Earlier this week, the collegiate sports world received a jolt to the senses when it was announced that Washington athletic director Troy Dannen would be departing the program to take the same position at Nebraska. He served less than six months in that role at Washington before making the shocking move to Nebraska, and now, Dannen is speaking out about his decision in a post to social media that he addressed to the University of Washington and their fans.
“As you now likely know, I have made the difficult decision to leave the University of Washington,” Dannen wrote on his account on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter (via Cody Nagel of 247 Sports). “Husky Athletics will always be among the nation's elite, its coaches, student-athletes, staff and supporters remain the envy of many. I regret that my tenure on Montlake was so brief, as this truly is an incredible place. I wish nothing but the best for the Huskies going forward and will always be grateful for the support you showed me personally and to our department. Go Dawgs.”
Troy Dannen's deal with Nebraska is expected to be for six years, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Nebraska wasted no time in replacing their former athletic director Trev Alberts, who bolted south for College Station last week, accepting the same position at Texas A&M.
What went into Troy Dannen's decision
Needless to say, Washington Huskies fans were a bit baffled at their athletic director's decision to ditch the program for Nebraska less than half a year into his tenure.
“It was really a move back home, a family thing,” Dannen told KING 5 News' Jake García on Wednesday, per Nagel. “I've said it was very, very personal. I loved everything about Washington. My family is not here yet. The chance to go to what is a great place, but it's really home.
…When you go wherever you're at, your feet are where you're at,” Dannen said. “When I was at Tulane I thought I'd be there forever. When I was at Northern Iowa, my alma mater, I thought I'd be there forever. As things evolve, sometimes things present themselves that you would have never anticipated.”
During his time with Washington leading up to the Nebraska move, Dannen oversaw several seminal moments for the university across multiple sports, including most notably football, where head coach Kalen DeBoer led the Huskies all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship this past winter before abandoning his team to take the open head coaching job at the University of Alabama, which became vacant when Nick Saban shockingly retired.
One person who was surprised by the news was Washington president Ana Mari Cauce.
“It was a shock. There's no question about it,” Cauce told García of KING 5 News, per Nagel. “As you said, there's been seismic shifts and there's been lots of shocks. And so you kind of ride the wave.”
What was already an interesting time period for Washington athletics appears to have now gotten a whole lot more tumultuous.
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