Univ. of South Carolina athletics director stepping down

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – University of South Carolina athletics director Ray Tanner will be stepping down from the role.

The university announced Friday that Tanner, who has spent 13 years as the head of the athletics department, will be moving to a new role as senior advisor to the president which will focus on fundraising and community engagement.

Tanner will remain the Gamecocks’ athletics director until his successor is hired.

He will remain at USC in the new position until at least June 2028 after the school’s Board of Trustees approved his contract Friday.

“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. “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.”

Prior to taking over as athletics director, Tanner spent 16 seasons as head baseball coach at USC, leading the team to back-to-back national championships in 2010 and 2011.

During his tenure as athletics director, the women’s basketball team won three national titles, and the equestrian team took home a national championship in 2015.