Dan Radakovich Hometown: Monaca, Pa. Position: Director of Athletics Alma Mater: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1980

In his third year as Georgia Tech's Director of Athletics, Dan Radakovich has brought a new vision for excellence to the Yellow Jackets' storied athletics tradition. In a relatively short amount of time since arriving in Atlanta, Radakovich has put his mark on Georgia Tech's athletics program.

In the 2007-08 academic year, Radakovich earned national praise from his peers with the hiring of football coach Paul Johnson, who had been extremely successful at Navy and previously at Georgia Southern.

Yellow Jacket teams enjoyed a solid year in '07-08. The women's basketball team, emerging as one of the top programs in the South, earned its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The defending NCAA champion women's tennis team returned to the Elite Eight. The baseball team overcame major obstacles to win more than 40 games and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The softball team, another rising program, returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The football team won seven regular season games and went to a bowl game for the 11th consecutive year. The swimming & diving teams set 19 school records, sent five individuals to the NCAA championships and saw two divers earn All-American honors for the first time in Tech history.

The past year was a remarkable one for several individual student-athletes. Sophomore Amanda McDowell, one year after helping lead the women's tennis team to a national crown, won the individual NCAA championship in Tulsa, Okla. McDowell's senior teammate, Kristi Miller, graduated from Tech in the spring with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. She also leaves the Flats as Tech's all-time leader in victories and she earned postgraduate scholarship honors from the ACC and the NCAA.

There were other outstanding individual accomplishments in 2007-08. Tashard Choice led the ACC in rushing for the second straight year and was one of three Yellow Jackets taken in the NFL draft. Golfer Chesson Headley was named to the United States' Palmer Cup Team. Freshman baseball star Derrick Dietrich earned a spot on the prestigious U.S. National Team. Softball standouts Jen Yee and Caitlin Lever were named to Canada's Olympic softball team. Famata Fofanah qualified for the Olympics in track, representing Guinea.

The 2006-07 year was highlighted by Tech's women's tennis team capturing the Institute's first-ever NCAA championship and its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference title. The football team won the ACC Coastal Division and went to its 10th straight bowl game, the men's basketball team earned its third NCAA Tournament bid in four years, the women's basketball team posted its finest season with 21 wins and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, and the golf team won a share of the ACC title for the second straight year.

Outside the competition venues, Radakovich has directed an overhaul of the annual giving and donation structure for Tech athletics, anchored by the new TECH Fund, which establishes minimum giving levels tied to season tickets in various seating areas of Bobby Dodd Stadium and Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Several facility upgrades have been completed, including the transformation of Tech's former football locker room on the ground floor of the Edge Athletic Center into a new Technology Center, which benefits academic support services for all Yellow Jacket student-athletes. A new on-campus softball facility is scheduled for completion in early 2009.

Named Georgia Tech's Director of Athletics on February 22, 2006, Radakovich possesses nearly two decades of experience in collegiate athletics management positions. He came to Georgia Tech after five years as senior associate athletics director at LSU (2001-06), and he previously served as the Athletics Director at American University in 2000-01. That followed stints as associate athletics director at South Carolina (1994-2000) and Long Beach State (1989-94) as well as two years as the athletics business manager at Miami (1983-85).

Just the seventh Director of Athletics in Tech history, Radakovich was named by then Institute President Dr. Wayne Clough to succeed Dave Braine, who retired after nearly nine years in the post. Radakovich also follows in the footsteps of storied names such as John Heisman, Bobby Dodd and Homer Rice.

"Dan Radakovich brings a unique combination of enthusiasm for sports, concern for student athletes, experience in athletic administration, business experience and communication skills that are needed in today's complex world of intercollegiate athletics," said Dr. Clough.

A graduate of Center High School near Aliquippa, Pa., and a member of its Alumni Hall of Fame, Radakovich, 50, became a football letterwinner and student coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1980 with a bachelor of science degree in finance. He was enshrined into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year. Radakovich added a master's degree in business administration from Miami in 1982. He also completed the Sports Management Institute's executive education program in 1992.

He is married to the former Marcie McDonald, and the couple has two children, Christian, 18, and Grant, 14. Christian is a freshman at Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech Directors of Athletics 
John Heisman, 1904-1919
William Alexander, 1920-1950
Bobby Dodd, 1950-1976
Doug Weaver, 1976-1979
Homer Rice, 1980-1997
Dave Braine, 1997-2006
Dan Radakovich, 2006-present