Donati named new Gamecocks Director of Athletics
December 5, 2024
Jeremiah Donati has been named the University of South Carolina’s 31st Director of Athletics, President Michael Amiridis announced today (Dec.5) following a meeting of the school’s Board of Trustees.
Donati comes to USC after serving as the Athletics Director at Texas Christian University since July 2017, where he led the Horned Frogs’ athletics program to new heights including eight team national championships and 11 Big 12 Conference titles. In addition to TCU being the first Texas team to appear in the College Football Playoffs, TCU’s men’s basketball program has appeared in the last three NCAA Tournaments while its baseball team won back-to-back Big 12 championships and made one appearance in the College World Series.
“I’m honored to join the University of South Carolina, a school with a rich history of athletic excellence and passionate fans,” said Donati. “I look forward to working alongside our exceptional coaches, student-athletes, and staff to continue building on the tremendous success of Gamecock Athletics. Our goal is to be a national leader in both competitive excellence and student-athlete experience. We will compete for championships while ensuring our student-athletes are supported in all aspects of their college careers.”
In joining USC, Donati brings to Columbia a wealth of experience in navigating an ever-changing collegiate sports landscape.
In the 2023-24 athletics season, TCU was one of only five schools nationally to win multiple NCAA Championships. In the previous 2022-23 season, TCU became the first school in the College Football Playoff era to reach the CFP, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and College World Series in the same academic year. Under first-year head football coach Sonny Dykes, the Horned Frogs reached the College Football Playoff in 2022, defeating Michigan in the CFP semifinals of the Fiesta Bowl and played Georgia in the national championship game.
That same season, TCU set a school record with six conference coach of the year recipients: football, women’s diving, beach volleyball, men’s golf, men’s tennis and equestrian.
Donati arrived at TCU in 2011 as Deputy Athletics Director, playing a major role in fundraising and project development before being named AD. His efforts enhanced the TCU student-athlete experience through significant facility upgrades totaling nearly $500 million. The most recent project is a $50 million renovation and expansion to TCU’s Athletics Human Performance Center.
Donati succeeds Ray Tanner, who has led the Gamecocks since 2012 and will become athletics director emeritus and senior advisor to the president.
Under Donati, TCU also has enjoyed record levels of donor support for its athletics program. In the four years he oversaw fundraising in the Frog Club, TCU recorded its three highest totals in overall athletics giving. Additionally, TCU reached record levels in men’s basketball attendance as well as setting new marks in ticket and licensing revenues.
In March 2019, Donati worked with TCU football legend LaDainian Tomlinson to create the Tomlinson Student-Athlete Development Endowment Fund to help prepare student-athletes from all of TCU’s sports programs for their lives and careers after graduation.
Prior to joining TCU, Donati was with Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment as general counsel and director of player representation. He has experience in professional and intercollegiate athletics includes fundraising positions with the University of Arizona Wildcat Club, Washington State University Cougar Athletic Fund and the Cal Poly University Mustang Club.
Donati earned a bachelor’s degree in politics and government in 2001 from the University of Puget Sound, where he was a basketball student-athlete. He received a Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School in 2005 and is a member of the California Bar Association. He is also a member of the Big 12 Conference’s Athletics Directors Executive Committee and Football Working Group, Learfield’s AD Advisory Board, the Board of Trustees for the Davey O’Brien Foundation in Fort Worth and the Coalition Academy in conjunction with the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches.
Donati and his wife, Nicole, have two daughters: Colette and Naomi.
The search for the new Director of Athletics began in September 2024 and was assisted by Funk Associates executive search firm.
THE DONATI TIMELINE
- 2017 – 2024: Texas Christian University (Athletics Director)
- 2016 – 2017: Texas Christian University (Deputy Athletics Director)
- 2013 – 2016: Texas Christian University (Associate Athletics Director and Associate Vice Chancellor for Athletic Development)
- 2011 – 2013: Texas Christian University (Executive Director of TCU Frog Club)
- 2007 – 2011: Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment (General Counsel / Director of Special Projects / NFL Player Agent)
- 2005 – 2007: Durant Management Corporation (Director of Business Affairs)
- 2000 – 2002: University of Arizona (Athletics Marketing and Development Associate)
- 1998: California Polytechnic State University (Development Intern)
- 1997: Washington State University (Marketing and Development Intern)
Education
- University of Puget Sound, 2001, B.A., Politics and Government
- Whittier Law School, 2005, Juris Doctorate
About the University of South Carolina Athletics Department
The University of South Carolina is a member of the Southeastern Conference. USC sponsors 21 varsity sports programs and is home to more than 550 student-athletes. Gamecock Athletics have won nine team and 56 individual national championships, 82 conference regular season and tournament championships. Gamecock Athletics’ mission is to develop our student-athletes intellectually, athletically, socially and culturally to compete relentlessly for championships and to attain high levels of achievement at the University, and throughout life, in harmony with our university’s mission and vision.
