John Douglas Swofford is an American former college athletics administrator. He served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

from 1980 to 1997 and as the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) from 1997 to 2021.

Early life and education

Swofford was born on December 6, 1948, in

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Charlotte. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improvemen ...

, in the foothills of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...

. While at

Wilkes Central High School Wilkes Central High School is a public high school (grades 9–12) located in Moravian Falls, North Carolina. It is a part of the Wilkes County Schools system. The school's enrollment is typically around 1,000 students. The school's district inc ...

, he played as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the Wilkes Central Eagles football team and was twice selected to the all-state football team. He was awarded a prestigious

Morehead Scholarship The Morehead-Cain Scholarship (originally the Morehead Scholarship) was the first merit scholarship program established in the United States. It was founded at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1951 and was named for its benefact ...

to attend the

in 1967, where he was part of

Bill Dooley William Gerald Dooley (May 19, 1934 – August 9, 2016) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1967–1977), Virginia Polytechni ...

's first football recruiting class. He played quarterback and defensive back from 1969 to 1971. He earned a master's degree in sports management from

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

in 1973.

Career

Swofford began his first job as ticket manager and assistant director of athletic facilities at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

in 1973, where he worked under athletic director Gene Corrigan. He returned to North Carolina in 1976. In 1980, he was promoted internally to the position of athletic director to replace

Bill Cobey William Wilfred Cobey Jr. (born May 13, 1939) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives for North Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1985 to 1987. Biog ...

who had left for political ambitions.

Dick Baddour Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

succeeded him as North Carolina's athletic director in 1997. On July 1, 1997, Swofford was named the fourth commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), succeeding Gene Corrigan. During his tenure he has doubled the ACC's annual revenue, served as Chairman of the Bowl Championship Series in college football in 2000 and 2001, and expanded the ACC from nine teams to 15, adding Boston College,

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

, the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, Syracuse University, the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

, and the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

by 2014. He was instrumental in starting the

ACC–Big Ten Challenge The ACC–Big Ten Challenge (or Big Ten–ACC Challenge as it was called in alternating years) was an in-season NCAA Division I men's college basketball series that matched up teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Big Ten Confer ...

and the launch of the ACC Network. ACC programs won 92 national titles in 19 sports while he was commissioner. In June 2020, Swofford announced via a press release that he will retire as the president of the ACC in June 2021.

Awards and honors

Swofford has been elected to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2001, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, and Wilkes County NC Hall of Fame in 2014. Swofford received the Homer Rice award in 2005 and the

Corbett Award The James J. Corbett Memorial Award is a US award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). It is presented "to the collegiate administrator who through the years has most typified Corbett's devotion t ...

in 2011.

Personal life

Swofford and his wife, Nora, live in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

and they have three children. Swofford is the brother of William Oliver Swofford (1945–2000), a pop singer professionally known as Oliver who performed from the late 1960s through the late 1970s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swofford, John 1948 births Living people American football defensive backs American football quarterbacks Atlantic Coast Conference commissioners North Carolina Tar Heels athletic directors North Carolina Tar Heels football players Ohio University alumni People from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina Sportspeople from Greensboro, North Carolina Players of American football from Greensboro, North Carolina