Terry Don Phillips, athletics director, Clemson University
It hasn't taken Dr. Terry Don Phillips long to make his mark on Clemson University. That impact was recognized in June of 2006 when he was honored by NACDA (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.

Phillips was honored for many reasons. Clemson just finished its most successful all-around athletics year in his tenure. The program had six top 25 programs in 2005-06, 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 also had top 25 finishes in football, men's tennis and women's tennis. The school's athletic program won a postseason football game, men's basketball game and baseball game this academic year, the first time the program has done that since 1993-94. Clemson was the only school in the country to win a postseason football game, a post season basketball game and a College World Series game.

Clemson ranked 32nd in the nation in the Director's Cup standings on a per sport basis in 2005-06 and 39th in total points, Clemson's highest rankings under the current Director's Cup scoring structure.

From an academic standpoint, nine of Clemson's 15 sports programs scored a perfect 100 percent graduation rate according to the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures announced by the NCAA on December 19, 2006. Clemson ranked seventh in the nation among the 119 Division I-A institutions in percentage of programs with a perfect 100 percent score.

The Clemson football program had a 94 percent rate, fourth in the nation among Division I programs, trailing only Navy, Notre Dame and Wake Forest. In the spring semester of 2006 the 15 programs had a combined GPA of 2.84, third best on record and all-time records were set for most Dean's List and President's List student-athletes.

Significant improvements have also been made in facilities, highlighted by the completion of the first component of the West Endzone project at Clemson Memorial Stadium in July of 2006. In his tenure there have also been significant enhancements to the baseball, track, basketball and swimming facilities. A new boat house will also be constructed in 2006-07 for use by the Clemson rowing team.

"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.

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 both a doctorate and law degree. He remains a classroom presence by teaching a Sports Law section for Clemson's Department of Accountancy and Legal Studies. In addition, Phillips is 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 Clemson 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.

Steady strides have been made toward these goals through facility improvements and the development of concepts that will serve the entire program, starting with the current endzone expansion at Memorial Stadium. In 2006, 1,000 premium club seats will open and create a vital new revenue stream for future facilities.

After the completion of the club seats, plans call for a new comprehensive football building at Memorial Stadium. It will benefit the entire department, as it will create additional updated facilities in the McFadden Building for Clemson's Olympic sports program. A "One Clemson Center" will also be constructed to showcase the history of Clemson University, including its military and athletic heritage.

As has been his style for over 25 years in all aspects of athletic administration, his focus is on enhancing the infrastructure in a deliberate, quality manner that does not handicap the future of the program. 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 Clemson 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 the last three years with its #21 finish in 2005, and it is a consensus top 20 team in the preseason for 2006.

The women's tennis team was one of three programs to win ACC Championships in the same weekend in 2003-04 and advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, the first women's athletic team in Clemson history to reach the Final Four in any postseason tournament. Nancy Harris‚ team duplicated the accomplishment in 2004-05 and now has a string of four straight top 20 seasons.

Year-three saw, 15 of Clemson‚s 19 sports programs advanced to postseason play. The list included six which were chosen for NCAA Tournament competition (baseball, golf, rowing, women‚s soccer, men‚s tennis, women‚s tennis).

In terms of personnel, Phillips made national news when he hired Oliver Purnell as Clemson's head basketball coach in April of 2003. Purnell has had a history of rejuvenating basketball programs, and he is continuing that trend at Clemson with a nine-victory improvement over the last two years. He led the Tigers to postseason play in each of the last two years, including a 19-win season in 2005-06.

Phillips also enhanced his department's diversity by naming former NCAA Administrator Phil Grayson and former Clemson All-America football player Jeff Davis to athletic director positions. He also promoted Barbara Kennedy-Dixon, one of the greatest ACC women's basketball players in history, to the associate athletic director/senior women‚s administrator position when Linda White retired in 2005. Excellence in academics has been a constant on his resume. 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 the Sports Lawyers Association.

From an experience standpoint, Phillips 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, coming from Oklahoma State.
Football was transformed from a perennial losing status, defeating Oklahoma during five of the eight years he was associated with Oklahoma State. For this, he received the National Football Foundation Oklahoma Chapter Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award in 2002.

When it came to success on the field and in the classroom, OSU's programs were among the best in the Big 12. The achievements of the Cowboy program during his tenure (1994-02) included a pair of 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. It had 53 academic All-Americans as well.

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 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 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 from 1970-71. He moved on to Virginia Tech as an assistant coach from 1971-78 before joining the ranks of athletic administration.

Winning has been on his resume since his playing days. At Arkansas, he lettered on three Frank Broyles teams (1966,68,69). The Razorbacks were 27-5 in those 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: Finance Committee, chair of the Committee on Infractions and Penalties, Television Committee, the Men‚s Basketball Committee, and the Football Committee.

Phillips has two children, John Dennis (29) and Sarah-Jane (26), and three stepchildren, Meagan (17), Marshall (15), and Madison (13). His wife Tricia is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and earlier enjoyed a career in athletics and development. She is now active in the Clemson and Seneca communities