Normally spring cleaning is not a process that elicits bittersweet emotions capable of moving grown men to tears.

Of course under normal circumstances, spring cleaning isn’t one final tidying that marks the end of an era.

So as athletic director Dan Harris dusts off his office shelves and packs a career of memories into cardboard boxes nowhere near large enough to hold his 26 years of service, it’s no surprise the man with the dustpan is unable to fight back some eye moisture.

“Everything I touch has memories and it would evoke a thought or a feeling of some special moment in athletics or a special person,” Harris said. “So I box up a shelf, close the door and cry. Next day, tear down another shelf, box it up, close the door and cry. They’re happy tears. I mean they’re tears thinking about what a wonderful place this has been.”

Harris arrived at Baker in 1983 per the request of Charlie Richard – the winningest football coach in National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics history. <br/>Harris was happily positioned at the helm of Grandview High School's program when Richard asked him to come to Baker and be the offensive coordinator and head baseball coach for the Wildcats.Harris was happily positioned at the helm of Grandview High School's program when Richard asked him to come to Baker and be the offensive coordinator and head baseball coach for the Wildcats.
Harris was happily positioned at the helm of Grandview High School’s program when Richard asked him to come to Baker and be the offensive coordinator and head baseball coach for the Wildcats.

The opportunity also meant he would be responsible for teaching classes all day and taking a $15,000 pay cut. <br/>Deal.Deal.
Deal.

“My wife looked at me like ‘What are you talking about?'” he remembered. “But I do think there was some connection as soon as he said Baker. I don’t know what it was but it was a spark. And I said ‘That’s where I want to be.'”

After acclimating to Baldwin City, Harris was immediately welcomed to a powerhouse pigskin program that was accustomed to postseason play.

“I think the ’80s and ’90s in football were some extremely fond memories because we would start the season planning for the playoffs,” Harris said.

Their confidence was justified as the team won several conference championships and made its way to the national championship game in 1986.

“I don’t think there’s anything that can overcome that feeling of being on the field saying ‘We are the top two teams in the entire nation,'” he said. “That was pretty special.”

One member of that national championship team – Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy – said it was Richard’s and Harris’ tutelage that helped shape him into the 2007 NFL Coach of the Year.

“Dan Harris was outstanding,” McCarthy said. “He spent a lot of time with the student athletes there. I can’t say enough about Dan Harris and what he’s done for so many kids that came through that program.”

After Richard’s death in 1994, Harris left the sideline for the administrative offices and accepted the athletic director position.

At first, it killed him to miss practices but Harris learned to embrace the role after seeing the effects of his managerial decisions.

“To watch soccer go to nationals this year … it gives me a sense of pride to know I brought in the coach that made that happen,” he said, smiling.

With the football team also going to the national playoffs and the volleyball team making it to the conference championship last fall, it appears Harris picked a good year to have his final hurrah.

“Dan’s legacy will be his commitment to excellence in our athletic programs,” assistant athletic director Theresa Yetmar said. “He embraced Title IX and expanded the range of programs we offer for women, upgraded every single outdoor facility and hired quality coaches.  He is not only respected at Baker, but nationwide. He will be truly missed.”

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