SAN DIEGO - San Diego State University's highly regarded athletic director resigned Monday to lead the athletic department at the University of Missouri.
Jim Sterk will be replaced on an interim basis by Jenny Bramer, who has served in various SDSU athletic department roles for 13 years, SDSU President Elliot Hirshman said.
Hirshman said SDSU will launch an immediate search for a new athletic director, with a committee chaired by Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Tom McCarron.
"Jim has made extraordinary contributions to the success of SDSU's athletics teams," Hirshman said. "I am grateful to Jim and his family for their service to the university community and wish them great success in their new endeavor."
Sterk, 60, joined SDSU in 2010 after spending a decade as the AD at Washington State. Since then, the Aztecs' football and men's basketball programs rank third in combined winning percentage, behind only Ohio State and Louisville.
He also stabilized athletic department fundraising and finances, and guided the program through the Big East saga, in which the school announced intentions to join the conference as a football-only member, only to back out later when that league lost its most prestigious members.
More recently, Sterk was named to the committee that selects teams for the NCAA men's basketball tournament and was honored as the 2016 National Athletic Director of the Year by his colleagues.
"San Diego State University is committed to the continued success and achievement of Aztec athletics. and the coming year promises to be an exciting one for Aztec athletics as we set our sights on conference championships and success for our student-athletes," Hirshman said. "We will build on the success that Jim Sterk brought to San Diego State as we go into the new year."
Sterk will reportedly receive a large salary boost at well-heeled Missouri, a member of the Southeastern Conference. The university's Board of Curators has scheduled a closed-session meeting Tuesday to ratify Sterk's hiring, according to media reports.
Sterk will replace Mack Rhoades, who resigned after a year on the job to lead the athletic program at scandal-plagued Baylor. He starts his new job Sept. 1.
