Hat tip to Pete Thamel at ESPN for being first on this.
A week after Trev Alberts left Nebraska to be the Athletic Director at Texas A&M it appears that Nebraska has found the replacement in Washington Athletic Director Troy Dannen.
At first, it was exciting to think that Nebraska is poaching an athletic director from another Power Five school, let alone a school that is coming into the Big Ten. This is especially so when you see the recent success Washington had on the football field.
Then you learn that he has actually only been at Washington for six months. However, it appears that he has been busy since he arrived at Washington.
Troy Dannen spent five months as Washington’s athletic director — saw the Huskies reach the national title game, lose coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, hired Jedd Fisch as DeBoer’s replacement, fired basketball coach Mike Hopkins. Now, he’s off to Nebraska.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) March 20, 2024
Prior to being at Washington he spent eight years at Tulane and eight years at University of Northern Iowa.
Here is an excerpt from Thamel’s article:
While in the American Athletic Conference, Dannen built a relationship with Nebraska coach Matt Rhule, who worked at Temple from 2013 to ‘16. They’ll work closely together as Rhule enters his second season in Lincoln.
Nebraska officials prioritized Dannen’s Midwest ties and strong football background, as he has worked on the NCAA football oversight committee, NCAA football competition committee and also the NCAA transformation committee. He has also been a part of Big Ten meetings since starting at Washington, giving him insight into the workings of league.
“He’s an Iowa guy who understands the values of Nebraska,” a school source told ESPN. “He’s also a sitting athletic director who understands the Big Ten and doesn’t need to get caught up in the Big Ten.”
Sure seems like a good hire. I wonder if he has any ambitions to be the Big Ten Commissioner or the Chairman of the College Football Playoff. Hopefully not.
