USC athletics director Ray Tanner set to assume new role

Ray Tanner, who oversaw six national championships and record fundraising and revenue in three decades as athletics director and head baseball coach, will soon move into a new role at the University of South Carolina.

Tanner will remain the Gamecocks’ athletics director until his successor arrives in Columbia. Tanner will then transition to become athletics director emeritus and senior advisor to the president, focusing on fundraising and community engagement. A national search for a new athletics director will begin at the end of the fall semester.

Under the agreement, Tanner will remain at USC in his new position through June 2028. The contract was approved by the Board of Trustees on Sept 13.

“I’m humbled and honored that I have had the great fortune to be a part of this wonderful university and that will continue,” said Tanner, who is in his 13th year at the helm of USC athletics. “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. 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.”

“I loved my experience as a baseball coach and as an administrator. I’m grateful to have been able to work here for such a long time,” Tanner said. “I married a Gamecock and my three children grew up as Gamecocks. My time here is something I have never taken for granted.”

President Michael Amiridis said Tanner built a remarkable legacy in defining the first quarter of the 21st century in USC athletics. Tanner became the Gamecocks’ athletics director in 2012 after 16 seasons coaching the baseball team, which he led to two national titles.

“I was reluctant to accept Ray’s decision because of what he has accomplished and means to the Gamecock community,” Amiridis said. “Ray serves USC with such integrity and devotion, and sets high standards in developing student-athletes and enhancing fan experiences. I am very pleased that the Board of Trustees agreed to have Ray continue his commitment to the university from a different position.”

USC Board of Trustees Chairman Thad Westbrook said Tanner brought transformational changes to Gamecock athletics.

“Ray is a legend at the University of South Carolina, and we’ve been fortunate to have him,” Westbrook said. “Ray is someone that I have always known as a Gamecock who puts the University of South Carolina first. He is leaving the athletics director position when the athletics department is in a very good place, and after a very successful year, particularly with a women’s basketball national championship and several outstanding coaching hires. I am pleased that Ray will continue to be a part of the university.”

Gamecock teams have enjoyed new levels of success under Tanner. The women’s basketball team won three national titles (2017, 2022 and 2024), while the equestrian team took home the 2015 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 squads won 21 SEC regular-season and tournament titles, and made 154 post-season appearances.

Tanner has helped build sustained financial success at USC with the Gamecocks coming off a year of record revenue and fundraising. Athletics department revenues have risen by nearly 80 percent since Tanner’s first year as director. The Gamecocks surpassed $20 million in annual fundraising for the first time last year.

The Gamecocks have developed top-notch playing and training venues. All 21 sports at South Carolina have undergone a major facility upgrade during Tanner’s tenure – including the opening of the Spurrier Indoor Football Practice Facility, Long Family Football Operations Center, Carolina Softball Stadium, Sheila and Morris Cregger Track and Field Complex, and Carolina Tennis Center.

USC student-athletes have set a standard in the classroom in recent years. Since 2015-16, South Carolina has led the Southeastern Conference with more than 3,700 student-athletes on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Nearly three out of every four USC student-athletes qualify for the SEC Academic Honor Roll each year. Gamecock student-athletes have achieved a cumulative 3.0 grade-point average or higher for 35 consecutive semesters.