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Interim tag removed from O’Brien’s title as SJU athletic director

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Dan O'Brien was named the director of athletics at Saint John's University, following nine months as the interim, on Thursday, Jan. 22.

The longtime Minnesota coach and administrator was named SJU's interim athletic director on April 23.

"It is an honor to officially step into the role of director of athletics at Saint John's," O'Brien said. "I am excited to keep working alongside our student-athletes, coaches and staff as we continue to move this department forward. I'm thankful for the support of our university and its alumni as I move into this position full-time."

Before SJU, O'Brien served as head football coach and director of charitable gaming at Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria, Minn., and was the interim director of athletics, head football coach and director of community outreach and partnerships at St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minn.

O'Brien spent nearly nine years at the University of Minnesota, where he served as the Division I Gophers' defensive backs coach/special teams coordinator/special assistant to the head coach from 2016-17, senior associate athletics director from 2014-16 and the assistant athletics director for football operations from 2008-14.

"Dan O'Brien has provided steady and thoughtful leadership to the Saint John's athletic department in an interim capacity," said Kara Kolomitz, chief operating officer at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University. "Effective immediately, we are pleased that Dan has accepted the appointment as our permanent athletic director. His dedication to our student-athletes and campus community has been unwavering, and we have been pleased with his vision for growing our success. We look forward to Johnnie athletics under his direction."

Prior to Minnesota, O'Brien was the director of athletics at another member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Hamline University – for six years from 2002-08 and served the same role at Concordia University-St. Paul from 1998-02. He spearheaded the Golden Bears' move from NAIA to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 1999, while also serving as head football coach.

He was inducted into CSP's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

O'Brien started his high school coaching career at Benilde-St. Margaret's from 1987-89, then went to Lakeville (1989-93) and Bemidji (1993-95). He was the defensive coordinator at Lakeville when it won a state title in 1992.

O'Brien earned his undergraduate (1987) and graduate (1991) degrees from the University of St. Thomas, where he was an All-MIAC defensive back and a two-time team captain.