Oregon State Takes First Steps Towards Next Athletic Director
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Last month, Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes announced his retirement.
Earlier this week, the university took their first steps towards finding Barnes' replacement.
First reported by OregonLive.com's James Crepea, Oregon State have hired a search firm, and assembled a thirteen member advisory committee to assist with interviewing & hiring Barnes' successor.
Elevate Talent, a consulting firm that specializes in sports management, will administer the search process. Carla Ho’ā, Oregon State University's Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer, will chair the school's advisory committee.
Ho’ā holds over three decades of experience in higher education finance, and currently oversees over seven hundred Oregon State employees across ten different units. As Oregon State's CFO and Vice President, she reports directly to university President Jayathi Murthy.
Five current Oregon State head coaches have roles on the committee: football coach JaMarcus Shephard, men's basketball coach Justin Joyner, women's basketball coach Scott Rueck, baseball skipper Mitch Canham, and gymnastics coach Tonya Chaplin. In addition, the committee includes one current Oregon State student-athlete: women's golfer Rebecca Kim. While she is a standout on the green, the Vancouver British Columbia native is even more impressive in the classroom: Kim is currently a junior in Oregon State's Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program. Last Spring she placed on the West Coast Conference's All-Academic Team, and was named an All-American Scholar by the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).
Two more seats on the committee are occupied by Oregon State administrators - marketing professor/faculty athletics representative Colleen Bee, and senior associate athletic director Jacque Bruns - while an additional Oregon State tie is OSU Foundation president Shawn Scoville.
Lululemon Chief Brand and Product Officer Nikki Neuberger, an Oregon State alum with a history of assisting her alma mater with executive hiring searches, is also on the committee. Neuberger most recently helped Oregon State's Fall 2025 football hiring search. During her college days in Corvallis, Neuberger captained the Beavers' volleyball team.
The Reser family has deep ties to Oregon State University, and Reser's Fine Foods CEO Mark Reser, an Oregon State graduate from the class of 1998, will contribute on the committee. He is joined by DeMonty Price, a member of the OSU Foundation's Board of Trustees and a graduate from the class of 1990. Price also has substantial business experience, including nineteen years as an executive at Restoration Hardware, a multi-billion dollar retail home-furnisher.
In an exclusive interview with OregonLive.com, President Murthy stressed that the school hoped to hire their next athletic director in time for the Pac-12 Conference relaunch in July.
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Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.