Given how abruptly Trev Alberts left Nebraska for Texas A&M in 2024, Husker fans can be forgiven for being more than a little nervous that athletic director Troy Dannen might have one foot out the door.
Rumors that Dannen might leave the Huskers to take the Iowa State head job started heating up on social media earlier this week, and some prominent insiders claimed there was at least a chance he’d take his show on the road. However, on Wednesday afternoon, it appears that Dannen used some back channels to make it clear he’s staying in Lincoln and staying out of Ames.
Former longtime Des Moines Register reporter Randy Peterson posted on Twitter what he was told by someone “close to” Dannen: “I’ve seen Troy Dannen is being mentioned as a candidate for next ISU AD. Sounded odd, but I checked. A highly informed source close to Troy just told me he ‘Has not been, is not, and will not be a candidate’ to be the next ISU AD.”
First, in situations like this, the person close to Dannen could be Dannen himself. There are several reasons why the Nebraska AD might not come out and announce he’s not taking the job himself and instead “leaked” it to friendly reporters.
Troy Dannen reportedly rules out Iowa State move as Nebraska athletic director rumors swirl
In a community where everyone knows everyone, it’s just downright disrespectful for Dannen to announce he’s not taking the job when he hasn’t even been offered it. Especially when any talk at all that he might go to Iowa State hasn’t been much more than online whispers. No official report says the Cyclones are even looking his way.
With no credible reports out there, Dannen officially getting ahead of an offer can also make Nebraska faithful even more nervous. The comments could lean towards “why is he commenting at all unless he is thinking, or at least thought, about an exit.”
So why was Dannen even considered a candidate for the job? It’s not hard to connect the dots there. He attended Iowa State for a semester before transferring to Northern Iowa. He’s also still got plenty of juice in the Hawkeye State,, considering how long he was athletic director at his alma mater.
Dannen led Northern Iowa's athletic program from 2008 to 2015 before heading to Tulane. He was with the Green Wave from 2015 to 2023, then briefly served as AD of the Washington Huskies from 2023 to 2024 before taking the same job at Nebraska.
So what’s the biggest reason why Dannen isn’t interested in leaving? For one thing, Iowa State would not be the step up that some believe Alberts took when he took the Texas A&M position. Dannen is also smack dab in the middle of a Memorial Stadium renovation. While Alberts kicked off this renovation, he left before it began, and Dannen has changed the original plans quite a bit.
It’s also worth pointing out that while Dannen has ties to Iowa, he’s been away from the area longer than he was there at the time. It’s not a shock at this point that he considers Nebraska home.
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