The Nebraska Cornhuskers are signing a six-year deal with a new athletic director. According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, former Washington athletic director Troy Dannen will head to Nebraska. He will be the replacement for Trev Alberts, who left to take the Texas A&M job opening last week. Dannen brings football knowledge to the Cornhuskers program.
Troy Dannen has had success in previous seasons with hiring coaches at other programs. Nebraska believes that he will be a good fit since he has ties to the midwestern region of the country.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Hire New Athletic Director
Nebraska moved swiftly with the new hire of Troy Dannen. He brought in Jedd Fisch as the new Washington Huskies head coach after Kalen Deboer left the program to join Alabama. Dannen has a strong background in football with success at Tulane back in 2015. Now, he will be rejoining Matt Rhule, who is the current head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Rhule was a part of the AAC conference from 2013-16 with Temple. They will be able to work together in rebuilding a football program that has seen down years as of recently.
A positive for the Nebraska Cornhuskers is that Dannen is familiar with the Big Ten conference. He was the athletic director at Washington for a very short six months as they made a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2023. Troy Dannen has been on several committees throughout his years as a collegiate athletic director. That was a big aspect that helped Nebraska make their decision on who they wanted to hire.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Woes
Over the last 11 seasons, the Nebraska Cornhuskers football program has not been up to par. Before the Matt Rhule era, Scott Frost was the head coach for five seasons (2018-22). He had a combined record of 16-31, never reaching a bowl game or having an above .500 record at his alma mater. Many fans thought that Frost was the answer because he played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the quarterback position in the 1990s. This was not deemed to be true for fans.
Cornhuskers 2023 Season
Last season in 2023, the Nebraska Cornhuskers went 5-7 in the Big Ten West division. It was the first season under Matt Rhule as the head coach. He is trying to reestablish prominence for the Nebraska football program. That aspect of sports for the Cornhuskers is what they are most known for within the university.
People who have been around Nebraska athletics have always seen it as the biggest excitement. The hire of Troy Dannen should give them the upper hand on getting the football program back to national recognition as they had in previous years.
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James has been a sports writer for 2 years. He is a close follower of College Sports, the NFL, and MLB—a fan of the Michigan Wolverines, Green Bay Packers, and the Atlanta Braves. Follow me on Twitter(X) @michfan20.