Clemson Tigers In-State Rival Announces Search For New Athletic Director

The Clemson Tigers’ top rival, the South Carolina Gamecocks, are looking for a replacement for their long-time athletic director.

Sep 14, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks athletic director Ray Tanner watches the game against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The South Carolina Gamecocks announced on Friday that their longtime athletic director, Ray Tanner, would transition into a new role in the athletic department and that a search would begin for a replacement.

While that happens, Tanner will remain in his role at the top of Gamecock athletics, but eventually his decade-plus tenure running the department will end.

Tanner will become athletics director emeritus and senior advisor to the president, focusing on fundraising and community engagement in a deal that goes through 2028 and has been approved by the school’s Board of Trustees.

The 66-year-old, has a lot of experience facing Clemson, both on and off the field.

The Smithfield, N.C. native was a baseball coach before he was an athletic director. He led his alma mater, North Carolina State, for a decade before he took over the South Carolina program in 1997.

Tanner led the Gamecocks to two national championships in 2010 and 2011. The next year, he took over the entire athletic department.

By contrast, Graham Neff is Clemson’s athletic director, a role he assumed in 2022. He spent nearly a decade with the school before that as its associate AD of finance and facilities (2013) and its deputy AD (2014-21).

Tanner expressed his gratitude to the school in the release announcing the move.

“For a while now, I have thought there’s going to come a time for Carolina to get a new athletics director, and the president and I have had those conversations,” he said. “There was interest for me to remain at the university. I agreed to stay in a new role because of my passion for this university, this city and this state.”

The release touted some of Tanner’s accomplishments.

During his tenure all 21 Gamecock sports have received a major facility upgrade. Part of that comes from his record as a fundraiser. Over his tenure the athletic department’s revenue has gone up by nearly 80% and last year surpassed $20 million in fund-raising annually.

While he did not hire women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, his tenure has seen that program win three national titles. Along with the school’s 2015 equestrian national championship, eight other programs posted the best finishes in their histories, including football, volleyball and men’s basketball – which reached the Final Four for the first time in 2017.

Gamecock athletic teams won 21 SEC regular-season and tournament titles and made 154 post-season appearances with Tanner running the department.