Former South Carolina athletic director Bob Marcum dies at 87

Former South Carolina athletic director Bob Marcum died on Tuesday at 87 years old, the school announced on Wednesday.

Marcum had been hospitalized less than a week ago from a stroke, Arkansas men’s basketball coach John Calipari posted on X (formerly Twitter) on June 21. Marcum was Calipari’s athletic director when he was at UMass.

Marcum was a longtime athletic director, spending time as the AD of Kansas (1978-82), South Carolina (1982-88), UMass (1993-02) and Marshall (2002-09). He also worked in NASCAR and was the general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.

During Marcum’s time in Columbia, he moved South Carolina from an independent school to the Metro Conference in every sport besides football. The Gamecocks played in the Metro until joining the SEC in 1991.

Marcum was also the man responsible for hiring legendary football coach Joe Morrison, both men a part of the 1984 “Black Magic” team that went 10-2, got up to No. 2 in the nation and had victories over Georgia, Notre Dame, Florida State and Clemson.

But Marcum’s tenure at South Carolina got off to a rocky start. Just weeks into his tenure in Columbia, Marcum hired Richard Bell to take over the football program. Eleven months later, following a 4-7 season, Marcum fired Bell and hired Morrison from New Mexico on a 5-year, $60,000 contract.

Later it became known Marcum asked Bell to fire four of his assistant coaches, a request that Bell would not go through with. He was fired shortly after. Less than two years later, Bell sued South Carolina to get his remaining contract money and also sought slander and libel damages for things Marcum said following the firing. Bell was paid $171,000 in the trial.

Marcum was fired from South Carolina in 1998. After he was dismissed from South Carolina, a federal jury ruled that his firing was unjust and awarded almost $250,000.

Football aside, Marcum also hired Nancy Wilson to be the women’s basketball coach. She would go on to lead South Carolina five regular-season Metro Conference titles, five trips to the NCAA Tournament and was the Gamecocks’ all-time wins leader until Dawn Staley surpassed her.

Since Marcum left South Carolina, the Gamecocks have had five athletic directors: Dick Bestwick (1988), King Dixon (1988-92), Mike McGee (1993-2005), Eric Hyman (2005-12) and Ray Tanner (2012-present).