South Carolina extends Ray Tanner’s contract as AD through 2026
South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner received a two-year contract extension, the university announced on Friday.
The board of trustees approved a deal for Tanner, whose current deal was set to expire on June 30, 2024, to remain as athletic director through June 30, 2026. He will be paid an annual salary of $1.175 million under the terms of the new contract, up from $1.02 million in his previous deal.
Tanner turns 65 years old next week.
“I had not (considered retiring) ... I’m just a young man,” Tanner quipped during a brief chat with reporters on Friday afternoon. “Occasionally people suggest that to me, but I have not. I’m grateful to be working here and I hope I get a chance to work many years to come.”
Tanner, who won two national titles as South Carolina’s baseball coach, has been the athletic director since July 2012. In that time, Gamecocks teams have won three national championships (2014 equestrian; 2017 and 2022 women’s basketball) and 17 SEC regular-season and tournament championships.
With his discretion, Tanner was responsible for hiring football coaches Shane Beamer and Will Muschamp and men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris. He was also heavily involved in getting women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley a record contract that pays her an average of more than $3 million annually — making Staley one of the higest paid coaches in the sport.
The university announced last month, too, that it intends to undergo a major redevelopment project that will include modernizing Williams-Brice Stadium and developing nearly 800 acres of property adjacent to the Congaree River. Tanner was involved in getting the project off the ground.
“I’m excited to hear that Coach Tanner will continue as our Athletics Director. Our relationship and my respect for Coach Tanner has grown so much since I returned to Columbia in 2020,” head football coach Shane Beamer said in a news release. “I’m excited about the progress we’ve made as a football program. I’m even more excited to continue to elevate our program under Coach Tanner’s leadership.”
Tanner’s deal currently says he would be owed $500,000 per year, pro-rated, if he were to be fired without cause before June 30, 2024. That’s been amended to say that if he’s terminated without cause after that date, there is no buyout.
The same language applies if Tanner were to terminate the contract on his end, giving both sides a free way out of the deal after June 30, 2024.
“Ray Tanner continues to set a high standard and has made Gamecock athletics an essential part of our community and our state,” USC President Michael Amiridis said in the news release. “Ray’s record of building up our student-athletes while improving the fan experience is second to none.”
Ray Tanner contract breakdown
Total annual compensation: $1.175 million
Base salary: $562,187
Annual supplement: $150,000
Media/Outside compensation: $462,813
Dwayne McLemore contributed reporting to this story
This story was originally published March 17, 2023 at 1:00 PM.
