Miami Officially Hires Clemson Athletic Director Dan Radakovich

He leaves Clemson for another aspiring ACC power.

Just days ago, the University of Miami made a big splash with its football hire, poaching alumnus Mario Cristobal away from Pac-12 power Oregon. Now, it has hired the man who will oversee him in Clemson's Dan Radakovich.

The move had been in the works over the last few weeks. On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger confirmed the announcement was expected for Thursday.

The University of Miami has named Dan Radakovich, one of the nation’s foremost athletics administrators, as vice president and director of athletics. https://t.co/JApLkLvR9y pic.twitter.com/mjlvre8RrK

— University of Miami (@univmiami) December 9, 2021

The hire may be an even bigger coup for Miami than taking Cristobal from Oregon. Radakovich oversaw the emergence of a true college football blueblood after taking over as Clemson AD in 2012. He has ample ACC experience, after leading the athletic department at Georgia Tech from '06 to '12.

Radakovich, who has an M.B.A. from Miami, returns to his alma mater, where he began his career in athletics. From 1983 to '85, he worked at the school as an athletic business manager, before landing his first associate athletic director job at Long Beach State four years later. He moved on to a similar role at South Carolina, before landing his first AD job at American in 2000. After two years at that small program, he left for a senior associate AD job at LSU in '01, from which he took the Georgia Tech job.

“I am so grateful to President Frenk and the University’s Board of Trustees for this incredible opportunity,” Radakovich said in the school's announcement. “Their commitment to Miami Athletics’ comprehensive pursuit of excellence and championships is what brought me back to Miami. As a unified Hurricane family—students, alumni, donors, and fans—there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. We are going to set the bar high and jump over it.”

Radakovich and Cristobal seek to resurrect a Hurricanes program that has failed to win the ACC since making the jump from the Big East in 2004 and hasn't won a national championship since '01.