Barta Resigns as UTB/TSC Head Baseball Coach
Posted August 4, 2008
Joel Barta, the head baseball coach for the UTB/TSC Scorpions, has resigned, effective August 15.

Barta has accepted a position as the Head Baseball Coach at Ridgewater College in Willmar, Minnesota, where members of his family will be much closer to their relatives.

"It has nothing to do with the school, because this was a place where I loved going to work every day," Barta said. "It's been great here. I've not had anybody that has not made me feel at home."

Barta coached the Scorpions for their first two seasons as members of the NAIA, accumulating a record 43-58-1.

In 2007, UTB/TSC finished with a 19-26-1 record and missed the Red River Athletic Conference playoffs by one game. In 2008, the Scorpions went 24-32, including a berth in the RRAC Championship Tournament, where UTB/TSC finished third.

Previously, Barta was the head baseball coach at Northland College in Ashland, Wis. for six years.

Barta is a native of Michigan, North Dakota, about 300 miles from Willmar. "Anybody who knows me well knows that my family is priority," Barta said. "It's been hard for my wife and daughters being away from aunts, uncles and grandparents, and my family is very important to me."

A search for Barta's successor will begin immediately.