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Hedges retiring as AD at Washington

SEATTLE, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Barbara Hedges, the outspoken athletic director at the University of Washington, has announced she is retiring on Jan. 16.

Hedges, 66, has overseen a couple of major controversies in her tenure at the Seattle school, most notably the gambling scandal involving former men's football coach Rick Neuheisel.

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"I have given a great deal of consideration to this decision and it feels like the right time to retire," said Hedges, who has been at the school since May 20, 1991 and currently the longest-tenured AD in the Pacific-10 Conference.

She oversaw a facilities upgrade of more than $100 million and, minus state funding, she has built one of the nation's largest athletics programs. It has 11 men's programs and 12 for the women.

Also, during her tenure, the school has listed student-athletes on the dean's list 275 times. The school's football graduation rate of 67 percent was the second highest in the Pac-10 schools according to a 2003 report.

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