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Update: Joe Parker officially out as CSU athletic director, John Weber named to interim role

Damon Cook, Sports Editor

February 19, 2024

Collegian | Garrett Mogel

Colorado State University Athletic Director Joe Parker speaks at a press conference about Steve Addazio being fired from his position as head football coach Dec. 2, 2021. “I think coach Addazio drilled in deeply with these kids, with these young men,” Parker said.

Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story. Updates will be provided as they become available. This story has also been updated to remedy a confusion as to Joe Parker succeeding Jack Graham.

Joe Parker has been removed as athletic director of Colorado State University, the university confirmed after multiple news sources reported Parker’s departure the morning of Feb. 19. John Weber, CSU alumnus and executive director of The Green & Gold Guard — CSU’s name, image, likeness collective — will serve as interim athletic director. Weber was named interim AD by President Amy Parsons.

Parker originally signed with the university March 17, 2015, and was signed to a five-year extension July 28, 2022, that would have kept him in the position until Dec. 31, 2027.

Parker was slated to make $439,192 annually for the remainder of his contract, according to the Coloradoan.

One of the biggest knocks to Parker’s tenure was the CSU football team, which went only 40-63 during his time as the AD.

Parker, however, did oversee the $220 million addition to Canvas Stadium — to which he helped bring a $37.7 million naming rights deal with Canvas Credit Union — and the $6 million soccer and softball facilities.

Parker was the eighth AD for CSU, succeeding Jack Graham. Parker came under fire in 2019 after several former CSU football players met with former CSU President Joyce McConnell to ask for his dismissal, according to ESPN, which resulted in his suspension from the university.

CSU made an official announcement that Parker would step down from his role as athletic director and will now be a special advisor to CSU President Amy Parsons.

“Joe has been instrumental to all of our athletic programs’ success during his tenure at CSU,” Parsons said in a CSU SOURCE article. “On behalf of the entire Ram community, I want to sincerely thank Joe for his leadership and commitment to building a program that values and strives for excellence on the field and in the classroom.”

Parker was also quoted in the SOURCE article.

“It has been a privilege to serve Colorado State University and our students in this role,” Parker said. “I want to thank our talented student-athletes, coaches and staff for their commitment and effort. … I also want to thank our many donors, partners and fans for helping to move the department forward and position CSU Athletics for a very bright future.”

CSU also announced that Weber would step in as the interim athletic director. Weber is a former track athlete for the Rams and served as the CEO for Long Range Systems until 2021.

Weber was the executive director for The Green & Gold Guard — a name, image, likeness collective fund for CSU athletes — but has resigned.

Reach Damon Cook at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dwcook2001.

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About the Contributors

Damon Cook, Sports Editor

Damon Cook is the 2023-24 sports editor for the The Collegian and has been at the paper since August 2022. He started doing coverage on volleyball and club sports before moving onto the women's basketball beat. He is in his third year and is completing his degree with a major in journalism and media communication and a minor in sports management. As The Collegian's sports editor, Cook reports on CSU sports and helps manage the sports desk and content throughout the week. After having a year to learn and improve, Cook will now get to be part of a new age under the sports desk. The desk moved on from all but one other person and will now enter into a new era. Damon started school as a construction management major looking to go in a completely different direction than journalism. After taking the year off during the COVID-19 pandemic, he quickly realized that construction wasn't for him. With sports and writing as passions, he finally decided to chase his dreams, with The Collegian helping him achieve that. He is most excited to bring the best and most in-depth sports coverage that The Collegian can provide.

Garrett Mogel, Photo Director

Garrett Mogel is a third-year journalism student with a second field in philosophy. He is one of two photo directors for the 2023-24 school year. Growing up in Colorado and surrounded by dreamlike landscapes and adventure sports, it was only a matter of time before Mogel picked up a camera. For over a decade, Mogel explored Colorado, portaging rivers, postholing through several feet of snow, rappelling over cliffs and skinning up mountains, all with a camera in hand. Through his adventures, Mogel began attaching stories to images and began to engage viewers in conversation about their favorite areas. Eventually, Mogel’s passion for photography and storytelling drew him to pursue a degree and career in photojournalism. In his years at college, Mogel has worked with The Collegian every year. In progressing through the publication, Mogel has seen all the ways student media fosters growth both individually as well as through collaboration. Additionally, the opportunity to witness how impactful a story can be on a personal, organizational and community level is his greatest lesson thus far. Beyond The Collegian, Mogel still finds time to appreciate his Colorado upbringing. When not on assignment, he can usually be found mountain biking, skiing, camping, river surfing or at home planning his next adventure.

This publication is not an official publication of Colorado State University, but is published by an independent corporation using the name The Rocky Mountain Collegian pursuant to a license granted by CSU. Approximately 59% of Rocky Mountain Student Media Corp’s income is provided by the Associated Students of Colorado State University (ASCSU) for the purpose of fostering student careers post-college and greater campus awareness and engagement.

Go to www.rockymountainstudentmedia.com for more information. Rocky Mountain Student Media is a registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 26-2998141

Comments (1)

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Guy M. Blasi • Feb 19, 2024 at 1:17 pm

Parker did a great job with non-football sports. However, with the big one, the Elephant in the room, it wasn’t a good outcome.


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