Friday July 13, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. (July 13, 2012) – University of South Carolina president Dr. Harris Pastides announced today that longtime Gamecock baseball coach Ray Tanner has been selected as the university’s new director of athletics. Tanner will begin his new duties on August 2.

“Sometimes you can search the world over for the perfect candidate and at times you know you have the right leader within your organization,” said Dr. Pastides. “For USC, we knew we had the right person on our team already. When Coach Tanner approached me two years ago and sought more administrative responsibilities, I clearly knew that this was an individual who was seeking a way to lead; to take our great university to the next level,” noted Pastides. “Ray exemplifies all the qualities I am seeking in an Athletics Director: integrity, a winning attitude, a confident leader and manager and an individual who puts the well-being of our student-athletes above and beyond all other things.”

A dedicated community leader whose charitable organization has made a difference in many South Carolina families, a three-time National Coach of the Year and Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year, Tanner just completed his 16th year as head coach at the University of South Carolina. Tanner has established one of the premier programs in college baseball. He has led the Garnet & Black to two NCAA Division I Baseball Championships, a pair of national runner-up finishes, six College World Series appearances, three SEC championships, six SEC Eastern division titles, a SEC tournament crown and 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Under the direction of Tanner, South Carolina's postseason success from 2010-2012 is arguably the greatest run in collegiate baseball history. In the three-year span, the Gamecocks established NCAA records with 22 consecutive postseason wins and 12 consecutive wins in the College World Series. The Gamecocks won the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in 2010 and 2011 with a national runner-up finish in 2012. South Carolina's 30-4 (.882) record over the past three seasons in the NCAA Tournament is the fifth best three-year postseason record in NCAA history.

In addition, the 2012 CWS trip marked the sixth time in 11 years that South Carolina had reached Omaha. No Division I baseball team has made more appearances than the Gamecocks over the last 11 seasons.