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Note: A press conference will be scheduled early next week to formally introduce Dannen to the media and Nebraskans.
University of Nebraska Interim President Chris Kabourek announced today that he has named Troy Dannen, a leading voice in college athletics with extensive experience as an athletic director and deep ties to the Midwest and Big Ten, as the next AD of the University of Nebraska. Nebraska, starting Friday.
Dannen currently serves as Director of Athletics at the University of Washington, a Big Ten partner institution. Previously, he was AD at Tulane, and before that he coached athletics at his alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa. Dannen has roots in the Midwest, as he grew up on a farm outside of Marshalltown, Iowa. .
“From my first conversation with Troy Dannen, I knew he was a great fit for Nebraska,” Kabourek said. “He is a fierce competitor, he holds himself and his programs to extraordinarily high standards and cares personally about the success of student-athletes in sports, school and life. Troy sees the vision and momentum we have here at Nebraska, from our bold investments in facilities to our record-breaking success in the classrooms to our bold plan to elevate our national reputation and competitiveness, and he is excited to be a part of it. I am thrilled to have found someone who is 100% aligned with our high expectations and will be fully committed to Nebraska.
“Husker Nation, we have found a winner in Troy Dannen. I can’t wait to welcome him and his family to Nebraska.”
Dannen said, “Joining the Nebraska family is a true honor. My family and I are honored by the opportunity to be a part of such a proud athletics program, institution, community and state. Growing up in Iowa, I watched a lot of Nebraska football on Saturdays with my family. I’ve spent a lot of time in the state and found that we share a similar approach to life, work and sports: work hard, be humble, compete and expect to win.
“There is a historic tradition in Nebraska, but there is still work to be done. I truly believe that our best years are ahead of us. I couldn’t be more grateful to Interim President Chris Kabourek for this opportunity. Chris has championed an inspiring vision of excellence throughout the University of Nebraska and he and I are completely aligned on where Nebraska should go in the future. I look forward to doing my part to help Nebraska win championships across the board, graduate our student-athletes, and elevate the world-class reputation of the University of Nebraska. “I can’t wait to get to Nebraska and get to work.”
Head football coach Matt Rhule said, “I am very excited about this hire. Interim President Kabourek has found exactly the right person to lead the Huskers forward. Troy sees the same thing we do: that Nebraska is a special place, with special people, great vision and the unashamed courage to want to win across the board. The fact that someone of Troy’s caliber wants to join Team Nebraska will light a fire throughout our department. Come on!”
Dannen has been in Washington since 2023. He is also in his fourth year as chairman of the NCAA Football Competition Committee and as a member of the Football Oversight Committee Executive Committee.
From 2021 to 2023, Dannen served on the NCAA Constitution Committee and then the Division I Transformation Committee, as one of a small group of chancellors, presidents, directors of athletics, commissioners and faculty athletic representatives in the three divisions of the NCAA charged with charting a future. path to college athletics. In 2022, Dannen was a finalist for Sports Business Journal’s Athletic Director of the Year award and received the Distinguished American Award from the Sugar Bowl Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
He came to Washington after serving as Director of Athletics at Tulane University since 2015. While at Tulane, Green Wave student-athletes earned 49 All-American honors, won one national championship, 21 conference championships and earned 41 appearances. in postseason.
In 2022-23, Tulane football won its first American Athletic Conference football championship and won the Cotton Bowl over USC, which was ranked ninth in the nation at the time. Men’s basketball won 20 regular-season games for the first time in two decades. Men’s tennis advanced to its sixth NCAA tournament in seven years, both bowling and beach volleyball finished in the top 20 and baseball won the conference championship.
The Tulane football program participated in an unprecedented three consecutive bowl games from 2018 to 2020, winning consecutive bowl games for the first time in 128 years of football at the University.
In the classroom, Tulane student-athletes excelled at a high level. At the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, more than 68% of Green Wave student-athletes earned a GPA of 3.0 or better, with a 93% graduation success rate and a department-record academic progress report of 992 , with seven teams earning a perfect 1000 APR score.
Dannen spearheaded fundraising efforts and numerous capital projects at Tulane. Helped secure the largest unrestricted gift in the history of Tulane Athletics, a gift funding the operation of a new sport (sailing) and a $10 million lead gift for capital renovations, which is the second-largest gift in history from the Department. Additionally, marketing and licensing revenues quadrupled, and in 2022-23, Tulane football, basketball and volleyball set records for revenue and ticket sales. Under Dannen’s leadership, the Green Wave Club Annual Fund grew 40% in terms of donors and 45% in terms of dollars.
Increases in fundraising and major gift donors had a positive impact on the development and completion of capital projects. A $13 million renovation to the Reilly Natatorium, home of the swimming and diving program, was completed in 2023, as well as $8 million in renovations to the locker rooms and the Wilson Center sports medicine facility. Dannen also oversaw the construction of a new dining room, weight room, basketball and volleyball locker rooms. Tulane also completed a $2.4 million academic center renovation and a $5 million television and digital production center.
Dannen came to Tulane after serving eight years as Director of Athletics at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) from 2008 to 2015. During his tenure, the Panthers enjoyed success at both the conference and national levels, as UNI was recognized with 39 All-Americans, 13 Coaches of the Year and nine Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Players of the Year. UNI football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball and softball combined to reach 15 NCAA tournaments and 20 postseason berths during that stretch. For his efforts, Dannen was recognized as NACDA FCS Athletic Director of the Year in 2014.
Prior to his time at UNI, Dannen served as Executive Director of the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union for seven years.
Dannen graduated from UNI in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He is married to Amy and together they have four children: Elle, Emily, Holly and William.
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