{"id":11549407,"date":"2025-07-09T14:16:35","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T18:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11549407"},"modified":"2025-07-09T16:15:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:15:47","slug":"maryland-hires-utah-state-ad-diana-sabau-jim-smith-deputy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/09\/maryland-hires-utah-state-ad-diana-sabau-jim-smith-deputy\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland hires Utah State AD Diana Sabau as Jim Smith’s top assistant"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Maryland athletic director Jim Smith\u2019s department is rounding into form.<\/p>\n

The Terps tabbed Utah State athletic director Diana Sabau as chief deputy athletic director, the school announced Wednesday, adding Smith\u2019s top assistant as the pair look to guide the athletic department into the reshaped landscape of college athletics.<\/p>\n

“Diana comes to Maryland with a history of building dynamic winning cultures in college athletics,” Smith said in a news release<\/a>. “She has worked in all facets of intercollegiate athletics at the highest levels with some of the most successful programs in the country. She has extensive experience, knowledge, and relationships throughout the country, which will be a major benefit to Maryland. We are so excited to add her to our leadership team at Maryland and know she will have a major impact on the future success of all of our Terrapins.”<\/p>\n

Sabau (pronounced say-bo) was Utah State\u2019s athletic director for the previous two years. There, she oversaw the school\u2019s move from the Mountain West to the Pac-12 and hired new football, men\u2019s basketball and women\u2019s basketball coaches. The Aggies produced a school-record four conference championships in her first year.<\/p>\n

Before joining Utah State, she spent two years as the deputy commissioner and chief sports officer for the Big Ten after working in Ohio State\u2019s athletic department for two decades, overlapping there with Smith before he transitioned to a career in professional sports.<\/p>\n

In her new role in College Park, which she\u2019ll begin July 28, Sabau will be responsible for \u201cimplementing new strategies and initiatives, including revenue-share management, contract negotiations, football scheduling, creating operating efficiencies, enhancing the overall student-athlete experience, and correspondence with the Big Ten Conference,\u201d according to the release.<\/p>\n