Daniel McCarthy joined the South Alabama staff in December 2008 and was appointed Deputy Athletic Director in August 2017. A member of the department’s senior leadership team, McCarthy is instrumental in overall departmental programming, assisting the Director of Athletics with day-to-day operations, strategic planning, capital improvements, and special projects.
In his current role, McCarthy has oversight of most of the department's externally-facing units; specifically, corporate sales, fan engagement, brand advancement, and communications. He directly leads a team of Jaguar Sports Properties sales executives charged with generating revenue for South Alabama Athletics through corporate partnerships, tickets sales, and hospitality.
Prior to assuming these responsibilities in May 2020, McCarthy served the department in a more internally-facing role providing oversight and strategic direction in the areas of business operations, student-athlete academic services, and athletics compliance.
Beyond his responsibilities within the department, McCarthy has been extensively engaged in leadership roles on-campus and at the conference and national level. He currently serves on the university’s president-appointed Strategic Planning Committee and as an ex-officio member of the Athletics Council. At the conference level, McCarthy represents the university as a member of the Sun Belt’s Name, Image, and Likeness Task Force and was recently appointed to the league’s Branding Committee. His previous background and expertise in the areas of compliance and student services afforded him the opportunity to serve the NCAA membership on a national level as a member of the NCAA Progress-Toward-Degree Waivers Committee (2008-2012), NCAA Committee on Academic Performance (2014-15), and NCAA Committee on Institutional Performance (2015-2017).
Prior to South Alabama, McCarthy spent four years as Assistant AD at the University of Richmond where he was responsible for coordinating and overseeing all facets of the Spiders’ comprehensive athletics compliance program. From 2003-05, he served in a similar capacity at Mercer University.
Originally from West Point, Ga., McCarthy graduated from Huntingdon College (Ala.) in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in business management before going on to earn his master’s degree in physical education & sport studies from the University of Georgia in 2002; he completed the University of South Alabama’s educational leadership doctoral program in December 2018. McCarthy and his wife Amanda have three children: Drew, Ella, and Hannah.
