Maryland Athletics announces the hire of former Utah State AD Diana Sabau

Ahmed Ghafir
Jul 8
2 min read

New Maryland AD Jim Smith will officially arrive in College Park to assume his new role as athletic director with Joe LaBue arriving on August 1, but there will be more new faces on the way with former Utah State athletic director Diana Sabau reportedly headed to College Park as senior deputy AD. The news broke on Tuesday night before it was announced by the university on Wednesday morning.

During Sabau’s two years, Utah State notched six Mountain West titles, including four during the 2023-24 year as she guided the university into the revamped Pac-12, hiring former Boise State and Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall. She also spearheaded nearly $30 million in new fundraising revenue through the first year of “Reach and Rise” campaign “to bring Aggies from across the nation together by encouraging private financial support of Utah State University Athletics.” Utah State also raised $1.5 million in pledges and donations after the Aggies made the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

"Diana comes to Maryland with a history of building dynamic winning cultures in college athletics," said new Maryland AD Jim Smith via release. "She has rich and deep experience in the Big Ten Conference with her long tenure at Ohio State and then serving as Deputy Commissioner at the conference office. 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."

Sabau was also reportedly a candidate for Rutgers’ athletic director search, while she previously served as the deputy commissioner and chief sports officer for the Big Ten. Sabau also spent time as senior deputy athletic director to AD Gene Smith at Ohio State, overlapping with now Maryland AD Jim Smith for three years in Columbus, and serving as sports administrator for several programs, including football where the Buckeyes won the Big Ten title each season under her guidance.

“During Diana’s tenure at The Ohio State University she evolved into an excellent administrator with unique talents and skills that cannot be replaced. She enjoyed a diversity of experiences that afforded her the ability to be exceptional in so many areas,” said Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith at the time of Sabau’s departure for the Big Ten. “Her service at OSU was more than as a steward; her passion and commitment to excellence were stellar.”

Sabau fills the shoes left vacant by Colleen Sorem, who was named the executive deputy athletic director last month under former Maryland AD Damon Evans.

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