And by “future”, I mean the not-so-distant future when Texas A&M officially becomes a member of the SEC.
Following up on rumors that have been circulating for days, South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman announced his resignation to take the same position with A&M. Hyman replaces Bill Byrne, who, um, “retired” back in May.
“We wish Eric well in his next endeavor. The University of South Carolina bears the marks of his leadership- from enhanced facilities to the hiring of strong coaches to higher student graduation rates,” South Carolina president Harris Pastides said in a prepared statement. ”We will miss him on our team, but his legacy has made us stronger.”
“I am very excited for the opportunity to help transition Texas A&M into the Southeastern Conference,” said Hyman. “While this is a tremendous opportunity, the downside is leaving all the dedicated and loyal fans in Gamecock Nation and the best athletic department in the country. Pauline and I have loved living in Columbia. It will be sad to leave all the wonderful friends we have made.”
A&M faces a steep climb to be competitive in the SEC West, but the Aggies have a solid coach in Kevin Sumlin and hired a good AD in Hyman, who was able to lure basketball coach Frank Martin away from Kansas State.
(Photo courtesy of USCe athletics)
Hope the Gamecocks get another good one inturn. Who’s on the short list of candidates?
Only an idiot would leave Columbia for College Station.
Eric Hyman, a graduate of U. of North Carolina, turned down that opportunity not too long ago. I don’t know why he has decided to leave Carolina at this time because he appeared to be well entrenched in his position. I wonder what / who was behind his real reason to depart at this time? On the surface, he appeared to have a strong working relationship with Coach Spurrier and Coach Tanner; and he recently hired Coach Frank Martin. Purely speculation but Coach Tanner had interest in the AD position before Hyman was hired. Based on his body-of-work, he deserves to be considered if he so desired. He brought his team to THREE STRAIGHT COLLEGE WORLD SERIES and the University should erect a statue of this man outside Carolina Stadium for his achievements with the Carolina Baseball program!
Eric Hyman, a graduate of U. of North Carolina, turned down that opportunity (to be AD at U. of North Carolina) not too long ago. I don’t know why he has decided to leave Carolina at this time because he appeared to be well entrenched in his position. I wonder what / who was behind his real reason to depart at this time? On the surface, he appeared to have a strong working relationship with Coach Spurrier and Coach Tanner; and he recently hired Coach Frank Martin. Purely speculation but Coach Tanner had interest in the AD position before Hyman was hired. Based on his body-of-work, he deserves to be considered if he so desired. He brought his team to THREE STRAIGHT COLLEGE WORLD SERIES and the University should erect a statue of this man outside Carolina Stadium for his achievements with the Carolina Baseball program!
Can`t say i blame him,he`s tired of being a loser.Eric did the right thing..
@kozbee
Don’t be so jealous. We realize you have Jim Jacobs, a complete Empty Suit if ever there was one. Carolina lost a good man but at least he left for a school the academic equivalent to SC. He would never consider Auburn. That school has neither ethics nor character that Eric Hyman requires. Other than your renegade football program, your other sports suck and academically your school is inferior. Now that you’re done cutting Chizek’s lawn, why don’t you shine Scam’s statue ya creep!
@thegamecocker
You DO realize that the statement “that school has neither ethics nor character that Eric Hyman requires” is a joke right?? How many arrests has SCU had since he arrived??