Overview
- Clemson University announced Phillips’ death Tuesday, May 26, 2026, saying he had been in hospice after a dementia diagnosis more than a decade earlier.
- Phillips served 10 years as Clemson’s athletic director and during his tenure the school won 13 ACC championships across eight sports and recorded 57 top-25 national finishes.
- He hired Dabo Swinney as an interim football coach and publicly backed him early in his tenure, a choice that preceded Swinney’s two national championships and a 187-53 record at Clemson.
- Phillips also hired Brad Brownell and Mike Noonan, with Brownell becoming the program’s winningest men’s basketball coach and Noonan leading men’s soccer to national titles in 2021 and 2023.
- Clemson leaders and coaches recalled Phillips’ personal support and program-building work, the university has not released full public memorial details, and local reporting says a private service will be held later in Quitman, Texas.