King Dixon to join USC’s board of trustees in a temporary role

The University of South Carolina has a new member of its board of trustees.

A. King Dixon II, who served as USC’s athletic director from 1988 to early 1993, will be holding the seat once held by A.C. “Bubba” Fennell until 2020, according to USC’s website.

Fennell, who had been on USC’s board of trustees since 2012, died in late 2019, according to a previous article from The State.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Dixon on Dec. 31 to fill the seat until the General Assembly can elect another trustee to fill his position, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said.

Dixon, a former Gamecock football star and retired Marine who served for 22 years, took over as athletic director amid scandal. The NCAA had been investigating the school for reported steroid use from 1983-1987 and the NCAA sanctioned the school for failing to drug test athletes, according to The State’s archives.

In 1991, Dixon fired the popular and successful basketball coach, George Felton — who was at the school for five years and had an 87-62 record — for an accumulation of small, off-the-court factors, according to The State’s archives.

One of Dixon’s more unorthodox — especially by today’s standards — decisions was choosing to skip a bowl game in 1990 because it conflicted with exam schedule, according to the archives.

This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 1:03 PM.