ACC Commissioner Swofford retiring after 2020-21 school year
For more than two decades, John Swofford helped guide the Atlantic Coast Conference through a period of growth, expanding not only the league’s footprint but its brand recognition.
As commissioner, he helped build the league into one of the power autonomous conferences along with the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12.
Swofford will retire after the 2020-21 athletic year, the 67-year-old North Carolina native announced Thursday, ending a tenure that spanned 24 years.
“It has been a privilege to be a part of the ACC for over five decades, and my respect and appreciation for those associated with the league throughout its history is immeasurable,” Swofford said in a news release.
“Having been an ACC student-athlete, athletics director and commissioner has been an absolute honor.
“There are immediate challenges that face not only college athletics but our entire country, and I will continue to do my very best to help guide the conference in these unprecedented times through the remainder of my tenure.”
The league Swofford inherited when he arrived as commissioner consisted of nine schools. During his tenure, the ACC expanded to its current 15 members, including Notre Dame in all sports except football.
The new additions to the league included Miami, which joined in 2004, as well as Louisville, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
During his time, the ACC captured multiple national titles in football (Florida State 1999, 2013), Clemson (2016, 2018) and Miami (2001) along with championships in men’s and women’s basketball and baseball.
Swofford helped create the ACC championship game in 2005 and was among the leaders that set up the College Football Playoff in 2014.
“John’s leadership and guidance have been truly astounding and his robust impact on student-athletes over two-plus decades cannot be celebrated enough,” Duke athletics director Kevin White said. “He has been a pillar of reason, trust and value while encompassing a contagious passion for unrivaled excellence.”
Said Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larrañaga: “John Swofford has been an instrumental figure in shaping the direction of the Atlantic Coast Conference for the better. His passion, dedication and commitment to the ACC and its member schools have helped make this league the very best in the country.”
Swofford was instrumental in the creation of the ACC Network, which launched on Aug. 22, 2019, along with the league’s television partners at ESPN. The network helped raise the overall profile of the league while supplying a much-needed influx of revenue for its member institutions.
He’ll become the third commissioner among the Power Five conferences to step away in recent years.
Mike Slive retired in 2015 after more than 13 years in charge of the SEC, while Jim Delany retired in 2019 after 30 years as commissioner of the Big Ten.