Report: Washington targeting Tulane's Troy Dannen as next athletic director

Washington is looking to hire Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen for their open AD position, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.

No deal is done, but “parties are moving toward an agreement,” per the report.

Dannen, alongside football coach Willie Fritz, has been integral in helping the Green Wave turn a two-win season in 2021 into 12 wins and a Cotton Bowl victory over USC.

Once the hiring is made official, Dannen will replace interim AD Erin O’Connell, who has been in the role since late August following the abrupt departure of Jennifer Cohen, who left UW to join USC in the same position.

O’Connell previously served as the Huskies’ deputy athletics director and senior woman administrator. She has also served as the President and Chair of the U.S. Rowing Board of Directors from 2014 through 2016. 

Before her departure, Cohen had been the athletic director at Washington since 2016. There, she recently made headlines by making the move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. Now, she is set to handle that same transition for the USC Trojans.

During her time at Washington, the Huskies also made the College Football Playoff, an accomplishment that USC has not managed, yet. For her part, Cohen has served on the CFP Committee. Now, both parties are moving on and O’Connell provides some stability as the search for a new AD begins in Seattle.

“Under her leadership, the Huskies achieved tremendous success on the field of competition, and her commitment to excellence helped enable our student-athletes to develop and succeed in the classroom, as competitors and as people,” Washington said in a statement at the time. “We appreciate the solid footing on which she leaves the program, and her extraordinary leadership through the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic.”

Once the hire is official, Dannen will look to lead the Huskies into their new era, joining the Big Ten Conference alongside a slew of soon-to-be former Pac-12 powerhouses.

On top of his AD responsibilities at Tulane, Dannen is currently in his fourth year as chair of the NCAA’s Football Competition Committee, and also resides as an executive member of the Football Oversight Committee. Both were attractive to Washington in the hiring.

Before spending eight seasons with the Green Wave, Dannen was the AD at Northern Iowa for eight seasons between 2008 and 2015.

Neither Washington nor Tulane play games this weekend, as both enjoy their bye weeks.