BY JD PELEGRINO
On Oct. 31, 2017, Des Moines native Brian Hardin was announced as Drake’s next director of athletics. Hardin claimed the role on Dec. 11, 2017 as Drake’s seventeenth athletic director, succeeding Sandy Hatfield-Clubb who served as the University’s athletic director from 2007-2017.
This will be Hardin’s first Drake Relays since competing in them as an athlete in high school and college. He attended Valley High School, from which he graduated in 1998. During his time at Valley, Hardin had the opportunity to compete in two Relays on the Blue Oval of Drake University: his junior and senior years.