TCU Completes National Search For New Athletics Director
5/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
May 19, 2005
TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr. announced today at a press conference that Daniel B. Morrison, Jr., commissioner of The Southern Conference located in Spartanburg, SC, has been hired as TCU's new athletics director. Morrison will begin his duties at the university in mid-June.
As the seventh commissioner of The Southern Conference, Morrison established numerous progressive initiatives including strategic partnerships with corporate and educational entities; a stronger television schedule for Southern Conference schools through partnerships with ESPN, College Sports Television (CSTV) and Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast; an internship program in conjunction with NFL Europe; coordination of the Conference's strategic planning efforts with the NCAA; and recognition of student-athletes' academic and athletic achievements.
"We are very pleased with the outcome of this extensive national search," said Chancellor Boschini. "Dan's expertise in academic administration and college sports is integral to TCU's future in collegiate athletics. Additionally, his knowledge of athletic conference organizations, negotiation and management of unique partnerships and visible community involvement are vitally important to TCU."
"TCU's athletic program is poised for continued growth and visibility," said Morrison. "Crucial strategic partnerships are in place, the university's coaches are producing winning seasons, and the Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex offers strong support. I look forward to working together with the TCU campus community -- coaches, student-athletes and students, staff, faculty, and the community, to move the university's sports programs to the next level."
Prior to serving as commissioner, Morrison was senior vice president of Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC from 1997 - 2001, and director of athletics for Wofford from 1985 - 1997. During his time as an academic administrator, Morrison was instrumental in securing funds for campuswide facility improvements totaling more than $20 million and had direct involvement in the Campaign for Wofford, which raised $115 million. He also helped implement a Summer Leadership Institute for rising high school seniors. As director of athletics, Morrison moved Wofford to a NCAA Division I program with 16 sports from a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program in 1985. He also secured a membership in the Southern Conference for the college that same year. Morrison also is credited with hiring the college's most winning coaches in football and baseball, and with hiring the second-most winning basketball coach in the school's history. Additionally, Morrison added six women's sports, established more than 65 named or endowed athletic scholarships, increased the athletics endowment to $15.5 million from $150,000 (during his time as senior vice president and athletics director), led negotiations that resulted in a 15-year agreement to host the NFL's Carolina Panthers training camp at the school, and ensured that student-athlete graduation rates were first or second among Southern Conference schools and among the leading graduation rates in the NCAA.
A native of Burlington, NC, Morrison attended Wofford College where he lettered four years in basketball, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1975 with a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics. He also obtained a master's of education in administration and supervision from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981, and a Ph.D. degree in educational leadership from the University of South Carolina in 2000. His community involvement includes serving on a local Bank of America advisory board and on the board of directors for the YMCA, Downtown Rotary Club, Mary Black Hospital, and Mobile Meals. Honors include the Lewis E. Miller Leadership Award by the Spartanburg Development Council, a seventh ranking in the "Top 50 Most Influential Sports Figures in South Carolina" by The State newspaper, and the General Robert Neyland Outstanding Athletic Director Award from the All-American Football Foundation.
Morrison and his wife, Peggy, have two college-aged children.
