Miami officially announces Clemson AD to same position

The Miami Hurricanes have a new athletic director. On Thursday, the university revealed that Dan Radakovich would be taking over as vice president and director of athletics.

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

“One of the nation’s most well-respected athletics administrators is returning to the institution where nearly three decades ago he launched his career—the University of Miami,” wrote Miami in a release. “Dan Radakovich, who served as director of athletics at Clemson University for the past nine years, has been named vice president and director of athletics at Miami, President Julio Frenk announced Thursday. Radakovich will report directly to Frenk and serve as a member of his senior leadership team.”

Furthermore, Radakovich released a statement as well — detailing his gratefulness and mission statement.

“I am so grateful to President Frenk and the University’s Board of Trustees for this incredible opportunity,” wrote Radakovich via Miami. “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.”

Among his accomplishments at Clemson, Radakovich has been at the helm for 15 Atlantic Coast Conference team titles. Famously, the Clemson football program won two national championships in his tenure, making six College Football Playoff appearances, and winning six ACC titles in total.

Moreover, Miami is proud of Radakovich helping Clemson student-athletes achieve academic success, as well. According to the university, Clemson student-athletes recorded nine semesters with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Continuing, Miami stated that the Clemson athletic department attained the school’s highest-ever NCAA Graduation Success Rate at 93 percent in 2020 and scored 91 percent or better for seven consecutive years under Radakovich’s guidance.

Clemson has owned the ACC under Dan Radakovich. As he moves on to Miami, better days are ahead for the Hurricanes.

Dan Radakovich and Mario Cristobal: A new era for Miami

Prior to naming Dan Radakovich as their new athletic director, Miami made waves by announcing former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal as their new head football coach. Now, the duo will attempt to lead the Hurricanes into a fresh, more successful era.

In his introductory press conference, Cristobal detailed how special of an opportunity the Miami job was.

“When something like this comes together, you can’t draw it up any better. So it’s emotional, there’s passion behind it, there’s drive, there’s energy, and there’s sense of urgency to get to work right away because you want to get started,” stated Cristobal. “Try putting all of those things into one with about 16 shots of Cuban coffee and two hours of sleep and that’s what you have.”

It’s an exciting time to be part of Miami Hurricanes faithful. Time will tell if the moves pay off, but the hype is for real.