2.8.24 – Darien Harris

Darien Harris – Assistant Athletic Director, Michigan State University

Darien Harris, who previously spent the past three years working with the football program, was promoted to Assistant AD/NIL & Special Advisor to the Athletic Director in July 2023, providing leadership in oversight and continued evolution of Michigan State Athletics’ award-winning NIL program, EverGreen.

Harris will spearhead the continued evolution of a best-in-class NIL model under the umbrella of the EverGreen program that is a resource for all student-athletes. He will serve as the primary NIL contact for internal and external stakeholders, including student-athletes, coaches, staff, donors, corporate partners, collectives and local businesses in accordance with applicable university, state, federal and NCAA guidelines. He will champion strategic partnerships and resources to ensure the best possible NIL support for all of Michigan State’s student-athletes, while continuing the build on the educational support which is already considered the industry standard. Beyond his NIL responsibilities, Harris will serve as Special Advisor to the Athletic Director.

Harris spent more than three seasons on staff with the Spartan football program, serving as Director of Player Relations and Program Advancement, where his wide-ranging duties included NIL education for football. He was a member of MSU’s NIL committee, which developed the EverGreen program, and served as the football liaison to work with Advance (Anomaly Sports Group and TeamAltemus) on financial education. He was instrumental in the partnership between Spartan Athletics and the Michigan State University Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which educated student-athletes on how to sharpen their entrepreneurial mindset, master business basics and learn the process of creating new ventures. Additionally, Harris has served as host for MSU’s two innovative NIL events: the NIL Business Summit and NIL Awards Celebration.

A former captain on the 2015 Big Ten Football Championship team that reached the College Football Playoff, Harris was a four-year letterwinner for the Spartans from 2011-15, starting two seasons at Star (weakside) linebacker. He was voted a co-captain by his teammates in 2015 and was a part of the winningest senior class at MSU with 43 victories. Harris collected 154 tackles, including 13 for losses (28 yards), in 54 career games with 25 starts; the 54 career games played is tied for the most of any Spartan player in a four-year span in Michigan State history.

Harris joined the Spartan football staff in 2020, beginning as the Director of Player Engagement and transitioning to Director of Player Relations and Program Advancement in 2022, with duties including player development, alumni engagement, university outreach, community service, and NIL education to current football student-athletes.

Harris, 30, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2015 and his master’s degree in marketing research in 2019. He has extensive broadcast experience, serving as a frequent contributor on several radio and television shows, including the Big Ten Network. In 2022, he was presented with the Rising Star Award at the 50th Celebration of the Michigan State Communication Arts and Sciences Alumni Awards ceremony.