Meet Utah State's new AD
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- During Thursday's Utah State game, the blog went up into the crowd and met the Aggies' new athletic director, Scott Barnes. (Thanks to KMJ's Bill Woodward, the voice of the Bulldogs, for pointing him out.)
Barnes played for Fresno State in '83-'84 and '84-'85, after transferring from Division II Eastern Montana. He was also a Bulldog for the '82-'83 season, but had to sit out that season because of transfer rules. He met Fresno State coach Boyd Grant at a basketball clinic.
Here's a quick Scott Barnes history, as best I could cobble it together while he and the other Aggies cheered for Utah State ...
(OK, Barnes isn't an Aggie quite yet. He starts the job March 28.)
- Barnes is born in Spokane, Wash.
- Barnes famliy moves to northern California, where he plays high school ball at Liberty Union in Brentwood, a city halfway between Oakland and Stockton.
- Barnes goes to Eastern Montana. ("I had a lot of maturing to do," he says.)
- Barnes transfers to Fresno State, where he plays center and averages in double-figures both seasons. Even though he is only 6-foot-8, he holds Hakeem Olajuwon scoreless for an entire first half (a "matchup zone," Barnes says) and the Bulldogs beat Houston in the Chaminade Classic. Olajuwon has 12 in the second half.
- Barnes meets Jody Mariscal, who is a freshman high jumper at Fresno State when he is a senior. ("I got to her before she knew what was good for her," he jokes.) Mariscal had gone to Merced High School where in 1984 she had the best mark in the Sac-Joaquin Section, 5-feet, 7-inches. (Can you believe the things you can find on the Internet?) At Fresno State, she was twice Big West runner-up in the high jump. Scott and Jody get married, and are still married.
- Barnes gets into administration and eventually becomes the University of Washington's senior associate athletic director for advancement. Barnes job at Washington is aptly named because it helps him advance to the Utah State job.
- Scott and Jody have a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.
- Barnes is excited about living in Utah because he's a fly fisherman. (This blog thinks fly fishing looks like a lot of work.)
- Barnes has a solid, fingers-in-the-mouth whistle, which he used towards the end of Thursday's Utah State game.
And I think that pretty much catches you up on the life of Scott Barnes, soon-to-be AD at Utah State. Even though I've only been there once, it's hard to argue that Logan, Utah, would be a beautiful place to live. If your goal is to see as many U2 concerts as possible, then it's probably not the place for you.
The cheerleading program alone would be reason enough to enroll there. (A sports information type person from Utah State says that contrary to popular belief, all the students there are not as pretty as the cheerleaders. The blog refuses to believe that.)