Utah State University Announces Departure of Athletics Director

Utah State University Interim President Al Smith announced today that Diana Sabau, vice president and director of USU Athletics, will leave the university to accept a new position at the University of Maryland. Her last day at Utah State is July 21, 2025.

“I deeply appreciate Diana Sabau for her exceptional leadership and the significant momentum she has built within the USU athletic program,” said President Smith. “From guiding the university through its transition from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 to leading the most ambitious athletics fundraising campaign in our university’s history, Diana has positioned USU strongly on the national stage and laid a solid foundation for future success.”

Diana Sabau has served in this role since August 21, 2023. During her tenure, Sabau elevated the USU Athletics program, while continually keeping her focus on the experience and well-being of USU’s student-athletes. Under Sabau’s leadership, the department realized many achievements:

• In September 2024, Utah State accepted an invitation to join the Pac-12 Conference, which marked a new era for USU Athletics, ensuring USU’s relevance in a fast-changing college athletics space, and futureproofing the continued success of USU’s teams and student-athletes.

• The Aggies won six conference championships, including a school-record four during the 2023-24 academic year in women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, men’s tennis and women’s soccer. USU won its first Mountain West title in women’s gymnastics and women’s soccer claimed its second consecutive MW Tournament title in 2024-25.

• Under Sabau’s leadership, USU announced the Reach and Rise campaign. The campaign, which is the most ambitious athletics fundraising initiative in Utah State history, has already received nearly $29 million in gifts and pledges. At the 2024 A Day of Giving, athletics surpassed its previous high for donations by 23%. Additionally, in partnership with the Big Blue Club and the Blue A Collective, Utah State received over $1 million in donations and pledges at the inaugural Match Madness event linked to the men’s basketball’s trip to the NCAA Tournament.

• Sabau made key coaching hires, who sustained success and energized the athletics department. Before the 2024-25 academic year, Wes Brooks and Jerrod Calhoun were hired to oversee the women’s and men’s basketball programs, respectively. Under Calhoun, the Aggies finished the 2024-25 campaign 26-8 and 15-5 in Mountain West play, advancing to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed. In December 2024, Sabau hired Bronco Mendenhall to guide the football program. And Sabau retained Manny Martins, who led the women's soccer program to back-to-back Mountain West Tournament titles and extended his contract with USU through the 2027 season.

• Importantly, under Sabau’s guidance and direction, Utah State excelled in the classroom with 266 student-athletes earning Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2024-25 academic year at the inaugural Sagebrush Awards, marking a department high. Following the 2025 spring semester, USU student-athletes posted a 3.51 cumulative grade-point average and a 3.57 term GPA, the highest GPAs in department history. Additionally, it marked the 46th consecutive term that all Utah State student-athletes combined to earn a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

“I am grateful for my time at Utah State University and all we accomplished, from fundraising milestones to conference championships and success beyond the playing fields, including our outstanding academic accomplishments,” Sabau said. “Our mission over the past two years has been to modernize the athletics department and position Utah State for long-term success while building a championship culture for USU student-athletes. I am extremely grateful to all of those who invested in our student-athletes and showed an energized commitment to revenue sharing and a modernized NIL structure. The department has grown and is well-prepared to thrive as it joins the new Pac-12 in 2026. The opportunity at the University of Maryland takes me back to a conference I love, and a high-functioning Power 4 environment in a region where I have spent most of my athletics career.” 

Interim President Smith is focused on identifying a strong interim leader who will bring stability to the program and support USU’s continued momentum. More information will be shared as the process moves forward.

About Utah State University Athletics

The Utah State University Aggies compete at the NCAA Division I level in 16 sports. The Aggies are members of the Mountain West Conference and have won nine MW conference championships (regular season, tournament or championship game) over the past four years in football, men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women's soccer, men’s tennis and women’s gymnastics, along with the 2022 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference title.

Utah State Athletics concluded a historic 2023-24 athletics year with a school-record four Mountain West championships, tying for the second most in the conference. USU student-athletes shined in the classroom and led the MW in 2023-24 with 440 academic awards, including 249 academic honors and 191 scholar-athletes. USU has accepted an invitation to join the Pac-12 beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.