Hyman resigns
While South Carolina's athletic program remains under construction in order to keep it at its current perch, its architect is moving on.
Athletic director Eric Hyman informed his staff and the USC Board of Trustees on Friday that he was leaving to take the vacant AD spot at Texas A&M, just two days shy of his seven-year anniversary in Columbia. The Aggies, looking for a replacement for Bill Byrne, are reportedly offering a much more substantial salary than Hyman's current deal (just under $500,000) and can offer Hyman a bonus worth much more than money - to be near his children as he nears retirement age.
Hyman's two grown children currently live in Fort Worth, Texas, three hours north of College Station. The BOT met on Friday and discussed giving Hyman, 61, a raise to at least match Texas A&M's financial offer, but Hyman had already made up his mind to leave.
USC President Harris Pastides said that he had not met with Hyman as of Friday afternoon, but a source close to USC confirmed that Hyman's leaving was a "done deal." The source said that Hyman did not entertain the possibility of a raise from USC, informing the Board that he was leaving and that was the end of it.
"He has not told me anything," Pastides said. "He has asked to meet with me. Rumors are flying, but it wouldn't be fair to Eric or me to assume anything.
"All I know is he has been a great athletic director. If he decides to stay, we'd be ecstatic, but I need to give him the opportunity to come talk to me."
The source said that a statement from USC would be released later on Friday. Texas A&M's Board of Regents was set to meet at 3 p.m. on Friday, with the first item on the agenda being to authorize school president R. Bowen Loftin to identify a candidate for the position and then to negotiate an employment agreement.
Texas A&M, which will officially join the SEC on Sunday, gains an athletic director with tremendous nationwide respect, who turned TCU into a solid football power during his tenure before leaving for USC. His job with the Gamecocks, turning a conference also-ran into a name to be reckoned with in the future, made him further enticing.
USC and Hyman will continue to see each other, as USC and Texas A&M are SEC brethren and will be permanent football opponents beginning in 2013. Hyman's touch will long be seen on USC's campus for years.
Hyman presided over the greatest period of athletic success that USC has ever seen, and his master plan for improving facilities has already caused drastic changes among USC's athletic department. Improvements such as the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center, Carolina Stadium and the videoboard currently being installed at Williams-Brice Stadium were all Hyman projects, as well as renovations of USC's softball field and tennis courts, plus a planned Athletic Village.
Hyman also hired women's basketball coach Dawn Staley and men's basketball coach Frank Martin, each a home-run hire when USC's programs had been slipping into bottom-feeder status. He also moved Bill McDonald to men's golf coach and hired Kalen Harris as women's golf coach, with each program beginning to gain steam as a consistent winner.
USC moves into a transitional phase, with its need for an athletic director but also the knowledge that it can offer an outstanding position. The improvements that Hyman oversaw have been budgeted and in most cases are under construction; the teams that flourished under his watch should be good for quite a while.
The source said that hiring an interim AD was a possibility, but no names were said and no decision has been made. Some candidates for the permanent AD spot that could emerge are Charles Waddell and Kevin O'Connell, two top Hyman aides who are currently on staff; Chris Massaro, the AD at Middle Tennessee State who spent 20 years at USC; Dan Radakovich, the AD at Georgia Tech who was at USC from 1994-2000 and was also a candidate for the A&M position; and Ray Tanner, USC's baseball coach who has been open about wanting to return to his administrative roots (former assistant AD at NC State) once he's done coaching.
link:
http://southcarolina...asp?CID=1380705
