CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Dan Radakovich had no shortage of successes in his 4 1/2 years as Miami's athletic director.
Miami's football team just played for the national championship earlier this year. The men's basketball program went to a Final Four, then rebuilt, then returned to the NCAA tournament. The women's basketball program isn't far removed from an Elite Eight run. Baseball was a win away from the College World Series last year. The diving,
track and tennis programs have all delivered national championships on his watch.
But the story that Radakovich might enjoy telling most as he enters retirement Monday is about the rowing team.
“That sport, wow, that might have been as dysfunctional a program as a lot of people have ever been around 4 1/2 years ago," Radakovich said. “I mean, it was just not really good because it was an afterthought here. It had to be.”
This is what Radakovich did as an athletic director for more than two decades at American, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Miami. He solved problems, big and small. He got stadiums built, he got others refurbished, he invested in the things that get on national television — like football and basketball.
And, quietly, he did things like find a home for Miami's rowing team. He helped arrange for the university to turn a church that it owns — yes, a church — into the training facility. The team was so moved that it gave Radakovich probably its highest honor, putting his name on one of its boats. It might be fitting that the last result to celebrate in the Radakovich era at Miami came Sunday, when the rowing team finished 13th in its first trip to the NCAA championship.
“We gave them their own place," Radakovich said. “And they’ve just flourished from there.”
It's not just rowing, obviously. Miami — like all schools with big-time college athletics — has had to find ways to not just be competitive in the NIL era, but flourish. Radakovich has dealt with change after change after change in recent years, though insisted it wasn't the roller coaster of college athletics that made him decide to retire. He enjoyed the challenges, constant as they were.
“Everybody who you would listen to while growing up in this business says, ‘The only constant is change.’ They would waggle the finger at you say it," Radakovich said. "And you just sit there and say you'll be ready. Well, I don’t think any of the people who stood up on those podiums and talked to us have gone through the last five years. From COVID, to NIL, it hasn't just been change. It's been upheaval.”
Dealing with all that, and more, will fall to someone else now. Radakovich's retirement is set to become official, although it seems likely he will remain linked to the university in some capacity moving forward.
Miami is searching for its next athletic director, someone who'll be tasked with working alongside not just coaches and student-athletes but also the university's leadership. President Joe Echevarria is regularly in attendance at all sorts of Miami games and contests, and many other top school officials and Board of Trustees members are hands-on as well.
“We’re extremely blessed to have someone like Joe heading up the university, and of course Dan Radakovich has done a great job,” football coach Mario Cristobal said. “We grind. Very appreciative of them and all they do.”
For Radakovich, though, the time to grind is slowing.
He began thinking about retirement earlier this year. His sons and a grandchild live in Atlanta, he and his wife, Marcie, have been snowbirds — keeping a residence in South Carolina while he was at Miami. Radakovich would go back and forth, in Miami for the bulk of the time and then going back to South Carolina when his schedule allowed.
So, for the last few days, there were moving boxes on the floor of Radakovich's soon-to-be former office. A few photos were wrapped up, a few items of sports memorabilia were placed near the door, his desk and shelves were largely cleared off.
It's fitting: Radakovich got his start in athletics in 1983 as Miami's athletic business manager, and his last official act was with the Hurricanes as well.
“You know when it's time,” Radakovich said. “It's time.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
