Ray Tanner stepping down as South Carolina athletic director

Some huge news was dropped on Friday pertaining to South Carolina Gamecocks athletics, as Athletic Director Ray Tanner will be stepping down, according to Gamecock Central.

“Big news in Columbia just announced during a Board of Trustees meeting,” Chris Clark of Gamecock Central posted on X. “South Carolina Athletics is now actively searching for a new AD. Once a new AD is found, Ray Tanner will be transitioning to a new role as Senior Advisor to the President.”

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Continuing, Clark noted that a release from the university sent out following the BOT meeting on Friday also noted that Tanner will become “athletics director emeritus,” and that a personnel agreement reached between Tanner and South Carolina will run until June 2028. The deal can reportedly be extended at that time upon mutual consent. 

“I’m humbled and honored that I have had the great fortune to be a part of this wonderful university and that will continue,” Tanner said in the release, via Clark. “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.”

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Moreover, Tanner has served in his role since 2012, bringing South Carolina major success in a litany of sports. Now, he’ll be looking to continue helping the Gamecocks elevate their brand, even in a new role once he’s replaced as the university’s athletic director.

More on Ray Tanner, South Carolina Gamecocks

Meanwhile, the news regarding Ray Tanner comes at a fascinating time for the Gamecocks, as South Carolina is preparing to host ESPN College GameDay on Saturday afternoon, ahead of their clash with LSU.

It should be an awesome showcase for the program, with Gamecocks women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley selected as the guest picker for Saturday, College GameDay announced.

Staley has built the South Carolina women’s basketball program into one of the best in the nation. The Gamecocks have won three national titles under Staley, including this past season when they went undefeated, beating Iowa for the title.

Although it should be an awesome event, South Carolina hosting ESPN College GameDay came as a bit of a surprise. The game wasn’t on anyone’s radar as far as a potential host site, before the Gamecocks pounded Kentucky in Week 2. 

In fact, College GameDay was rumored to be heading to Lexington for the Wildcats matchup with Georgia, before South Carolina put together a dominant win.

Nevertheless, South Carolina enters the matchup 2-0 after beating Old Dominion and Kentucky, while LSU is 1-1. The Tigers opened the season with a loss to USC, before responding by beating Nicholls this past week. It’ll be the first time College GameDay has been in Columbia in a decade.

On3’s Matt Connolly contributed to this article.