With a career that includes experience ranging from college coach to administrator in both an athletics and university setting, Duquesne Vice President of Athletics Dave Harper has used his unique skill set to make an immediate impact on the Bluff.
The Bellbrook, Ohio, native, who officially assumed his position at DU in October of 2015, has energized the department of athletics, placing an emphasis on performance as well as competitive and academic excellence.
His performance was most recently recognized when his University Cabinet leadership role was strategically expanded from Director to Vice President of Athletics by University President Ken Gormley in March of 2021.
Centered on providing direction as well as support for both coaches and student-athletes, Harper spearheaded the development and implementation of the department’s first comprehensive strategic plan. The plan, which was formulated in his first 10 months on the job, is designed to provide a blueprint for future success of the department.
A key component of that plan was the development and construction of the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse - a University-wide achievement in which Harper played a leading role. The 10,000 square-foot facility, which serves as the epicenter of DU Athletics - opened in February of 2021.
Named after Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and Duquesne alumnus Chuck Cooper, UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse not only serves as the home of Duquesne basketball and volleyball, but also includes the Folino Sports Performance Center, Gilliand Academic Center for Success and Joe and Kathy Guyaux Player Development Center designed to serve all DU student-athletes.
In addition, Harper initiated creation of the PNC Leadership Academy, founded to promote the pillars of leadership, mentoring and self-awareness with an emphasis on developing career pathways for student-athletes.
Competitively, under Harper’s leadership, four Duquesne programs have made their first NCAA Championship appearances, including football (2015), women’s soccer (2015), women’s basketball (2016) and women’s bowling (2021). Football has been back to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs twice more (2018, 2023) since appearing in 2015, while bowling has returned to the NCAA Championship on a pair of occasions after its first appearance in 2021 with back-to-back at-large bids in 2023 and 2024.
Meanwhile, in March of 2024, Duquesne took its place at center stage of the college basketball world, winning four games in five days in Brooklyn, N.Y., to win the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship and earn the men's basketball program its first automatic bid to the NCAA Championship since 1977. The Dukes took it one step further, earning their first win in the NCAA Tournament since 1969 with a thrilling 71-67 win over No. 21 BYU at CHI Health Center Arena in Omaha, Neb. Â
DU, which won a total of five Atlantic 10 Championships in 38 seasons prior to Harper’s arrival, has won six in Harper’s nine seasons on the Bluff. In addition, Duquesne football has won five Northeast Conference titles since his arrival.
The success for men's basketball in the spring of 2024 helped send head coach Keith Dambrot out on a high note. Harper secured Dambrot as the 17th head coach in the then 101-year history of the men’s basketball program in 2017 and Dambrot announced after the Dukes won the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship that he would retire at the end of the season after 26 years as a head coach, including seven on the Bluff. Harper didn't have to look far for Dambrot's successor, as Dru Joyce III, who played for Dambrot at both St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and at Akron and served two years as associate head coach with the Dukes, was named the 18th head coach in the 109-year history of the program March 28, 2024.
On the administrative front, Harper demonstrated his commitment to student-athlete success with the addition of an associate athletic director for sports performance. The position, which oversees both strength and conditioning as well as athletic training, was created to better coordinate and support competitive excellence.
Recognizing the importance of branding and consistent messaging, Harper oversaw the unveiling of a revitalized visual identity for Duquesne’s 20 athletics programs in the spring of 2019. The project coincided with the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse renovation project. In addition, the marketing and branding arm of the department has seen the addition of staff.
Harper also charged his staff with placing added emphasis on Duquesne’s Academic Progress Rate. That emphasis has seen immediate results, as 11 programs earned a perfect score of 1,000 on the latest multi-year progress rate (APR) while the Dukes posted a multi-year average APR of 989, five points above the national average and matching the institution's all-time best mark from 2020.
Under Harper, the women’s swimming program added diving in the spring of 2017 in a move that will allow to program to compete on level playing field for Atlantic 10 Championships. The women’s bowling program, which was established in 2016-17, continued its meteoric rise with NCAA Championship appearances in 2021, 2023 and 2024, while also successfully hosting a pair of NCAA Regionals.
Harper came go Duquesne after serving as the vice president for advancement at fellow Atlantic 10 Conference member the University of Dayton.
As Dayton’s VP for advancement - a position he accepted in November of 2012 - Harper led a staff of 80 in development, alumni outreach, special events, information technology and other support areas. Under Harper’s leadership, the advancement division built a strategic plan in conjunction with the university president and board of trustees that resulted in a 2014-15 fiscal year that saw a record $65 million in financial commitments.
Advancement was also the recipient of the second-largest single gift in university history - $12.5 million in September of 2014 - during Harper’s tenure.
As Dayton’s associate vice president for athletics - a position he held prior to moving to advancement - Harper was responsible for UD’s media rights, athletic development and premium seating. He was also part of the team responsible for the planning an execution of renovation work done to UD Arena. Harper served as the administrator for five sports including men’s basketball, where he played a major role in the hiring of numerous successful coaches.
Harper began his career in athletics as an assistant football coach at nearby Robert Morris University where he was part of the first staff assembled by head coach Joe Walton. Harper was part of two Northeast Conference championship teams (1996 & 1997) during his tenure in Moon Township, Pa.
He left RMU in 1998 to move into administration as associate athletic director at Dayton.
Harper briefly left Dayton for a position as an assistant athletic director at the University of Michigan from 2003-05. While at Ann Arbor, Mich., Harper managed areas of external affairs with a focus on corporate affairs and sponsorship. He served as the liaison to media rights partner Host Communications in addition to leading a game day team of 30 in the successful implementation of sponsorships for football, basketball and ice hockey.
Harper is a graduate of Wright State University where he completed his bachelor of arts in political science in 1992. He added a master’s in business administration from Robert Morris in 1995 and earned certificates in leadership and executive development (2008) and Aileron management and strategic planning (2008 & 2012) from Dayton.
A leader among his peers, Harper is a member of the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Competitiveness Committee and has chaired the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and served on the Women’s Basketball Head Coach Committee and Finance Committee. Â
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Harper and his wife, Melissa, are the parents of four boys: Trey, Jake, Drew and Nate.
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