Miami Hurricanes

Miami Completes Busy Week, Hiring Clemson's Radakovich as AD

The 63-year-old Radakovich will replace Blake James, who Miami let go last month, two days after the Hurricanes’ football team lost to Florida State

Getty Images

NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 13: Clemson Tigers AD Dan Radakovich is seen prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the LSU Tigers and the Clemson Tigers on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans LA. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Miami completed a busy week of transition Thursday, announcing the hiring of Dan Radakovich as athletic director.

Radakovich comes from Clemson, where he spent the last nine years overseeing the Tigers' rise to football superpower under coach Dabo Swinney.

The announcement of Radakovich to lead the athletic department comes two days after Miami introduced Mario Cristobal as its new football coach. Cristobal, a former Hurricanes offensive lineman, was lured away from Oregon, where he had been head coach the last four seasons.

“I am so grateful to President (Julio) Frenk and the university’s board of trustees for this incredible opportunity,” Radakovich said in a statement. “Their commitment to Miami Athletics’ comprehensive pursuit of excellence and championships is what brought me back to Miami.”

Radakovich holds a master’s degree in business administration from Miami. He replaces Blake James, who was let go last month by the school.

Clemson has named deputy AD Graham Neff as its acting athletic director. Neff is a leading candidate to replace Radakovich at the school.

Miami becomes the third ACC school to have Radakovich as athletic director. He was at Georgia Tech from 2006 through 2012 and Clemson for the last nine years. During his stint at Clemson, the Tigers played for the national title in football four times, winning two.

“This is a significant moment for the future of athletics at the University of Miami,” Frenk said in a statement. “Dan is one of the most highly regarded athletics directors in the country. He knows Miami well, from his time at the U and at Clemson, an ACC peer. His proven success, and the success that Dan has helped enable for student-athletes in the classroom and in competition, is reflective of our values."

Radakovich’s career in sports administration began in 1983 at Miami. Radakovich, then 25, left an accounting firm to take a job working for Miami athletic director Sam Jankovich as the Hurricanes’ director of athletic financial affairs. He arrived about 2 1/2 months before the football team won its first national championship.

His task now is to help Miami get back to that level.

___

AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Exit mobile version