University of Iowa President Mary Sue Coleman plans to combine the men’s and women’s athletic programs. Coleman’s decision was one of the recommendations from a university committee that studied the issue after the retirement of women’s athletic director Christine Grant. Coleman says the move will allow the university to provide the most opportunities for all athletes.Men’s athletic director Bob Bowlsby will now oversee both programs.Bowlsby says he looks forward to the combination of the two programs and says the athletes — male or female — won’t notice much in the change.The university does plan to hire a senior women’s administrator. Bowlsby says he will continue to seek women coaches to coach women’s sports. He expects the administration to be well integrated.Bowlsby says he doesn’t favor combining any of the men’s and women’s sports at the U-of-I under a single head coach. The University of Iowa was one of the few colleges in the nation to have a separate athletic director for its women’s sports programs.
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