From Alumnus to Athletic Director: Dr. Daniel McCarthy’s Full-Circle Moment at South Alabama
Dr. Daniel McCarthy was formally introduced as the University of South Alabama's new athletic director in a Wednesday ceremony at Hancock Whitney Stadium, capping an 18-year journey with the university that began long before he ever imagined leading Jaguar Athletics.
For Dr. Daniel McCarthy, being introduced as the University of South Alabama’s new athletic director on Wednesday was more than a career milestone. It was the culmination of a goal he had quietly held for nearly two decades.
McCarthy, who has spent 17 years working in the university’s athletics department, was formally introduced during a ceremony at Hancock Whitney Stadium after serving as interim athletic director since June.
University leaders pointed to his experience, leadership and long-standing ties to South Alabama as the reasons he was chosen to guide Jaguar Athletics into its next phase. USA President Jo Bonner said McCarthy separated himself from a nationwide pool of candidates.
“The feedback that Dr. Kent and I heard from so many different constituencies… it was unanimous that Dr. McCarthy’s 18 years of service here at the university and the exceptional impact that he has had on our programs and the lives of our student-athletes makes him uniquely qualified for this role,” Bonner said. He added that South Alabama’s coaches had long expected McCarthy to eventually run an athletics department of his own.
“Many of the coaches actually said, ‘We know one day Daniel McCarthy is going to be an athletics director somewhere. Why wouldn’t we want him to be at the University of South Alabama, a place that he loves and has served faithfully and loyally for all these years?’”
Bonner also highlighted the athletics department’s recent success, noting that South Alabama recently won its 17th Vic Bubas Cup, the award given annually to the Sun Belt Conference’s top overall athletics program. Four of those Vic Bubas Cup titles came during McCarthy’s tenure as deputy athletic director.
The announcement was an emotional one for McCarthy, who said running his alma mater’s athletics program was once something he could only picture in his mind.
He recalled that years ago, while helping set up for a basketball coaching press conference, he stepped behind the podium by himself, took a photo and imagined standing there one day as the person leading the department. “I literally pictured this moment,” he told those gathered for the ceremony. “It’s really, really surreal to be standing here.”
Speaking afterward, McCarthy said the support he felt from the South Alabama community made the moment even more meaningful. “It’s honestly hard to put into words. It’s overwhelming. That doesn’t mean that I’m overwhelmed with the work itself, but just the outpouring of support and the chance to move into a leadership role,” he said. “I’ve been in leadership roles here for a long time, but to be in this role, at this place, it’s just special.”
McCarthy said South Alabama has become woven into nearly every part of his family’s life over the years. “I have a degree from there. I have children that go to school there,” he said. “I’ve checked every box – alumni, employee, parent. I’m leading my alma mater, so it’s just special.”
During his remarks, McCarthy took time to thank the people who shaped his career, including mentors, former athletic director Joel Erdmann, university leadership, coaches, staff and his family.
He also explained why he has chosen to stay at South Alabama for nearly 20 years rather than pursue opportunities elsewhere.
“When people ask me about South Alabama and why I’ve continued to choose it, it’s actually pretty simple,” he said. “South Alabama has always been a place of opportunity for me.” He credited the university with letting him grow professionally while he and his family put down roots in Mobile.
“Sometimes the greatest opportunities aren’t the ones that require you to leave,” McCarthy said. “They’re the ones that ask you to stay and continue to bloom where you’re planted.”
Looking to the future, McCarthy said his early focus will be on listening rather than making immediate changes. “My first order of business is to lock arms with our leadership,” he said. “Their priorities are going to be my priorities. I’m going to spend a lot of time with our coaches. What can I do to eliminate obstacles that are impeding their success? What can I do to continue to bring their vision to life?”
McCarthy acknowledged that college athletics is changing quickly, but said South Alabama does not need to abandon its identity to keep pace. “We don’t have to be the loudest or the biggest,” he said. “We have to understand who we are, make disciplined decisions, adapt aggressively but responsibly, and relentlessly pursue excellence every single day.”
While winning championships remains a goal across every sport, McCarthy singled out one prize the department has not yet claimed. “I think this university’s hungry for a football championship,” he said. “We’re not a young program anymore.”
He noted that space has already been set aside inside the athletics department for the program’s eventual first football conference championship trophy. “We’ve already got a place on the wall where that first football championship is going to go,” McCarthy said. “That’s going to be the moment where I’m really proud… because it’s time.”
He was careful to add that trophies are not the only measure of success. “Championships are going to be the goal, but student-athletes are still going to be our purpose,” he said.
As the ceremony wrapped up, McCarthy called on everyone connected to South Alabama to help build the department’s future together. “I can’t wait to lock arms with everybody in this room,” he said. “Let’s kick the doors wide open. Let’s get this place where we know it can be. So J’s up… Go Jags.”
McCarthy will not have much time to settle into the role. South Alabama’s fall sports season opens next week with soccer, followed by volleyball and football in the coming weeks, marking the first athletic season under the university’s new athletic director.
About the Vic Bubas Cup and Jaguar football
The Vic Bubas Cup is named for the Sun Belt Conference’s first commissioner, former Duke basketball coach Vic Bubas. South Alabama was a charter member of the Sun Belt when the league was formed in 1976.
The Jaguars’ football program played its first season in 2009 and moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of Sun Belt football in 2012. Since 2020, the team has played its home games at Hancock Whitney Stadium on campus, where McCarthy was introduced.
