Nebraska formally announces hiring Washington's Troy Dannen as Huskers' new AD

Nebraska formally announced the hiring of Troy Dannen as the Cornhuskers new athletic director on Wednesday. Dannen joins the Nebraska athletic department after a brief stint in the same job at Washington.

The opening suddenly and surprisingly came open last week, as Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts left for the same role at Texas A&M. Alberts, a former Nebraska football player, leaving for another job caught many off guard.

Dannen will take over in his official capacity on Friday, according to a release from Nebraska. A formal introductory press conference will take place sometime early next week, per the release.

“Joining the Nebraska family is truly an honor,” Dannen said in the release. “My family and I are humbled by the opportunity to be 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 I’ve found that we share a similar approach to life, work and sports: Work hard, stay humble, compete and expect to win.”

Dannen, prior to joining the Cornhuskers athletic department, had been the AD at Washington for a matter of months. He had been hired there from Tulane in late 2023 after a successful multi-year run in New Orleans.

Dannen continued, expressing his high esteem for Nebraska in his statement.

“There is a storied tradition at Nebraska, but more work to be done,” Dannen said. “I truly believe 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 for excellence across the University of Nebraska and he and I are completely aligned on where Nebraska needs to go in the future. I look forward to doing my part to helping 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 arrive in Nebraska and get to work.”

Kabourek also praised the hire in the release, as did football coach Matt Rhule.

“I’m so fired up about this hire,” Rhule said in the release. “Interim President Kabourek has found exactly the right person to lead the Huskers forward. Troy sees what we see – that Nebraska is a special place, with special people, a great vision and the courage to be unabashed about wanting to win across the board. The fact that someone of Troy’s caliber wants to join Team Nebraska will light a fire across our entire department. Let’s go!”