[2] Bryan began his administrative career by becoming the assistant to the dean of the University of Florida's Graduate School in 1961.
[2] In 1969, he was appointed dean of advanced studies and director of research at Florida Atlantic University.
[6] He was responsible for the forced resignation of Florida Gators football coach Galen Hall in September 1989, following alleged NCAA rules infractions by Hall and the football staff,[7][8][9] and, together with athletic director Bill Arnsparger, for hiring Heisman Trophy-winning University of Florida alumnus Steve Spurrier as the new head coach of the Gators football team in December 1989.
[10] Only weeks after Bryan was responsible for Hall's forced resignation, he demanded the resignation of Gators basketball head coach Norm Sloan for unrelated NCAA violations;[6][11] Sloan was replaced by interim coach Don DeVoe.
[13] Bryan was recalled from retirement in 1991, when the Board of Regents asked him to serve as the interim president of the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
[1][17] During his term as interim president of the University of South Florida, Bryan required significantly greater financial commitments from the athletic department, boosters, and alumni before the university's new South Florida Bulls football program began intercollegiate play.