Iowa set to hire ex-Colorado State AD Joe Parker as deputy athletic director, Chief Operating Officer

The University of Iowa has reportedly found its new deputy athletic director and Chief Operating Officer.

After spending nearly nine years as Colorado State’s athletic director, Joe Parker is set to be the Iowa Hawkeyes’ new deputy AD and Chief Operating Officer.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the news on Tuesday.

Parker steps into Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz’s vacated position. After nearly nine years guiding the Rams’ athletics department, Parker announced he was stepping down as Colorado State’s athletics director in February.

Hired in March 2015 by Colorado State, Parker oversaw the construction of CSU’s new on-campus stadium, Canvas Stadium . The $220 million, 727,000-square-foot facility was financed entirely through a bond sale, with no general fund or tuition funding, and backed by private donations.

Parker helped secure a record-setting $5 million donation from the Bohemian Foundation to aid in the creation of the women’s sports facility.

Under Parker’s guidance, Colorado State won 24 Mountain West championships.

One of the highlights was the hiring of Niko Medved to replace former Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy. Medved has compiled a 117-75 (60-46 Mountain West Conference) record during his run as Rams coach from 2018-24. CSU has made two out of the past three NCAA Tournaments.

Turmoil on the gridiron seemed to be the root of frustration among Rams fans with Parker’s tenure.

Mike Bobo, Steve Addazio and Jay Norvell each served as Colorado State head football coach during Parker’s run as AD. Bobo compiled a 28-35 (20-20 Mountain West) record from 2015-19, Addazio a 4-12 (3-9 Mountain West) mark from 2020-21 and Norvell an 8-16 (6-10 Mountain West) record during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

“It has been a privilege to serve Colorado State University and our students in this role. I also want to thank our many donors, partners and fans for helping to move the department forward and position CSU Athletics for a very bright future,” Parker said in a statement after his resignation from Colorado State .

Prior to his time at Colorado State, Parker served as Texas Tech’s deputy athletic director. Parker also joined Michigan as the associate athletics director for development and was promoted in 2006 to senior associate athletics director for development and corporate relations.

Parker also spent time at Texas , Washington State and Oklahoma .

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