The South Carolina Gamecocks announced Friday that longtime athletic director Ray Tanner will assume a new role in the athletic department and that a search for a successor will begin.
Meanwhile, Tanner will retain his role at the helm of Gamecock sports, but at some point his more than decade-long tenure as head of the department will end.
Tanner will become athletic director emeritus and senior adviser to the president and will focus on fundraising and community engagement under the agreement, which was approved by the school’s board of trustees and runs through 2028.
The 66-year-old has plenty of experience battling Clemson, both on and off the field.
The Smithfield, North Carolina native was a baseball coach before becoming athletic director, leading his alma mater, North Carolina State, for a decade before taking over South Carolina’s program in 1997.
Tanner led the Gamecocks to two national championships in 2010 and 2011. The following year, he took over the entire athletic department.
Graham Neff, on the other hand, is Clemson’s athletic director, a role he assumed in 2022. He previously worked for the school for nearly a decade, as assistant athletic director for finance and facilities (2013) and assistant athletic director (2014-21).
In the press release about the move, Tanner expressed his thanks to the school.
“I’ve thought for some time that Carolina would need a new athletic director at some point, and the president and I have talked about it,” he said. “There was interest in me staying at the university. I agreed to stay in a new role because of my love for this university, this city and this state.”
The press release touted some of Tanner’s accomplishments.
During his tenure, extensive improvements were made to the facilities of all 21 Gamecock sports. This is due in part to his track record as a fundraiser. During his tenure, athletic department revenue increased nearly 80% and last year over $20 million was raised annually.
Although he did not hire basketball coach Dawn Staley, the program has won three national titles during his tenure. In addition to the school’s 2015 national championship in equestrian sports, eight other programs achieved the best finishes in their history, including football, volleyball and men’s basketball – which reached the Final Four for the first time in 2017.
Under Tanner’s leadership, the Gamecocks athletic teams won 21 SEC regular season and tournament titles and made 154 postseason appearances.
