South Carolina has chosen Jeremiah Donati from TCU as its new athletic director. The university’s board of trustees approved the decision, and Donati will begin on January 2, with his contract running through June 30, 2031.
In his first year, Donati will earn $1.9 million, with a $100,000 increase each following year of his contract.
“We’re going to have fun. We’re going to work hard,” Donati said to the board. “I will not disappoint you.”
Donati, 47, replaces Ray Tanner, who has been the athletic director since 2012. Tanner will now serve as a special advisor to university President Michael Amiridis.
Amiridis said Donati’s “principles and personality made him the perfect candidate.”
This is the second time since 2005 that South Carolina has hired someone from TCU to lead its athletic department. Eric Hyman was hired from TCU in 2005, and after Hyman left for Texas A&M in 2012, Tanner was named the athletic director.
Donati takes over an athletic department that seems to be improving. The women’s basketball team, coached by Dawn Staley, won its third national title last year, with two of those wins coming since 2017.
Under third-year coach Lamont Paris, the men’s basketball team reached the NCAA Tournament last March for the first time in seven years.
South Carolina’s football program, led by coach Shane Beamer, finished the regular season with a 9-3 record, winning six straight games, including four wins against ranked teams.
Donati faces some challenges, including improving the area around Williams-Brice Stadium, which is mostly industrial and could be developed to look better.
The university has already planned upgrades to the stadium, including adding more premium seating and luxury boxes to make it more like other stadiums in the Southeastern Conference.
Donati has worked at TCU since 2011 and became the athletic director in 2017. During the 2022-23 season, TCU athletics had one of its best years. The football team made it to the College Football Playoff title game, the men’s basketball team reached the NCAA Tournament, and the baseball team played in the College World Series.
In that season, 10 of TCU’s 21 sports were ranked in the national top 25.
Before TCU, Donati worked at Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment as general counsel and director of player representation. He has also held college fundraising roles at Arizona, Washington State, and Cal Poly.
