DSU lifts AD Daniel's interim tag

• Tim Daniel

Dickinson State athletic director Tim Daniel.

Talk about it

After a nine-month audition, Dickinson State has chosen Tim Daniel as its new athletic director.

The university announced Thursday that Daniel, who has held the position in an interim capacity since July, was officially promoted Friday.

DSU President Dr. Richard McCallum said the leadership Daniel has demonstrated made it an easy decision.

“He has the full support of our coaching staff,” McCallum said. “He has great credibility, both here on campus and in our community. I’m delighted that he’s accepted this assignment.”

Daniel took the position after former athletic director Roger Ternes left DSU to take a similar position at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Daniel, a DSU alumnus, has had an eventful first year on the job.

He helped manage the opening of the Badlands Activities Center and the stadium’s first football season. He also played a role in DSU’s upcoming move to the Frontier Conference while teaching, maintaining his position as men’s and women’s golf coach and performing day-to-day administrative duties.

Daniel said the adjustment from being a full-time teacher and coach to a role that was almost entirely administrative was the most challenging part of his transition.

“My biggest adjustment has been the day-to-day operations,” Daniel said. “I told somebody, you work some place for as long as I have, you have a pretty good familiarity. But no matter what the position is, there’s intricacies at every job and things you don’t see from the outside. I had to gain experience in those and still have to gain experience. There’s new things that come up every day that I have to address. It was a learning process, but it’s an ongoing learning process.

“One thing about this position, there seems to be something that comes up every day that’s new. That’s what makes it very interesting and exciting.”

Daniel said he’s currently concentrating on hiring a new head volleyball coach — he conducted an on-campus interview with a candidate Thursday — and navigating the seemingly endless parade of rescheduled events caused by weather postponements.

“You’ve got to concentrate on the day-to-day things, but you have to have a vision of where you want to go and where you want to be down the road, too,” Daniel said. “It’s something you have to incorporate with the day-to-day stuff.”

McCallum said DSU’s athletic department staff “unanimously” supported hiring Daniel.

“He has stepped up and accepted the full responsibility and has done an outstanding job in every area of his responsibility,” McCallum said.

Daniel began his career at DSU in 1989 as an assistant coach for men’s basketball and track and field. He was a student-athlete there in both sports from 1984-86.

He was named the interim men’s basketball coach during the 1991-92 season.

Daniel coached the men’s basketball team until 2003, compiling a 151-153 record and leading the team to some of its most successful seasons in school history. The Blue Hawks reached the NAIA tournament quarterfinals in 2000 and the Round of 16 in 2001.

He returned to the team for three seasons as an assistant coach under Ty Orton.

Daniel has coached the men’s golf team since 1996 and women’s golf team since it was formed in 1999. He also served as an assistant professor of health and physical education.

One of Daniel’s upcoming tasks will be replacing himself as golf coach.

“I’m excited to be named the athletic director, but now it’s created some more situations for me to address,” Daniel said.

Tags: blue hawks, tim daniel, sports