South Carolina hires TCU's Jeremiah Donati as athletic director

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina has hired Jeremiah Donati of TCU as its athletic diretor.

The university's board of trustees approved the hiring where Donati, who spent the past seven years leading the Horned Frogs athletic department, will start Jan. 2 with his contract running through June 30, 2031.

Donati will make $1.9 million his first year and will receive a $100,000 increase each subsequent year of the deal.

“We're going to have fun. We're going to work hard,” Donati told the board. “I will not disappoint you.”

Donati, 47, takes over for Ray Tanner, South Carolina's AD since 2012 who will become a special advisor to university President Michael Amiridis.

Donati's “principles and personality made him the perfect candidate,” Amiridis said.

It's the second time since 2005 that South Carolina has turned to TCU for someone to head its athletic department. Eric Hyman was hired form TCU to lead the Gamecocks in 2005. When Hyman left for Texas A&M in 2012, Tanner was named athletic director.

Donati is inheriting a department that appears to be on the rise. It's women's basketball team under coach Dawn Staley is coming off its third national title last year since 2017.

The men's basketball team under third-year coach Lamont Paris reached the NCAA Tournament last March for the first time in seven years.

South Carolina's football program, under coach Shane Beamer, is 9-3 and finished its regular season with six straight wins, including four of those over ranked opponents.

Some challenges facing Donati will be how to improve an area around football's Williams-Brice Stadium, a largely industrial area that many hope can be beautified.

The school has already announced plans to improve the stadium, including adding more premium seating and luxury boxes to bring it on par with other football stadiums throughout the Southeastern Conference.

Donati has been with TCU since 2011 and became AD in 2017. Horned Frog athletics had one of its most successful seasons in 2022-23. Along with the football team reaching the College Football Playoff title game, men’s basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament and baseball played in the College World Series.

That season, 10 of TCU’s 21 sports were ranked in the national top 25.

Before coming to TCU, Donati was with Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment as general counsel and director of player representation. He has also worked at college fundraising positions at Arizona, Washington State and Cal Poly.

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Pete Iacobelli, The Associated Press