College Football

Washington AD Troy Dannen is reportedly leaving for Nebraska job

Updated Mar. 20, 2024 11:55 a.m. ET

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Athletic director Troy Dannen is leaving Washington after less than six months on the job, a school spokesman said Wednesday, and a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press he is heading to Nebraska to replace Trev Alberts.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because a deal between Dannen and Nebraska was still being finalized.

Washington athletics department spokesman Jeff Bechtold said Dannen had informed the school that he was stepping down, though he could not confirm Dannen was taking the Nebraska job. ESPN first reported Dannen was leaving Washington for Nebraska.

Alberts left Nebraska late last week to become athletic director at Texas A&M. The former star football player for the Cornhuskers spent just shy of three years as the athletic director at his alma mater before leaving the Big Ten Conference school for the chance to run an SEC program.

Nebraska moved quickly to replace him with Dannen, an Iowa native who took the Washington job in October after spending nine years as AD at Tulane. Before Tulane, Dannen was athletic director at Northern Iowa.

When Dannen joined Washington the school was in the midst of one of the best football seasons in its history, which ended with the Huskies winning the Pac-12 title and reaching the national championship game.

Shortly after that, Dannen was tasked with replacing the coach who helped make it happen, as Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama. Just days after DeBoer's departure, Dannen and Washington hired Arizona's Jedd Fisch to become the school's next football coach.

That wasn't the last major decision Dannen made in his brief tenure as Washington's athletic director. He fired men's basketball coach Mike Hopkins earlier in March, ending his tenure after seven seasons as the Huskies failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season. The search for Hopkins' replacement is ongoing.

Dannen's departure from Washington also comes at an interesting time for the school. Washington is in its final months as a Pac-12 program, leaving to join Nebraska and others in the Big Ten. 

Alberts was hired by Texas A&M after it lost athletic director Ross Bjork to Ohio State in January. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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