Eastern Washington hires Nate Barry as assistant athletic director for athletic performance

Nate Barry has been hired as Eastern Washington University’s new assistant athletic director for athletic performance, the school announced Tuesday.

Barry will work with the Eagles’ football and men’s basketball teams and oversee a staff of three assistants/graduate assistants for all other sports. His position will plan and implement all aspects of individual performance of EWU’s nearly 300 student-athletes, including strength, conditioning, flexibility and nutrition.

Barry just spent three years working as strength and conditioning coach at Michigan. Prior to that had stops at Oregon State and Idaho.

He is a 2011 graduate of Idaho, where he received his bachelor’s in exercise science and health, with a minor in coaching.

“We’re fortunate to have Nate join our department and lead our strength, conditioning and nutrition efforts,” Eastern Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey said. “He comes to us with a wealth of experience from other schools at our level. He has hit the ground running and will be an integral part of our success in working closely with our student-athletes.”

All 11 years of Barry’s experience have included working with football programs. He has been a part of teams with six bowl game appearances. He’s worked with seven sports, including women’s basketball programs which have advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice with one Final Four appearance.

He is also a USA Weightlifting certified sport performance coach, and has received his certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

While at Michigan from January 2015 to last January, he worked as an assistant strength coach for the football team. Three times the Wolverines advanced to bowl games while he was there.

From January 2012 to January 2015, he was at Oregon State, serving as head strength and conditioning coach for women’s basketball for all three seasons. He also worked with men’s basketball, men’s soccer, baseball and men’s and women’s golf.

Barry also served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Beavers’ football program, which advanced to a pair of bowl games. From May 2011 to January 2012, he was a part-time assistant at OSU working with football, women’s basketball, men’s soccer and men’s golf.

Barry began his strength and conditioning career as an undergraduate at Idaho, working part time and as an intern with the football program, which advanced to the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl. During his time assisting the Vandals from May 2006 to May 2011, he also oversaw strength and conditioning programs for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s golf and the track and field team’s throwers.