As confetti falls over NRG Stadium on Monday night, one team will be celebrating college football’s national championship.
One fan base will celebrate.
And an athletic director with ties to New Orleans will also be joining in the celebration.
Two athletic leaders from No. 1 Michigan State and No. 2 Washington State, who will face each other in Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game, both have ties to the Crescent City.
Michigan State’s AD is Ward Manuel, a Brother Martin alumnus and native of New Orleans.
Manuel was a high school All-American on the Crusaders’ defensive line and graduated in 1986. After high school, he signed with the Wolverines to play football under the legendary Bo Schembechler and began playing as a sophomore before becoming a football player. His neck injury interrupted his activities. He also lettered for Michigan State in track and field.
Manuel has been the AD at his alma mater since 2016, after serving in a similar role for four years at the University of Connecticut. He earned his three degrees from Michigan State: a bachelor’s degree in general studies with an emphasis in psychology, a master’s degree in social work, and his MBA.
He has been a prominent voice on the national front, serving as president of his industry association, the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors, from 2020 to 2021.
Washington AD Troy Dannen took over at Seattle in October after eight years in the same role at Tulane.
Dannen led Tulane to 21 conference championships and 41 postseason appearances during his time at Uptown. Most importantly, Green his Wave football team won his 2022 American his Athletic his conference title and 53 weeks ago Goodyear he won the Cotton Bowl he won his 83 season It was his first major bowl appearance and victory.
He also has a strong voice in national politics in college sports, serving on the NCAA Constitution Committee and the Division I Transformation Committee.
Before coming to Tulane, Dannen spent eight years as AD at the University of Northern Iowa. Coincidentally, his replacement, Uptown’s David Harris, also arrived from UNI.
Make no mistake, both Manuel and Dannen have friends in New Orleans and will be tuning in Monday night.
But only one person can bring back to campus what could be the most important victory in the school’s history.
