Getting to know Clemson acting director of athletics Graham Neff

Neff has been with Clemson since 2013. (Clemson athletics photo)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Dec 09 15:24:59 GMT-04:00 2021

Former Clemson Athletic Director Dan Radakovich is now in Miami, and Graham Neff was named the Acting Director of Athletics by Clemson President Jim Clements Thursday morning. Now a lot of people want to know, exactly who is Graham Neff?

Now in his eighth year at Clemson, Neff has made a significant impact on the direction of the athletic department. In his role as the Deputy Director of Athletics, Neff worked closely with Radakovich on both short-and-long terms planning and execution. He has overseen more than $200 million in capital projects, assisted in the negotiation of several high-value contracts (including Nike) and helped shape Clemson’s athletic department physically, operationally and financially.

Neff has helped develop several key areas of the department, including the financial philosophy, fundraising, student-athlete welfare, and external operations management, and in 2019 was named one of Sports Business Daily’s Power Players.

As Deputy AD, Neff serves as the sport supervisor for Clemson’s national champion football program and the men’s basketball program. Neff works consistently with key university stakeholders, including the university Executive Leadership Team, The Board of Trustees, IPTAY Board of Directors, Athletics Council, as well as several university committees and appointments.

Prior to his role as Deputy AD, he joined Clemson in 2013 as Associate AD of Finance and Facilities. Before Clemson, Neff served two-plus years in several senior administrative roles at Middle Tennessee State Athletics, with an emphasis in finance, facilities and external operations.

A civil engineering graduate of Georgia Tech, he served as a student manager for Coach Paul Hewitt and the men’s basketball program, advancing to a Final Four in 2004. Neff worked in the Financial Advisory Services group at Deloitte and Touche from 2006 to 2008, prior to returning to a finance and ticketing role at the Georgia Tech Athletic Association. He earned an MBA from Georgia Tech in 2010.

Ok, enough with the bio stuff. What is Neff really like?

I’ve had several conversations with people around the athletic department over the years, and there have been times when something about Neff has stood out. When he first arrived, it was with little fanfare and I started noticing him in his Clemson shirt, behind the Clemson bench, at road basketball games.

Neff is young looking for his age, and I wondered who it was that was following the sport so closely. I was told it was Neff and it wasn’t long before an introduction was made.

The person who told me about Neff prefaced the meeting by saying, “You’ll quickly understand this. He’s brilliant. But he’s able to put people at ease.”

Turns out she was right.

In another conversation I had regarding Neff, this one more recent, someone said that Neff is “emotionally intelligent.” I like that. A lot of brilliant people don’t have the capacity to feel for others, to understand emotions, etc. Neff is the kind of guy that you’d like to buy a beer and talk sports with.

So, what happens next? Neff is well-liked, and his time here should give him an inside shot at the permanent job. But there has to be a process, led by Clements, and the Board of Trustees. We will see where that process takes Clemson.