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John Swofford

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John Swofford
Biographical details
Born (1948-12-06) December 6, 1948 (age 75)
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
1969–1971North Carolina
Position(s)Quarterback, defensive back
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1980–1997North Carolina
1997–2021ACC (commissioner)

John Douglas Swofford (born December 6, 1948) is an American former college athletics administrator. He served as the athletic director at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1980 to 1997 and as the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) from 1997 to 2021.[1]

Early life and education

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Swofford was born on December 6, 1948, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. While at Wilkes Central High School, he played as a quarterback for the Wilkes Central Eagles football team and was twice selected to the all-state football team. He was awarded a prestigious Morehead Scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967, where he was part of Bill Dooley's first football recruiting class.[2] He played quarterback and defensive back from 1969 to 1971.[3][4] He earned a master's degree in sports management from Ohio University in 1973.[4]

Career

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Swofford began his first job as ticket manager and assistant director of athletic facilities at the University of Virginia in 1973, where he worked under athletic director Gene Corrigan.[2][3] He returned to North Carolina in 1976. In 1980, he was promoted internally to the position of athletic director to replace Bill Cobey who had left for political ambitions.[3][4] Dick Baddour succeeded him as North Carolina's athletic director in 1997.[5]

On July 1, 1997, Swofford was named the fourth commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), succeeding Gene Corrigan.[6]

During his tenure he has doubled the ACC's annual revenue, served as Chairman of the Bowl Championship Series in college football in 2000 and 2001, and expanded the ACC from nine teams to 15, adding Boston College, Virginia Tech, the University of Miami, the University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Louisville by 2014.[7]

He was instrumental in starting the ACC–Big Ten Challenge[8] and the launch of the ACC Network.[9] ACC programs won 92 national titles in 19 sports while he was commissioner.[10] After creating the most lucrative ACC Media deal with ESPN, Swofford received media rights from each ACC University. With a vote from all of the ACC Presidents, led by Jim Clements of Clemson, the ACC announced the launch of the ACC Network on ESPN.

In June 2020, Swofford announced via a press release that he will retire as the president of the ACC in June 2021.[2][10][11]

Awards and honors

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Swofford (right) with Ken Haines

Swofford has been elected to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2001,[12] the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2009,[13] and Wilkes County NC Hall of Fame in 2014.[14]

Swofford received the Homer Rice award in 2005[15] and the Corbett Award in 2011.[16]

Personal life

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Swofford and his wife, Nora, live in Greensboro, North Carolina and they have three children.[13][14] Swofford is the brother of William Oliver Swofford (1945–2000), a pop singer professionally known as Oliver who performed from the late 1960s through the late 1970s.

References

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  1. ^ "Speaker Faculty". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. United States: Sports Business Daily. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "ACC Commissioner John Swofford Announces Plans for Retirement" (Press release). Greensboro, North Carolina: theacc.com. June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Rosen, Ron (March 27, 1980). "Boycott: Pro and Con". Washington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Jacobs, Barry (March 2009). "One-on-One with John Swofford: Part 1". ism3.infinityprosports.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  5. ^ "Baddour stepping down as UNC athletic director". ESPN.com. July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  6. ^ Ensslin, Paul; Asher, Mark (October 9, 1997). "North Carolina Coach Dean Smith to Retire Today". Washington Post. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  7. ^ Crane, Andrew (June 25, 2020). "ACC commissioner John Swofford to retire in June 2021". The Daily Orange. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  8. ^ Adler, Neil (June 26, 2020). "Syracuse Orange: Leaving the Big East was tough, but 'Cuse had to do it". Inside the Loud House. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Carter, Andrew (July 24, 2016). "Art of the deal: How Swofford, ACC, ESPN reached agreement to launch ACC Network". The News & Observer. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Bumbaca, Chris (June 26, 2020). "ACC commissioner John Swofford will retire in 2020-21". USA TODAY. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Wiseman, Steve (June 25, 2020). "An exclusive conversation with ACC Commissioner John Swofford about why he's retiring". The News and Observer. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  12. ^ "John Swofford". North Carolina High School Athletic Association. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "John Swofford". North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Wilkes County NC Hall of Fame - John Swofford". www.wilkescountyhalloffame.org. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  15. ^ "Homer Rice Award – Lead1 Association". lead1association.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  16. ^ "NACDA Honors ACC Commissioner with the Corbett Award" (Press release). Cleveland, Ohio: National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. April 12, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
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