The South Carolina Gamecocks have a new senior deputy athletics director in Jeff Crane, who replaces the recently-departed Chance Miller.
Chance Miller, the second-highest-ranking official in the University of South Carolina Athletics Department, left earlier this summer to become athletic director at Coastal Carolina. On Friday, the South Carolina Gamecocks recruited a new right-hand man for Athletics Director Ray Tanner.
Reports began leaking on Thursday night, and the University of South Carolina announced on Thursday morning that Jeff Crane had been hired as USC’s next senior deputy athletics director.
Crane was the temporary athletics director of the University of Memphis, having previously served as assistant athletics director since 2019. Before joining the Memphis Tigers, he worked in different athletics department positions for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Crane worked for the University of South Carolina from 2006 to 2019. His most recent position with the Gamecocks was executive associate athletic director. He has previously worked in the athletic departments of TCU and USC-Upstate.
Crane was a key actor in a proposed “stadium project” in Memphis that included extensive upgrades to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (where the Tigers play), enhancements to the behind-the-scenes sporting facilities, and new businesses in the surrounding region. As most South Carolina Gamecocks fans are aware, Carolina is in the early stages of a comparable project in Columbia, which is still in the planning and fundraising stages, so Crane’s influence might be extremely beneficial as USC works toward its goals.
The University of South Carolina’s “stadium project” hopes to incorporate upgrades to Williams-Brice Stadium and Colonial Life Arena, as well as the possibility of a business district near downtown Columbia. Golf courses, restaurants, and hotels have all been offered as potential commercial possibilities for investors to fund the project. Whatever happens, Jeff Crane will undoubtedly play a significant role.
