Pete Garcia

Pedro Andres Garcia (born September 18, 1961) is a Cuban-born American sports administrator who was the athletic director for Florida International University since 2006. Previously, Garcia was director of football operations at the University of Miami, vice president of the Cleveland Browns, and associate athletic director at the University of Miami.

Early life and education Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba, on September 18, 1961. He moved to the United States with his family at age six under the Freedom Flights program. Garcia graduated from Hialeah High School and later completed a B.S. in business administration at the University of Miami in 1984.

FIU (2006–2021) Overview On October 10, 2006, Florida International University (FIU) named Garcia athletic director effective October 16.

Six months before his contract was to expire, FIU signed Garcia to a new five-year contract on April 1, 2011 with a $16,000 raise and new title "Executive Director of Sports and Entertainment" replacing athletic director.

During a period of national athletic conference realignment, Garcia later led FIU's move from the Sun Belt Conference to Conference USA effective July 1, 2013 following an announcement on May 4, 2012.

Early in 2015, with a lack of winning seasons in football and men's basketball and only two conference championships since 2012 in any sport, FIU Alumni Association president Frank Pena called on FIU to fire Garcia. In September 2016, a booster bought a banner plane that flew over campus with a sign calling for Garcia to be fired, but FIU extended Garcia through 2018, after which Garcia planned to resign. However, in January 2018, The Miami Herald reported that Garcia was in talks for another contract extension.

Football Just two days before he was to begin as FIU athletic director, Garcia encountered a crisis to manage, a brawl between the FIU and Miami football teams during their October 14, 2006 game in which 13 players were ejected. Garcia issued apologies on behalf of FIU and later suspended 16 FIU players who participated in the violence, in addition to dismissing two other players.

Following the resignation of FIU's inaugural head coach Don Strock, Garcia made his first major coaching hire at FIU on December 19, 2006, Mario Cristobal as only the second head football coach in school history. With a 27–47 cumulative record from 2007 to 2012, Cristobal would become the most successful FIU football coach. In 2010, Cristobal led FIU football to its first winning season with a 7–6 record, first Sun Belt Conference title, and first bowl win in the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The 2011 season had an 8–5 record and second straight bowl appearance. Following a 3–9 season in 2012, Garcia fired Cristobal, a decision criticized for its rashness.

Ron Turner, the former San Jose State and Illinois head coach hired by Garcia to replace Cristobal, was not as successful, compiling a 10–30 overall record before being fired four games in the 2016 season.

In November 2016, Garcia hired Butch Davis, his former boss at the University of Miami and Cleveland Browns, as FIU football head coach. Davis led FIU to an 8–5 record and Gasparilla Bowl appearance in 2017, for the first winning season and bowl appearance since 2011.

Academic issues The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) reduced scholarships for FIU football, men's basketball, and baseball for the 2007–08 school year due to poor Academic Progress Rate scores from before Garcia's time as athletic director. A year later, the NCAA placed FIU on probation for four years through 2012 and further reduced scholarships in football and other sports due to multiple major violations of NCAA policies regarding academic eligibility and financial aid. Having discovered the violations through an internal investigation, Garcia had ordered self-imposed scholarship reductions that the NCAA accepted.