What Bob Caslen’s resignation means for South Carolina athletics

University of South Carolina President Bob Caslen announced his resignation Wednesday night, less than two years after the retired Army general was hired by the university’s board of trustees.

Both Caslen’s hiring and resignation were marked by controversy, much of it outside the realm of athletics. But what does his departure mean for Gamecock sports? Here are some quick answers to the biggest questions in the wake of Wednesday’s news.

What does it mean for USC athletics in the short term?

Probably not too much. Former USC President Harris Pastides, who was succeeded by Caslen, is returning as interim president, the school announced Wednesday. But until there’s a permanent replacement, there’s unlikely to be any big changes. Pastides, as someone who has held the job before and is taking over in a crisis, will likely be focused on settling things down, not shaking things up.

How much was Caslen involved in athletics?

Harris Pastides wasn’t known to be too publicly involved in the athletics department’s business. Caslen, on the other hand, was known to be very hands-on in that regard at Army and didn’t shy away stressing the importance of sports at South Carolina, too. In his brief stint, he oversaw the firing of football coach Will Muschamp, the hiring of new coach Shane Beamer and the deliberations about men’s basketball coach Frank Martin’s future with the program.

Obviously athletic director Ray Tanner was the central figure in the department, but Caslen factored into each situation as well, particularly with Muschamp. Shortly after he was hired in 2019, Caslen started a minor frenzy when he told the Greenville News that Muschamp — who at the time would have been owed $19 million had he been fired — was “my coach through the end of the season.” Later, speaking with the Florence Morning News, he said that Tanner had spoken with officials from Florida State about how they had managed the hefty buyout of coach Willie Taggert.

That led to several statements put out by Tanner and Caslen attempting to walk back his previous comments. Muschamp was retained after that 2019 season, but he was fired in 2020 after starting the season 2-5.

Caslen was also involved in athletics this past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the athletic department facing a potentially massive budget shortfall from the pandemic, there was some talk about varsity sports being cut. Caslen told the board of trustees he felt it was “the right thing to do” to not cut any sports but acknowledged it might be necessary.

Most recently, after men’s basketball suffered through a disappointing 2020-21 season, speculation about Martin’s job stability mounted for more than a month before he was finally signed to a contract extension that slightly lowered USC’s buyout responsibility. On Tuesday, The Athletic reported that Caslen had been in favor of firing Martin.

How exactly is a president normally involved with athletics?

It starts at the top — the president hires the athletic director, who hires the coaches. Obviously that didn’t apply in the case of Caslen, who stuck with Tanner after he got the job in 2012 under Pastides’ leadership.

As Pastides often showed, though, the president doesn’t have to be too intimately involved in the day-to-day of athletics. He was an ardent cheerleader publicly for Gamecock sports and hired Tanner, but he wasn’t known to be extraordinarily active in the department.

Ultimately, college athletics involves hundreds of millions of dollars. With that much money at stake, university presidents have to be involved on some level.

How much will the next president be involved in sports?

It depends. We’ve seen two strikingly different examples in relatively short order at USC, and the range of candidates South Carolina might consider are likely to have different philosophies and approaches. Given the controversy surrounding Caslen’s tenure, especially in regards to Muschamp’s firing, it might not be surprising to see the board of trustees gravitate towards a less hands-on figure.

On the other hand, a change at the top might lead to more change. After missing on the Muschamp hire, Tanner is in a tenuous position. He’s already an old-school AD, a former baseball coach who ascended to the position after spending most of his life on the diamond. Increasingly, athletic directors have backgrounds in law, business or education, and there’s a common perception that presidents like to bring in their own people.

Then there’s the matter of Martin, who has made one NCAA tournament in nine years (though one season was canceled by COVID-19). Though he did sign an extension, that deal doesn’t raise the buyout needed to fire him and he’s still facing pressure to rejuvenate a program that seemed to stagnate this past season. Should he and South Carolina part ways after 2021-22, that would be the first major hire for the AD and new president to make.