Tulane has targeted Northern Iowa’s David Harris to be the school’s next athletic director, sources told ESPN on Monday.
A deal between Harris and Tulane is expected to close in the coming days, sources said.
Harris has been UNI athletic director since 2016 and has held numerous prominent positions in athletics. He is part of the 40-member Division I Council and has been selected as chair of the NCAA women’s basketball oversight committee for 2023-24.
Harris, a Baton Rouge native, also brings significant football experience. As senior associate athletic director at Iowa State, he was the school’s athletic administrator for both football and men’s basketball. He also worked in the athletic departments at Wisconsin and his alma mater, Ole Miss.
Harris will be the second consecutive athletic director to go to Tulane from Northern Iowa. The recently deceased Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen, now at Washington, came from UNI in 2016.
Dannen hired football coach Willie Fritz, who helped usher in the renaissance of football at Tulane. The Green Wave has gone 22-3 the past two seasons, including a Cotton Bowl victory over USC last year.
Fritz had pushed for the continuity and promotion of assistant sports director Korte Gosha, who was considered a strong candidate for the position. Harris’ immediate task will be to retain Fritz, who is expected to emerge as a candidate for many of the vacant seats in the coming cycles.
Tulane hosts UTSA on Friday with the winner clinching a spot in the AAC title game.
