List of Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic directors

Director of Athletics of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Incumbent Troy Dannen since March 22, 2024
Reports to	President of the University of Nebraska
Precursor	Athletic Manager
Formation	1920 (1920)
First holder	Fred Luehring
Salary	$1.6 million

This is a list of athletic directors of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (NU). The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision. Troy Dannen was appointed Nebraska's seventeenth full-time athletic director on March 22, 2024.

Nebraska officially recognizes seventeen official athletic directors, though at least fourteen others have held the role in an interim, unofficial, or de facto capacity. NU's longest-serving athletic director was Bob Devaney, who led the department from 1967 to 1992.

History

In its earliest days, the Nebraska Department of Athletics had no central figure or "athletic director," and the history of how this position developed is unclear. The department's first leaders typically were part-time officials who held others titles and responsibilities at the university. Oftentimes this person served on the Athletic Board, a group of faculty members which governed the department. Early heads of the department were given the title "Athletics Manager" – the first was multi-sport coach and physical education professor Raymond G. Clapp, who filled the role from 1902 to 1905. The first individual to hold the title "athletic director" was E. J. Stewart, who served from 1916 to 1919 and also coached football and basketball during parts of his tenure. However, Nebraska does not consider Stewart its first athletic director because it was not a full-time administrative position; this designation belongs to Fred Luehring, who became AD in 1920. Like Clapp and Stewart, many of Nebraska's early athletic directors simultaneously coached one of the university's major varsity teams, primarily football – six of NU's first ten athletic directors also coached football during their tenure.

Aside from Bob Devaney, NU's football coach for the first six of his twenty-six years as AD, the athletic director position has been a standalone role since 1954. Including Devaney, five members of the College Football Hall of Fame have held the position.

List of part-time athletic managers

No.	Athletic manager	Tenure
1	Raymond G. Clapp	1902–1905
2	Earl Eager	1905–1911
	Ewald O. Stiehm	1911–1915
3	Guy Reed	1914–1918
4	E. J. Stewart	1916–1919
5	Robert Scott	1919
	James T. Lees	1919–1920

List of athletic directors

No.	Athletic director	Tenure	End of tenure
1	Fred Luehring	1920–1922	Resigned to become athletic director at Minnesota
2	Fred Dawson	1922–1925	Resigned to become head football coach at Denver
3	Herbert D. Gish	1925–1932	Entered private business
4	Dana X. Bible	1932–1936	Resigned to become head football coach at Texas
5	Biff Jones	1937–1942	Resigned to become athletic director at Army
6	Adolph J. Lewandowski	1942–1947	Retired
7	George Clark	1948–1953	Retired
8	Bill Orwig	1954–1961	Resigned to become athletic director at Indiana
9	Tippy Dye	1962–1967	Resigned to become athletic director at Northwestern
10	Bob Devaney	1967–1992	Retired
11	Bill Byrne	1992–2002	Resigned to become athletic director at Texas A&M
12	Steve Pederson	2003–2007	Fired
13	Tom Osborne	2007–2013	Retired
14	Shawn Eichorst	2013–2017	Fired
15	Bill Moos	2017–2021	Retired
16	Trev Alberts	2021–2024	Resigned to become athletic director at Texas A&M
17	Troy Dannen	2024–present