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Clemson Athletic Director
Terry Don Phillips
In just five years, Dr. Terry Don Phillips has firmly put his imprint on the Tiger Athletic Department. It is obvious visually through the vast improvements in the program’s facilities, most notably the new WestZone at the Tigers’ Memorial Stadium. Through a practical and steady fiscal approach, the first phase of the $57-million project was completed in the fall of 2006 with the installation of new locker rooms, a new scoreboard, and 1,000 private luxury suite and club level seats.
The Phase II funding, which includes a building and new strength training center for the football program, has been finalized, and construction is slated to continue after the 2007 football season.
His impact is also obvious in the consistent improvement of Clemson’s sports program. For the 2006-07 academic year, Clemson ranked #36 in the final Sears Directors’ Cup standings, the program’s best finish in five years and a 16-place improvement over the last three years. The Tigers scored 477 points in the poll, their third-highest total since the Sears Directors’ Cup began in 1993. Eight teams finished in the final top 25 of their respective rankings, also a five-year high.
The major revenue sports of football, basketball, and baseball have also reached a high level of national competition. All three were ranked in the top 15 in the nation at one point during the 2006-07 academic year. The football team has won eight games each of the last two years, the first time it has had back-to-back seasons of at least eight wins since the 1990-91 era.
The basketball team under Head Coach Oliver Purnell has been to postseason play three consecutive years, including the 2006-07 season when it won a school-record-tying 25 games. The baseball team continues to rank among the top programs in the nation, having reached the College World Series in 2006 and a super regional in 2007.
Led by the women’s tennis program, which has been to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years with two Final Fours, the women’s athletics program has also flourished. The women’s soccer team reached the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2006, while the volleyball squad joined the women’s tennis and women’s soccer teams by winning at least 60 percent of its matches. The rowing program was ranked in the top 15 in the nation as well.
Phillips was recognized nationally for his performance at Clemson in June, 2006 when he was honored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics as the 2005-06 GeneralSports Turf Systems Athletic Director-of-the-Year for the Southeast Region of Division I-A. He was one of just four Division I-A athletic directors honored at the annual convention in New Orleans, LA.In 2005-06, Clemson had six-top 25 programs, including top-10 final rankings in men’s soccer, golf, and baseball. It marked the first time since 1979 that Clemson reached the Final Four in soccer and the College World Series in baseball in the same academic year. Clemson was the only school in the nation to win a postseason football game, postseason basketball game, and College World Series baseball game.
From
an academic standpoint, nine
of Clemson’s
15 sports programs scored a
perfect 100-percent graduation
rate according to the Graduation
Success Rate figures announced
by the NCAA on December 19,
2005. Clemson
was #7 in the nation among the
119 Division I-A institutions
in percentage of programs with
a 100-percent score. The
football program had a 94-percent
rate, fourth in the nation among
Division I programs.
The outstanding academic performance continued in 2007. For the spring semester, the 15 sports programs had a combined GPA of 2.93, best on record. Eight of the 15 programs had a team GPA of 3.0 or better.
“There’s nothing worse than trying to maintain status quo,” said Phillips, who became Clemson’s 10th athletic director on July 1, 2002.
That motto has been a basic tenet that has characterized his career as an administrator and his pursuit to develop Clemson into a model athletic program in the 21st century. His beliefs are in line with the University’s overall goal of making Clemson one of the top-20 public universities in the nation. The school improved to a #30 ranking in U.S. News & World Report in 2006.
His resolve comes from a unique balance of experience in nearly every phase of college athletics, as well as a devotion to higher education that includes a doctorate and law degree. He remains a classroom presence by teaching a sports law section in the accountancy & legal studies department. In addition, he is past chair of the NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee, which serves the appellate role for all university and individual appeals arising from the Committee on Infractions.
Those influences are obvious in his strategic plan for Tiger athletics, which provides for a model program that can compete at the highest levels with academic integrity, concern for the student-athlete, financial responsibility, and in full compliance.
Future plans call for a new comprehensive football building at Memorial Stadium. It will benefit the entire athletic department, as it will create additional updated facilities in the McFadden Building for the Olympic sports. A “One Clemson Center” will also be constructed to showcase the history of Clemson University, including its military and athletic heritage.
Since Phillips’ arrival at Clemson, many highlights toward being a model program have occurred on the field as well, beginning with Clemson’s first-ever national championship in golf in the spring of 2003, the first title for any Tiger program in 16 years.
His second year included an incredible run on the gridiron to end the season, as Tommy Bowden’s Tigers defeated #3 Florida State in November and #6 Tennessee in the Peach Bowl. The football program has continued to make strides since then and ranked in the top 25 for the second time in three years with its #21 finish in 2005. In 2006, the program reached a #10 national ranking after a victory over #13 Georgia Tech. ESPN College GameDay covered that game, a first in Clemson history.
Excellence in academics has been a constant on his resumé. He has an undergraduate degree from Arkansas (1970), a master’s from Virginia Tech (1974), a doctorate from Virginia Tech (1978), and a law degree from the Arkansas School of Law (1996). He is a member of the Arkansas Bar, American Bar Association, and Sports Lawyers Association.
From an experience standpoint, he has worked in nearly all phases of college athletics. He coached on the football staff at Virginia Tech, supervised spring sports and student-athlete enrichment at Florida, handled athletic fundraising and facility enhancement at Missouri and Arkansas, and had 15 years experience as an athletic director, including 13 at the Division I level, prior to his appointment at Clemson.
Football was transformed from a perennial losing status to defeating Oklahoma during five of the eight years he was associated with Oklahoma State (1994-02). For this, he received the National Football Foundation Oklahoma Chapter Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award in 2002. Additionally in 2006, he was named one of the top-25 most influential people in the history of Oklahoma State athletics by GoPokes Magazine.
When it came to success on the field and in the classroom, Oklahoma State’s programs were among the Big 12’s best. The achievements of the program included two national titles in men’s golf, a men’s basketball Final Four, two trips to the College World Series, 13 Big 12 titles, and 11 individual national champions, along with 53 academic All-Americans.
Before leading Oklahoma State, Phillips served as senior associate athletic director at Arkansas from 1988-94. He ran the daily operations and had oversight of facility projects for the men’s programs, and he was president of the Razorback Foundation.
Phillips was athletic director at Liberty (1980-81) and Louisiana-Lafayette (1983-88). He was also an assistant athletic director at Missouri (1981-83), and he began his administrative career in 1979 as an assistant athletic director at Florida.
Phillips began his career in college athletics coaching football. He started as a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 1970 and 1971. He moved on to Virginia Tech as an assistant coach from 1971-78 before joining the ranks of athletic administration.
Winning has been on Phillips’ resumé since his playing days at Arkansas. He lettered on three Frank Broyles teams (1966,68,69). Arkansas was 27-5 in the three years and played in two Sugar Bowl games.
In addition to Phillips’ leadership with the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee, he also works with the NCAA certification program. He currently serves on several ACC Committees: chair of the Committee on Infractions & Penalties, Committee on Awards, Television Committee, Men’s Basketball Committee, and Football Committee.
Phillips has two children, John Dennis (30) and Sarah-Jane (27), and three stepchildren, Meagan (18), Marshall (16), and Madison (14). His wife Tricia is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and she earlier enjoyed a career in athletics and development. She is currently active in the Clemson and Seneca communities.
