Get To Know Utah State’s New Athletic Director Diana Sabau
What to expect from the new Aggies AD
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New era of Utah State athletics
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Diana Sabau has been introduced as Utah State University’s new Athletics Director and she is ready to “create comprehensive excellence” in Logan.
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In an introductory press conference on August 10th, 2023, the world got its first glimpse of the new-look Aggie leadership team. Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell, Utah State University’s brand-new University President introduced Diana Sabau as the new Athletics Director.
Cantwell, the university’s 17th president, put her confidence in Sabau saying “Before I introduce Diana I want to say that in my mind she is the leader for this moment. There are many challenges that await her and that await us. All you have to do is look at what’s happening in conference realignment to know that we are at a very interesting moment in history… She has the skills, she has the experience… I’m really proud that who we are and what we represent as an Aggie Athletics community has attracted someone like Diana Sabau.”
Of her criteria during the search, Cantwell said “In particular (we) looked at what is going to take to elevate USU Athletics into the next realm. And that’s really where I know Diana and I are focused.”
Great stuff. Anyone saying this was just a “conference realignment hire” is off base. This decision surely wasn’t made without knowledge of the current landscape, but it also wasn’t made with only the next few weeks/months in mind. Sabau is a great fit for the present and future. https://t.co/a4EtWbh7am
— parker ballantyne (@Pshark14) August 7, 2023
Cantwell also gave some insight into the logistics search process, saying that the search committee, chaired by Brian Steed, Utah State Executive Director for the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land Water and Air, presented her with five finalists on the very day she was sworn in as president. Before the president’s remarks, Steed said “Going into this search I recognized that this would be a monumental task.
There is tremendous interest in Aggie Athletics here in the valley as well as across the nation and we knew there was going to be a lot of interest in this… the entire search committee was very impressed by the depth and experience of our pool of candidates and we attribute that, obviously, to the great reputation Aggie Athletics has throughout the nation and the strength of our school just generally… we were able to attract just an incredible talent, an impressive skill, and talented leader to join our Aggie family.”
Included in a university press release, is a congratulatory message from Gloria Nevarez, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, who has also known Sabau for some time.
“Congratulations to President Cantwell and Utah State on recruiting Diana Sabau as their vice president and director of athletics,” Nevarez said. “She is an outstanding communicator, innovator, team player, and above all else the consummate servant leader. A terrific hire for USU and the Mountain West.”
When she took the floor, Sabau quickly outlined her vision for the future of Utah State athletics and affirmed her commitment to student-athletes, the community, and winning with integrity.
“Our student-athletes will always be at the forefront of my decision-making because we are here for them and they are here to make our community proud… together we will graduate our student-athletes so that they will be successful in the career paths that they chose… Together, we will create comprehensive excellence through all that we do in athletics… Together we will give back to the community of Logan, to cache valley, and beyond… Together, we will win with integrity, through our core values, creating a source of pride for all students, fans, and those who live and are part of Aggie Nation.”
She also promised to make winning an integral part of the department’s ethos. “I am a competitor, so of course, we are going to invest in winning.”
As she prepared to close, she offered an optimistic and enthusiastic rally, “Utah State athletics has a strong foundation and I can’t wait to be a part of how we elevate that and show the world: we are Aggies. Let’s go! Go Aggies!”
Sabau has an impressive resume and comes from a strong administrative pedigree.
Prior to taking the job, Sabau was deputy commissioner and chief sports officer for Big Ten Conference. Sabau oversaw the administration of all 28 conference-sponsored sports and was tasked with keeping the Big Ten Conference focused on serving the health, safety, well-being, and academic achievement of the student-athletes.
Sabau’s responsibilities included managing affiliate memberships, competition, scheduling, championships, sportsmanship, officiating, and awards and she had departmental oversight of football administration, basketball administration, hockey administration, Olympic sports administration, and officiating administration.
She also served as a key conference liaison to all the Big Ten coaching groups and administrators, including the Administrator’s Council, Senior Woman Administrators, ADs, bowl partners, coach’s groups, Sports Management Committee, and the NCAA.
