Washington reportedly hires athletic director Pat Chun away from rival Washington State

Washington is hiring athletic director Pat Chun away from Apple Cup rival Washington State, reaching across the state to fill its AD job about a week after it surprisingly came open, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was still being finalized and Washington was preparing an official announcement. ESPN first reported that Washington was finalizing a deal for Chun.

Washington was stung last week when athletic director Troy Dannen left after less than six months on the job to take over at Nebraska. Dannen’s introductory news conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, was on Tuesday.

The school quickly targeted Chun, who has been at Washington State since 2018. The Cougars are facing an uncertain future and trying to rebuild the Pac-12 after the departure of Washington and nine other schools led to the conference’s collapse.

He takes over in Seattle as Washington prepares to leave for the Big Ten. Chun, an Ohio native, has extensive experience in the Big Ten, having spent 15 years at Ohio State as executive associate AD.