Tulane has hired Northern Iowa AD David Harris to succeed Troy Dannen as AD, with his official start date Jan. 3, according to Guerry Smith of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. Harris is the “first Black athletic director in school history,” and he "credited his participation in the inaugural Leadership Institute, a program the NCAA started in 2002 to prepare minorities to become athletic directors, for his career trajectory." Harris said, “It’s a responsibility as much as anything because if we’re able to do this job the way that we’d like to, then I won’t be the last. I would hope that all men and women would be judged by the content of what they bring to the table from a leadership standpoint, and I never want anything that I do to cause other who look like me to not get opportunities.” Smith noted this also marks the second time Harris will follow Dannen into an AD role after doing so previously at Northern Iowa in 2016. Harris said that he "had not talked to Dannen" about his position. Smith noted Dannen left to become Washington AD in October (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 11/27).
