Richard Dull (1945 – January 6, 2026) was an American athletic director and athlete. He served as the athletic director of the University of Maryland from 1981 to 1986, including during the death of Len Bias, which prompted Dull's resignation. He was also athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Moravian College, California State University, Northridge, and Belmont Abbey College.

Early life and education Dull was born in 1945. He attended Biglerville High School in Biglerville, Pennsylvania, where he played basketball and competed in track and field in the javelin throw event.Biglerville: Catching up with Dick Dull, The Daily Record-Sunday News, November 18, 2008. As a sophomore, he won the state championship. He suffered a serious injury to his elbow ligament, but recovered and finished as a runner-up in the state championship during his senior year in 1963.New Javelin Record Is Set By Dick Dull, The Gettysburg Times, April 22, 1963. As of 2008, he still held the school's record at 198 feet and 6 inches.

He attended college at the University of Maryland, where he continued competing in the javelin throw at the intercollegiate level. As a senior in 1966, he won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in the event at 223 feet and 3.5 inches.Men's ACC Outdoor Honors , University of Maryland, retrieved July 25, 2010. That year, he also placed in the top-ten in the NCAA event.

Athletic director

Maryland After receiving a Juris Doctor degree, he took a pay cut from $22,000 to $8,500 and became an assistant ticket manager at his alma mater. He rose through the ranks of the Maryland athletic department and became athletic director in 1981, succeeding Jim Kehoe., The Baltimore Sun, June 9, 1981. In January 1982, Dull hired Bobby Ross to succeed Jerry Claiborne as the school's head football coach., The Baltimore Sun, January 12, 1982. The hire was somewhat surprising as Ross, then an assistant coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, was not a high-profile coach. Ross described himself as a "no name"., The Baltimore Sun, November 28, 1982. Nevertheless, Maryland had great success under Ross, and quarterback Boomer Esiason excelled in his pro-style offense. Champion of the underdog, Time Herald-Record, August 8, 2004.

During Dull's tenure, the Maryland football and men's basketball teams both secured ACC championships, and the women's basketball team advanced to the Final Four. Dull was serving as athletic director when Maryland basketball star Len Bias died from a cocaine-induced heart attack in 1986. He resigned his post on November 4 citing the incident., The Palm Beach Post, October 8, 1986. He agreed to remain on the staff for one year as an athletic and policy advisor.

After Maryland Bias's death and the controversy it created affected Dull. The Baltimore Sun called Dull "one of the rising stars" in his profession at the time of the incident., The Baltimore Sun, June 19, 1996. Dull later said, "I survived it. No one can ever bring Len Bias back, and that I regret. He was a wonderful young man." In 1987, the University of Texas at El Paso offered Dull a job as its athletic director,, The Washington Post, May 22, 1987. but he eventually declined the offer., The Washington Post, May 23, 1987. In the decade following Bias' death, Dull worked in real estate, consulting, and lived off of his savings. In two years during that period, he earned less than $7,500, which was less than required to file an income tax return. He said, "I could not get a job interview (in athletics) for 10 years."

In 1996, he was a candidate for athletic director at Radford University.AD SEARCH CONTINUING AT RADFORD, The Roanoke Times, May 1, 1996. That year, he was hired as the athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, a Division II school.SEVERAL LIVES WERE CHANGED WHEN BIAS LOST HIS, The Boston Globe, June 30, 1996. In 1999 while the athletic director at Moravian College, he was hired by California State University, Northridge, his first Division I athletic director job since Maryland. The hiring was controversial, and some members of the university's advisory board demanded it be reviewed and overturned.ARIAS SUPPORTERS WANT REVIEW, Daily News (Los Angeles), June 9, 1999. In 2001, Northridge dropped its football program on Dull's recommendation to the Board of Trustees. He stepped down in 2005.DULL QUITS AS HEAD OF CSUN ATHLETICS, Daily News (Los Angeles), July 22, 2005.

Dull eventually retired, but returned to his work as the athletic director of Belmont Abbey College in June 2007.ABBEY HIRES NEW ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, DICK DULL FORMERLY HELD SAME POSITION AT MARYLAND 1981-86, Charlotte Observer, June 28, 2007. In 2008, he established an athletic hall of fame at the school.Belmont Abbey to start Athletics Hall of Fame , Gaston Gazette, September 16, 2008. In August 2009, Dull resigned from Belmont Abbey with a statement that he had been hired for a transition to a full-time athletic director and that the transition period had elapsed.A.D. Dull leaving Belmont Abbey as school year starts (UPDATE) , Gaston Gazette, August 19, 2009.

Death Dull died on January 6, 2026, at the age of 80.

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