Colgate Associate Athletic Director Nancy Little said Murphy is a “terrific administrator” and highly regarded at the university, where he has overseen a department ranked in the top ten nationally for its athletes’ graduation rate. She said that he would be a great catch for Havard and would be sorely missed at Colgate.
A former free safety in the NFL, Murphy captained the Washington Redskins team that won Super Bowl XVII.
Since he arrived at Colgate in 1992, the Colgate football team overcame a 0-11 record in 1995 to make back-to-back appearances in the NCAA 1-AA playoffs and the men’s basketball team has twice qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Harvard’s search committee is made up of Reardon, Associate Dean of the College Thomas A. Dingman ’67, Professor John E. Dowling ’57, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons ’67, former University Provost Jerry R. Green, Professor Barbara Gross, Associate Dean of the Faculty Nancy L. Maull, and University Overseer Joseph O’Donnell.
Committee members have declined to comment on the status of the search.
—Staff writer Garrett M. Graff can be reached at ggraff@fas.harvard.edu.