Intercom

Ithaca College Associate Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Susan Bassett '79 has announced that Steve Barnes '05 will return to South Hill to serve as Assistant Director of Athletics, A&E Operations and Budget Management. Barnes begins his appointment on July 11

"I am absolutely delighted that Steve Barnes will return to IC and deploy his many talents for the benefit of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation," said Bassett. "He achieved a high level of success at each stop on his professional journey. How fortunate for us to welcome back a Hall of Fame member with unique experience in aquatics to lead operations in the Athletics and Event Center. Steve is a Bomber who strives for excellence in all that he does."

Barnes has spent the last nine years of his career at Penn State University as an assistant and associate head coach with the swimming & diving programs. Barnes joined the Penn State staff in 2013 as an assistant and was elevated to associate head coach in 2019.

"Returning to Ithaca College is a true honor, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to impact everyone who is a part of the Bomber Nation," said Barnes. "Thank you for Susan Bassett, the leadership team, and the search committee for this amazing opportunity. My time as a student-athlete at Ithaca was a truly transformative experience, and I hope to continue to create such opportunities and experiences for the student-athletes, coaches, and staff in IC's continued pursuit of excellence."

Outside of the athletic success of the Nittany Lion teams and coaching duties, Barnes was responsible for coordinating and managing a budget of $500,000 for travel, recruiting, operations and equipment for PSU swimming & diving.

Now back at his alma mater, Barnes will mainly be responsible for managing the operations and scheduling of the Athletics & Events Center as well as oversee the departmental operating budgets for all 27 intercollegiate athletics teams at IC. Barnes will also compile game contracts, work with coaches on team travel arrangements and assist in athletic event operations throughout the academic year.

Prior to his time at Penn State, Barnes was the swimming & diving head coach and aquatics director at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. from 2009-13. He also spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Kalamazoo College from 2006-09.

As a student-athlete, Barnes was a standout swimmer for the Bombers program and was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018. Barnes was a four-time All-American in middle to long distance races, and still ranks among the best swimmers in program history. Barnes claimed a pair of All-American showings during his junior season with an 11th place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay and 14th in the 1,650 freestyle (16:05.01). His first All-America performance came during his freshman campaign in the 1,650 as he finished 15th and he capped off his career with a 14th place performance (16:03.69) in the 1,650 his senior season.

He graduated from IC in 2005 with a degree in television/radio and obtained his master's in exercise science in 2006.