EXTRA POINTS: Big changes at Barton as Hester adds AD duties

Barton College announced major leadership changes in athletics effective as it moves toward the Fourth of July weekend, with Chip Hester adding the athletic director role while continuing as head football coach. Ken Tyler will step down as Vice President and Director of Athletics after three years, when he also oversaw multiple upgrades, the addition of new programs, and eight conference titles. The school said Tyler is leaving Barton for a senior athletic administration position at Division I Towson University in Maryland. Hester, hired in 2018 to revive Barton’s football program for a third era since 1950, will enter his seventh season as head coach and will run the department as AD. During Tyler’s tenure, Barton renovated the Michalak Tennis Complex and the Bulldog Club Room in Wilson Gymnasium, and completed the Truist Stadium Tower Administrative Suite, while adding women’s flag football, women’s field hockey, and men’s and women’s triathlon.