.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the school has hired Utah State University’s current athletic director Scott Barnes to the same position. An official announcement is expected Friday.

Barnes, a former basketball player at Fresno State University, has served as Utah State’s athletic director since March 2008. During his tenure in Logan, Utah, the department earned the National Champion in Excellence in Management Cup in 2009, which recognizes the most efficiently run athletic department in the country.

After beginning his career with stints in the athletic departments of University of San Diego and the University of the Pacific, Barnes, 52, served as Eastern Washington University’s athletic director from 1999-2005. Following his tenure in Cheney, Wash., he became the senior associate athletics director for advancement at the University of Washington, working there from 2005-2008, before heading to Utah State.

Barnes is replacing Steve Pederson, who served as athletic director at Pitt from 1996-2002 and again from 2007 until this December, when Pitt relieved him of his duties after head football coach Paul Chryst bolted for Wisconsin.

Randy Juhl, vice chancellor for research conduct and compliance, has served as Pitt’s interim athletic director since Pederson’s departure.

The University has declined comment regarding the hiring.