Shane Beamer pays tribute to Ray Tanner in the most wholesome way possible
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is truly a stand-up guy, and he continues to prove it day in and day out. His most recent gesture continues to prove that and that is part of why Gamecock fans love him.
After every win, Beamer hands out a Gamecock MVP award and this week, he did something special with this award. The MVP award is given to someone who has had a major impact on the program and Beamer gave it to someone who has had the biggest impact on the program for year now and not just for football, but for every South Carolina sports program.
After every win, the Gamecock MVP award is given out to someone who made a major impact on the program.
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) November 18, 2024
This week’s winner is as deserving as they come 🤙 pic.twitter.com/pE2jV0nHU4
Tanner announced earlier this year that he would be retiring as South Carolina's athletic director at the end of the fall semester and changing roles within the university. With South Carolina playing their final SEC game of the season against Missouri this past weekend, it marked the last time Tanner's final SEC game ever as the Gamecocks athletic director.
Beamer wanted to give Tanner the MVP award this week to thank him for all he has done for the university. Beamer has to thank Tanner for a lot of things, first and foremost, for bringing him in as the head coach of the football program back in 2020.
In his speech about Tanner, Beamer spoke about how much the win over Missouri meant to Tanner and the ability to bring the Mayor's Cup back to South Carolina and end his time as an athletic director in the SEC on a high note.
Tanner has ties with South Carolina that date back many years back to 1997. He was the baseball coach for South Carolina for 15 years, and in that time, he won two National Championship back-t0-back in 2010 and 2011 and almost three-peated in 2012 but came up just short against Arizona. After the 2012 season, Tanner was named South Carolina's athletic director.
In his time as athletic director, Tanner has seen three National Championships with the women's basketball program in 2017, 2022, and 2023, an equestrian championship in 2014, 17 SEC regular season and tournament championships, and 154 post-season appearances.
Tanner will soon transition into a presidential advisor role at South Carolina, focusing on fundraising and community engagement.
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