SB Nation Atlanta - Dan Radakovich leaves Georgia Tech for Clemsonhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2012-11-02T09:01:27-04:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/33356692012-11-02T09:01:27-04:002012-11-02T09:01:27-04:00Who holds the key to Georgia Tech's future?
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<figcaption>Kevin Liles-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Whoever fills the vacant AD job for Georgia Tech is going to have their hands full in the short term. In the mean time all of the pressure falls on Paul Johnson and Brian Gregory. </p> <p>Georgia Tech football seemed to be in shambles even before director Dan Radakovich<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>bolted out of his office and up I-85 N to uphold the same position at conference rival<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>Clemson University. Radakovich's exit was only a few days after the Yellow Jackets<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>lost embarrassingly to BYU 41-17, a game in which there was an abundance of boos<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>coming from the Tech faithful throughout the 4th Quarter. Now, with the school in<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>search of someone to overtake the empty position, folks are wondering, discussing, and<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>debating who the new director of athletics should be and what should be first on their<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>agenda. However, at this moment, all the pressure resides on <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/14242/paul-johnson">Paul Johnson's</a> and Brian<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>Gregory's troops.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech football is in disarray and with a 3-5 record on the season their 15<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>consecutive seasons of bowl eligibility is in jeopardy. Paul Johnson has already gone<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>from hero to goat in his short tenure so far on the Flats. With accomplishing a win<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>over state-rival Georgia and an ACC Championship title(yes I'm counting it) during his<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>first two seasons on the Flats things looked on the rise. However, things have gone<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>downhill rapidly for the master of the triple option as Georgia Tech has an abysmal 1-13<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>combined record in bowl games and against rivals Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, and<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>Georgia since the Jackets victory over Clemson in the 2009 ACC Championship game.<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>Despite the awful numbers and the unraveling of the fan base, Johnson's job is safe for<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>next year as he has a $10 million buyout if he was to be fired at the conclusion of this<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>season, something the new AD will not even budge to think about. So as of right now<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>the controls are in Johnson's hands. If the Ramblin' Wreck can turn the season around<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>and just make a bowl game, that would be a positive ending for the season. If by some<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>nature Johnson can garner a victory over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/georgia-bulldogs">Georgia Bulldogs</a> to end the season then<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>he's all the sudden back in good vibes with Yellow Jacket Nation. Although, right now<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>you'd look more stable predicting the Jacksonville Jaguars to win the Super Bowl as<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>opposed to predicting a Georgia Tech victory over UGA on November 24.</p>
<p>The men's basketball program at Georgia Tech is going through an interesting phase<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>at the moment. Last year was one to forget for the Basket Jackets as they finished in<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>the cellar of the ACC and failed to score 40 points in three games, a quite remarkable<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>feat. As you see, they are still feeling the hangover effects from the Paul Hewitt debacle.<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>However, Brian Gregory is still implementing his system and trying to restore the<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>program back to what it once was. Gregory is bringing in a top-20 recruiting class for the<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>2012-2013 season that includes premier center prospect Robert Carter. One other thing<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>going for the Jackets for this season is they will have a permanent home, as they played their games last year at both Phillips and Gwinnett Arenas while the newly refurnished Hank McCamish Pavilion was being constructed. Gregory hopes the new enhanced $45 million home will lure in more fans to once again create a great environment and atmosphere inside the ThrillerDome.</p>
<p>The coaches can only do so much though and some of the pressure and responsibilities<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>are going to fall on whoever the new Athletic Director will be. One thing the new AD<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>will have to excel at is: Marketing, Marketing, Marketing. Radakovich did his job with<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>building new facilities and bringing Georgia Tech out of a financial hole. Now, the job of<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>the new AD will be to put butts in the seats, and appeal to the community to come out to<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>games and support the team. Jackets' Nation is hoping whoever is in charge of the new<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>regime will creat a better marketing slogan than 'Fun on the Flats'. The next few months<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>will be big for Tech, on one hand you have the improved fan-friendly basketball arena<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>and on the other who have a quarterback of the future in <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/133881/vad-lee">Vad Lee</a> that has the fan base<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>excited. By the way, the home football schedule for the Yellow Jackets next year will<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>feature games against Georgia Southern, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Clemson, and<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>Georgia. Looking at that schedule, it's easy to say that the marketing and advertising<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>skills of the new AD will determine whether Bobby Dodd Stadium is a predominant<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>home-field advantage for the Yellow Jackets or if the crowds will be embarrassingly in<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>favor of the away teams.</p>
<p>Although Georgia Tech football and basketball has experienced dark days of late there's<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>an easy way to get back to the top and become attractive again and it starts with rolling<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>in some Ws. With that said, if Paul Johnson's squad continues to struggle down the<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>stretch and Brian Gregory's team has a disappointing start to the season, the program<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>will be in a complete mess and good luck hiring a decent AD with that to offer.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2012/11/2/3588628/georgia-techs-new-ad-paul-johnson-brian-gregoryTravis Stigall2012-10-31T13:41:15-04:002012-10-31T13:41:15-04:00Ga. Tech president begins search for new AD
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<figcaption>Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>The Georgia Tech president discusses what he's looking for in a new athletic director.</p> <p>Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich has taken the same position at ACC rival Clemson, and now Tech president Bud Peterson is tasked with finding a replacement while riding out the current calendar year. <a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2012/10/30/peterson-on-radakovich/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_tech_sports">While speaking with the AJC</a>, Peterson had several items of note regrading Radakovich's departure as well as what Georgia Tech is looking for in its next A.D.</p>
<p>Senior associate director <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/4863/paul-griffin" class="sbn-auto-link">Paul Griffin</a> and Radakovich will form a search committee for the next A.D., but Peterson stated he was unclear as to whether or not he'd serve on the committee.</p>
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<p>"I haven’t thought through that yet. Certainly, whether I’ll actually be on the committee or ask the committee to make a recommendation to me, I’m not sure exactly how we’ll do that. We haven’t quite formalized the committee structure and who would be on it."</p>
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<p>Peterson also framed up the profile of a would-be successor to Radakovich as someone with a strong fundraising background to help Tech work through costs associated with several years of construction for on-campus facilities. In addition, Tech's "a little different" per Peterson regarding admission standards for student athletes, a key component to recruiting and coaching hires for the next A.D.</p>
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<p>"...Our academic requirements are pretty difficult and challenging, so it’s going to take an athletic director that understands Georgia Tech. I think I’ve tried to do that and I’m not a Tech alum, so I’ve got a high degree of confidence we can find somebody. It’d be great if we could find somebody that knew a lot about Georgia Tech, was a Tech alum, had three degrees, four degrees, four kids that went here, but we’ll see what happens."</p>
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https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2012/10/31/3581596/bud-peterson-georgia-tech-dan-radakovichSteven Godfrey2012-10-31T09:08:06-04:002012-10-31T09:08:06-04:00Paul Johnson not concerned about AD change
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<p>Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson said he is not concerned with departure of athletic director Dan Radakovich.</p> <p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/georgia-tech-yellow-jackets">Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets</a> head coach <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/14242/paul-johnson">Paul Johnson</a> is <a href="http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/college/2012-10-30/georgia-tech-footballl-coach-paul-johnson-not-concened-about">not concerned</a> that the departure of athletic director Dan Radakovich could put his job in jeopardy. Georgia Tech has struggled this season, losing four of its past five games, and a new athletic director may not give Johnson the same support that Radakovich did, but the coach is not worried.</p>
<p>Johnson said he was sure they would hire a qualified person for the job and that he was focused on leading the Yellow Jackets to success. Georgia Tech (3-5, 2-3) will take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/maryland-terrapins">Maryland Terrapins</a> (4-4, 2-2) on Saturday.</p>
<p>Radakovich hired Johnson, who is in his fifth season at Georgia Tech. It was officially announced on Monday that Radakovich was leaving his post and taking the same position with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/clemson-tigers">Clemson Tigers</a>. While Georgia Tech searches for a new athletic director, Paul Griffin will serve in the position on an interim basis.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/georgia-tech-ncaaf/2012/10/31/3580320/dan-radakavich-departure-paul-johnson-georgia-techJeff Briggs2012-10-30T14:10:37-04:002012-10-30T14:10:37-04:00Johnson heard about AD move from Dabo Swinney
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<p>The Georgia Tech head coach found out from friend and rival coach Swinney that his boss was headed to Clemson.</p> <p>Georgia Tech head football coach <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/14242/paul-johnson">Paul Johnson</a> heard about the departure of athletic director Dan Radakovich from a somewhat unlikely place: rival head coach Dabo Swinney of Clemson, the university that lured Radakovich from Atlanta (quote courtesy of the <a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2012/10/29/tech-notes-johnson-mum-on-starting-quarterback/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_tech_sports">AJC</a>):</p>
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<p>"I told him Dan was a great guy to work with," Johnson said.</p>
<p>"He’s a good friend," Johnson said. "He did a lot for Georgia Tech and for me and my family. He’ll still be a good friend even though he’s at Clemson."</p>
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<p>Despite heading to an ACC rival, Radakovich hired Johnson to replace Chan Gailey, and Johnson and Swinney's friendship allowed Johnson to find out earlier than intended. Georgia Tech President G.P. Peterson told the AJC that <a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2012/10/30/peterson-on-radakovich/">an internal committee</a> would be formed to seek out Radakovich's replacement.</p>
<p>Senior associate A.D. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/4863/paul-griffin">Paul Griffin</a> will work with Peterson in the interim – Radakovich's last day is Nov. 30 – and before a new A.D. is hired. Peterson told the media that with the the advancements in campus construction and facilities, one aspect of the new A.D. he'd look for is a noted fundraiser.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2012/10/30/3577044/dan-radakovich-clemson-paul-johnson-dabo-swineySteven Godfrey2012-10-29T21:55:52-04:002012-10-29T21:55:52-04:00Clemson hires GT's Radakovich as AD
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<figcaption>Streeter Lecka</figcaption>
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<p>Georgia Tech is losing athletics director Dan Radakovich to Clemson University.</p> <p>Clemson hired a new athletics director Monday, <a href="http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2012/10/29/3573556/clemson-announces-dan-radakovich-as-next-athletics-director">selecting Dan Radakovich</a>, who previously held the same position at Georgia Tech. In a press release sent out by Clemson, Radakovich expressed his excitement in taking over the Tigers' athletic program:</p>
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<p>"I am truly honored to be joining the Clemson family, and I wish to express my appreciation to President Barker and the board of trustees for this incredible opportunity," he said. "Clemson is synonymous with success on and off the fields of competition, and I look forward to continuing the tradition of excellence."</p>
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<p>Radakovich had been athletics director at Georgia Tech since 2006. During his time at the school, the Yellow Jackets sent 51 teams to NCAA postseason play. Radakovich hired football coach <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/14242/paul-johnson">Paul Johnson</a>, who led Tech to the ACC title in 2009. That title was later vacated due to an NCAA investigation, however.</p>
<p>Senior associate athletics director <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/4863/paul-griffin">Paul Griffin</a> has agreed to serve as acting athletics director. Georgia Tech will conduct a national search to find Radakovich's replacement. In a statement released by Georgia Tech, president G.P. Peterson praised Radakovich:</p>
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<p>"Since he came to Georgia Tech in 2006, Dan has overseen a significant expansion of our athletics facilities," Peterson said. "Under his leadership, our student-athletes have continued to excel, winning both conference and national championships. It has been a pleasure to work with him, and we wish Dan and his wife, Marcie, the very best in his new position."</p>
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https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2012/10/29/3574320/dan-radakovich-athletics-director-clemsonChris Fuhrmeister2012-10-29T21:53:41-04:002012-10-29T21:53:41-04:00Change in AD clouds Paul Johnson's future at GT
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<figcaption>Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Departing athletic director Dan Radakovich hired Paul Johnson.</p> <p>Change struck the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/georgia-tech-yellow-jackets" class="sbn-auto-link">Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets</a> on Monday as athletic director Dan Radakovich left to take the same position at Clemson.</p>
<p>The question now is where more change will follow. <a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/10/29/radakovichs-exit-wont-affect-paul-johnson-for-now/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog" target="_blank">Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a> believes it is eventually possible that head football coach <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/14242/paul-johnson" class="sbn-auto-link">Paul Johnson</a> might be leaving town.</p>
<p>Schultz says that the new athletic director will hear plenty of cries for a new coach but the economics don't make sense in the short term.</p>
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<p>Johnson’s contract was rewritten twice in his first two seasons. It runs through 2016. His salary averages out to about $2.6 million annually. A firing after this season would cost the school in excess of $10 million.</p>
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<p>Radakovich gave Johnson a vote of confidence earlier this season. The Yellow Jackets need to go 3-1 in their final four games to become bowl eligible. It doesn't help that the team is also seeing its attendance decline.</p>
<p>Johnson's future is not the question right now, though. First the school must hire the athletic director that will make that decision.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/georgia-tech-yellow-jackets/2012/10/29/3574330/dan-radakovich-georgia-tech-paul-johnsonDavid Cassilo2012-10-29T09:57:11-04:002012-10-29T09:57:11-04:00Clemson to hire Georgia Tech AD
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<figcaption>Streeter Lecka</figcaption>
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<p>As had been reported, Clemson will hire Georgia Tech's Dan Radakovich as its next athletic director. </p> <p>Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich will leave to take over at Clemson, an ACC rival, according to Travis Sawchik. Radakovich had been at Tech since 2006, with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/14242/paul-johnson">Paul Johnson</a> hiring and Paul Hewitt firing among his most significant public decisions in Atlanta. He'll replace Terry Don Phillips, who stepped down in August.</p>
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<p>Ga. Tech AD Dan Radakovich will be Clemson's next AD, according to Bill D'Andrea. Confirming @<a href="https://twitter.com/larrywilliamsti">larrywilliamsti</a>report</p>
— Travis Sawchik (@travis_sawchik) <a href="https://twitter.com/travis_sawchik/status/262910359919280128" data-datetime="2012-10-29T13:34:49+00:00">October 29, 2012</a>
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<p>If you'd like to read up on his resume with the Jackets and elsewhere, check <a href="http://www.shakinthesouthland.com/2012/10/28/3569002/better-know-an-ad-dan-radakovich">this lengthy post at Clemson blog Shakin' the Southland</a>, which also includes local analysis on the move:</p>
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<p>By all accounts Radakovich is well thought of in the AD world and has a dynamic personality. He has a lot of experience working in college athletics, and is not afraid to make tough decisions on coaching. He thinks outside the box when it comes to fundraising and Dan is also experienced at managing facilities improvements, and with the work Clemson has done and has left to do that can only be a bonus.</p>
<p>Another positive is he has experience in both the SEC and ACC. Even though we will still get screwed by Swofford, it is nice to bring in someone who understands the ACC. His SEC experience only helps, as we want the Clemson AD to operate at the level of the top programs in the country in all sports.</p>
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<p><i>This story originally appeared at </i><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2012/10/29/3570814/dan-radakovich-clemson-athletic-director-georgia-tech">SB Nation</a><i>.</i></p>
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