Jeff Barber (athletic director)

Jeff Barber
Current position
TitleAthletic director
TeamCharleston Southern
ConferenceBig South
Biographical details
Born (1958-01-12) January 12, 1958 (age 66)[1]
Greenville, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma materEast Carolina University
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1985–1986Columbia Mets (assistant GM)
1986–1987Montreal Expos (director of operations)
1987–1991East Carolina (assistant AD)
1991–1996Furman (associate AD)
1996–2006South Carolina (associate AD)
2006–2016Liberty
2018–presentCharleston Southern

Jeff Barber (born January 12, 1958) is an American college athletics administrator, currently[when?] the athletic director at Charleston Southern University.

He was previously the athletic director at Liberty University from 2006 to 2016. During his tenure at Liberty, Barber oversaw extensive growth in the Flames' athletic program, including the building of new venues for the school's baseball and softball programs.[2] He also made the decision to eliminate Liberty's wrestling program in 2011, in order to bring the university in compliance with federal Title IX regulations.[3] However, after several years of attempts, he was unable to secure Liberty an invitation to move up to a Football Bowl Subdivision conference, after several years of school president Jerry Falwell Jr. publicly stating Liberty's wish to reclassify.[4] Barber resigned from his position at Liberty on November 17, 2016.[5]

Before his time at Liberty, Barber was an assistant athletic director at East Carolina University from 1987 to 1991, an associate athletic director at Furman University from 1991 to 1996, and an associate athletic director at the University of South Carolina from 1996 to 2006. He graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor's degree in 1981.

He was named athletic director at Charleston Southern University on May 17, 2018.[6]

  1. ^ "High Profile - Jeff Barber". Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association. May 17, 2010. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Lang, Chris (June 16, 2014). "A Q&A with Liberty AD Jeff Barber: On football and baseball". The News & Advance. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
    - Lang, Chris (June 18, 2014). "Q&A with Liberty AD Jeff Barber, Part 2". The News & Advance. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  3. ^ Lang, Chris (March 31, 2011). "LU athletic director weighed options before reclassifying wrestling". The News & Advance. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  4. ^ Wolken, Dan (August 19, 2014). "At Liberty, FBS dreams and a high-resource reality". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
    - Pennington, Bill (November 10, 2012). "In Virginia's Hills, a Football Crusade". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
    - Minium, Harry (October 4, 2013). "In mission to reach FBS, Flames set for a following". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
    - Sordelett, Damien (April 2, 2013). "Liberty in talks with Sun Belt". The News & Advance. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  5. ^ Sordelett, Damien (November 17, 2016). "Liberty University's athletic director resigns". The News & Advance. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
    - "Liberty AD Jeff Barber resigns after 11 years at school". ESPN. Associated Press. November 17, 2016. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
    - "Liberty University's athletic director resigns effective immediately". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 18, 2016. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  6. ^ Shelton, David (May 17, 2018). "Arena, NCAA probe among challenges for new Charleston Southern athletic director Jeff Barber". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.