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Mark Harlan is the athletic director at the University of Utah. Prior to taking the position at Utah, he was the athletic director at the University of South Florida.

College

Harlan is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in education.

Career

Harlan is the athletics director at the University of Utah. In his first five years leading the Utes' athletics department, Utah won four national championships and 24 conference championships. The Utes earned their highest finish in the LEARFIELD Director's Cup in 2022-23 and won a school-record 10 conference championships, while Harlan was named Cushman & Wakefield A.D. of the Year by NACDA. He received a contract extension in June 2023, through 2028. Harlan has held sports administration positions at the University of South Florida, San Jose State, Northern Colorado, UCLA, and the University of Arizona. He spent five years as athletic director at the University of South Florida. In 2015–2016, the USF men's basketball team was involved in an academic scandal. USF released a statement that in part read they and the NCAA “are working together to investigate and resolve an inquiry into potential violations of NCAA bylaws and university standards….” Harlan was criticized for his ethical character and mismanagement. In 2016, he was criticized for the debacle of USF's pitch to join the Big 12 conference. In their presentation, they misspelled the word “research” as “reasearch”.

Harlan left USF to become the athletic director of the University of Utah in June 2018.

Family

Harlan and his wife, Carolyn, have two children, Savannah and Austin.

Controversy

After a November 9, 2024 matchup between Utah and Brigham Young University's football teams Harlan came under fire because he entered the field of play during a live kickoff return to berate the Big 12 officiating crew over a defensive holding penalty that extended BYU's final drive that ultimately won them the game. He then uncharacteristically addressed the media immediately following the game stating that the game was "absolutely stolen" from the Utes due to poor and biased officiating. The Big 12 would go on to put out a statement condemning the remarks made by Harlan and issued the athletic director a $40,000 fine for violating Big 12 policy setting a new record for biggest fine ever issued to a Big 12 athletic director.

See also

• List of NCAA Division I athletic directors

References

1. ^ "Mark Harlan - Staff Directory - Utah Athletics". utahutes.com.
2. "Utah announces contract extension for Athletics Director Mark Harlan".
3. "Mark Harlan - Staff Directory - University of South Florida". gousfbulls.com.
4. "The troubling state of USF men's basketball amid an academic scandal.publisher=baynews9".
5. "USF's Big 12 pitch touted its academics by misspelling 'research' right up top". sbnation.
6. "Utah hires South Florida athletic director Mark Harlan as its new AD as Chris Hill says goodbye".
7. "Univ. Of Utah Hires USF AD Mark Harlan To Replace Chris Hill". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com.
8. "AD Harlan leaves South Florida for Utah job". June 2018.
9. "Utah AD fined $40K for criticizing Big 12 officials". ESPN.com. 2024-11-10. Retrieved 2024-12-05.

External links

• South Florida profile

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