USF athletic director Mark Harlan accepts same position at Utah

SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/GOUSFBULLS.COM
After leaving UCLA to become USF’s athletic director four years ago, Mark Harlan has accepted the same position at Utah, another Pac-12 school, Utah confirmed late Tuesday afternoon.
Harlan will replace Chris Hill, who was Utah’s athletic director for 31 years, starting July 1.
“After an extensive national search during which we spoke with a number of outstanding candidates, Mark emerged as our clear top choice,” Utah President Ruth V. Watkins said in a statement.
Harlan will owe USF $262,500, per his contract extension he signed in April, which was half of his base salary at USF. Contract details for his new position at Utah are yet to be released, however, his predecessor made an annual salary of $763,600, sixth best in the Pac 12.
Since Harlan’s arrival to USF in 2014, not including regular-season titles, USF has won 12 conference championships — eight of which were in men’s golf and tennis. The other four were women’s soccer (2017), women’s tennis (2014, 2017) and women’s sailing (2014).
In the classroom, USF student-athletes have posted a Graduation Success Rate above 80 percent for four straight years since Harlan joined USF, including a program record 86 percent in 2016.
“Leading USF Athletics has been the greatest honor of my career and I can’t thank Dr. Genshaft enough,” Harlan said in a tweet Tuesday. “The student-athletes, coaches and staff at USF are all champions.”
More Stories
USF’s Vincent Ugwoke chases NCAA glory
Vincent Ugwoke stepped off a plane into a snowstorm just after midnight in Concordia, Kansas, in 2022. He’d just flown over 6,000 miles to the U.S. from Nsukka, Nigeria — alone and carrying nothing but a bag full of clothes made for the wrong weather. Three years later, the senior is one of the […]
USF’s Decarius Hawthorne inks contract with Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams officially signed former Bulls defensive tackle Decarius Hawthorne to a one-year deal on Tuesday. USF hasn’t had a player drafted since 2018 when defensive tackle Deadrin Senat and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling were picked in the third and fifth rounds by the Falcons and Packers. Hawthorne joins RJ Perry — who […]
USF’s rugby club fosters brotherhood through decades of tradition
Tomas Simon’s rugby journey didn’t start with the traditional recruitment process — it began with a casual encounter at USF. The health sciences senior was approached by a rugby club member in the USF Recreation & Wellness Center, who told him he should try out for the team. Never having played the sport before, Simon […]
USF’s athletic director Michael Kelly joins Navy in same role
USF is going through another major leadership change as Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly accepted the role of Navy’s next director of athletics. ESPN’s Pete Thamel said Kelly would formally accept the role early Wednesday. USF confirmed the news Wednesday afternoon. His departure comes just four months after university president Rhea Law announced plans […]
USF baseball’s year in review under Hannahs’ first season
After three straight losing seasons, USF baseball found itself starting from scratch for the eighth time in the program’s history in 2024. A month after firing former Bulls coach Billy Mohl, USF brought on Indiana State Coach Mitch Hannahs in June to lead its baseball program for the foreseeable future. Coming into his first season, […]
USF announces Leavitt, Abdur-Rahim to be elected to Hall of Fame
USF is honoring two of the most successful figures in its athletics history — one a beloved leader lost too soon, the other brought home after one of the most rambunctious exits in college football history. The school announced on Monday that former football coach Jim Leavitt and late men’s basketball coach Amir Abdur-Rahim will […]