Women's Rowing
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Phone:
- (541) 231-4577
Dan Harrison returned to the Oregon State staff in 2022, after spending the last five seasons with the Michigan women's rowing program.
"Dan already has an inside understanding of what makes Oregon State a special place for student-athletes having worked here before," Maxim added on the hire. "He went on to learn from a prominent Big Ten program where he recruited and developed novices that not only performed well in their first year but also returned to the program and went on to contribute to the NCAA squad."
Harrison was hired to join the Michigan Rowing staff in August, 2017, as a graduate assistant coach and was elevated to the full-time staff in September, 2018. That first year at U-M, Harrison assisted with varsity coaching and transitioned into a full-time role coaching the novice rowers.
In addition to coaching and developing the novice boats, Harrison's position was also responsible for recruiting and evaluating prospective student-athletes and coordinating with the athletic communications office. In Harrison's four years with the program, U-M won two Big Ten titles (out of three) and finished top-10 at the NCAA Championships in each season including top-five twice.
During his first season at Michigan, Harrison helped U-M finish seventh at the 2018 NCAA Championships while working with the program's four All-American honorees. Since he began coaching the novice boats in 2019, Harrison led the 1N8 to two gold medals (2019, '21) and the 2N8 to a bronze (2019) and a silver (2021). U-M won the Big Ten in both seasons with a program-record 191 points in 2021.
The Wolverines finished top-five nationally twice with Harrison on staff: third in 2019 and fourth in 2021. Harrison was also part of the 2019 CRCA Region 4 Staff of the Year.
Harrison was named assistant rowing coach at Oregon State on June 16, 2015. Harrison had previously served on the OSU coaching staff as a volunteer assistant during the 2013-14 season.
Harrison, who hails from Las Vegas, Nev., originally arrived in Corvallis after spending the 2014-15 season at Boston University working primarily with the Terriers’ developmental boats as a volunteer assistant coach for the women’s team.
Prior to Harrison’s stop at Boston U., he was part of the coaching staff at Oregon State as a volunteer coach during the 2013-14 season. During his initial stint in Corvallis, his primary duties included working on the physical and technical proficiency of the Beavers’ novice program. In addition, Harrison assisted the boatman with the daily facility and fleet maintenance.
While coaching at BU, Harrison also worked as an assistant varsity boy’s coach at Wayland-Weston Rowing Association helping to develop training plans to progress the athletes’ personal development in both fitness and technique.
He rowed four years for Seattle University’s club team and added the title of president for three years running the club’s operations. In 2013, Harrison was selected as the “Top Hawk” by his coaches as the club’s highest performer. He raced to back-to-back Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship titles in 2012 and 2013 in the pair. In 2013, he went on to win an American Collegiate Rowing Association national title in the pair.
Harrison earned a bachelor’s of science degree in sport and exercise science from Seattle University in 2013. In 2015, he attended the Institute for Rowing Leadership (IRL) completing the intensive one-year coaching education program designed to give IRL fellows the necessary theoretical framework and experiential learning opportunities to achieve the knowledge, skills and abilities required of a master rowing coach.
