Make no mistake, though, that … not everything has been perfect in the Ray Tanner administration at South Carolina. There have been several issues that have cast a negative light on the school and athletics department, most notably the buyout associated with head football coach Will Muschamp.

Tanner and the Board of Trustees agreed to extend Muschamp’s contract to six years last December, prior to the Belk Bowl game against Virginia. Since then, the wheels have fallen off - at least from a results standpoint - in that program. The Gamecocks sit at 4-6 at the time of this writing with games against Texas A&M and Clemson still to come. Should Tanner, the Board or even President Bob Caslen decide that it’s time for Muschamp to go, the buyout would be around $19 million once the season is over.

Muschamp is in the midst of a six-year contract, which is why the buyout is so high. Per the terms of his deal, he receives 75 percent of his remaining contract if fired without cause. That’s a bad deal for the Gamecocks, and one that was signed off on by Tanner and the Board.

-- In short, the promotion of the men’s basketball team’s Final Four appearance the following season was shameful. A banner and confetti dropped from the rafters of the Colonial Life Arena with little pomp or circumstance. Basketball’s contact in marketing was relieved of his duties between the Final Four run and the next season due to a personal matter, and no one picked up the ball.

Marketing for the men’s basketball program has been abysmal since that date, until recently. More money has been approved and spent on the program, which included a two-year contract to have a Gamecock Tip-Off event in the streets of downtown Columbia. The event went off without a hitch, and has inspired a renewed since of vigor entering the season unseen in the Martin era, even coming off of the Final Four.

The Gamecocks have averaged 11,091 in attendance the first two games this season, which is fifth in the SEC. That total attendance number is up over 1,000 people year over year.

Part of that may have to do with the introduction of the Lower Level Mobile Pass, which gives fans the option to upgrade their mobile pass to sit exclusively in the lower level at men’s basketball games. This is another initiative set forth by Tanner, and a way that the athletics department has addressed its previous shortfalls of its marketing and promotion of basketball.

-- Another bone of contention for many regarding Tanner’s tenure is how the situation with Missouri athletics director Jim Sterk’s statements about women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley. In his initial comments, Tanner said he didn’t understand why Sterk would make the comments that Staley “promoted” an “unhealthy environment” saying Tigers players were spit on and called the n-word.

Heck, Sterk’s assertion was incomprehensible, or, confusing, as Tanner put it. Tanner’s initial statement wasn’t strong enough, though, for many. Tanner, who was muzzled in some ways because of Staley’s (understandable) want to go through the legal process, went on to say that Sterk’s comments were out of line and Staley deserved an apology.

Staley got one, won $50,000 settling a lawsuit, and Sterk was eventually fined $25,000 by the Southeastern Conference. While he was confused initially - and who wouldn’t be - by Sterk’s comments, Tanner and Staley ultimately won the battle against Sterk and Missouri.

-- Many would point to Tanner’s hiring record as a shortfall of his tenure as athletics director, citing Muschamp along with baseball coach Chad Holbrook, who was promoted when Tanner took the AD job. Holbrook, however, was an integral part of the back-to-back national championship teams as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, along with the team that went to the 2012 championship series.

Holbrook was being courted by several schools to become head coach, including Tennessee, before accepting the position at South Carolina. It was a no-brainer hire by Tanner, who eventually came to terms with Holbrook, a close friend of his, to part ways only a year removed from a Super Regional appearance.

The Muschamp hire, Tanner’s first football hire as athletics director, didn’t go as planned. His top two targets, Tom Herman and Kirby Smart, ended up taking jobs at college football powerhouses before leaving Tanner with Muschamp and several other secondary targets to choose from. Muschamp promised sweeping changes and that he learned valuable lessons from his tenure at Florida, but those didn’t come to fruition as he hired multiple recycled staff members, including a failed offensive coordinator who ran a failed offense with the Gators.

Tanner did, however, oversee the start of the sand volleyball program and hired eventual CCSA Coach of the Year Mortiz Mortiz. His volleyball hire of Tom Mendoza last year appears to be a good one as well as the program made the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2002.

His other hire, Mark Kingston, has produced uneven results over two seasons. His first team went to a Super Regional when less was expected out of his roster that year. His second team posted one of the worst overall records in program history. Kingston has, however, brought in the No. 3 recruiting class in the country for this year’s team and has signed the No. 6 recruiting class nationally for next season.

There is no doubt that … college football Saturdays have been an incredible disappointment this season, and that’s a huge part of athletics in the Southeastern Conference, and at South Carolina in particular. Tanner hired Muschamp, the coach with the most wins in his first three years in program history, and the current trajectory seems to be in the wrong direction with a buyout that is not only a problem in making a change, but undeserved for the coach.

But there is also no doubt that there’s never been a better time in South Carolina athletics. Coaches and student-athletes are set up for success like never before, both on the field and off of it. The department has never been stronger financially, it has never had better facilities, it has never had better coaches who want to be a Gamecock and its student-athletes are thriving away from the field of competition like they never have before.

This is because of Ray Tanner, the tide who has lifted the boat that was South Carolina baseball to a championship level and then the entire athletics department, which has achieved remarkable success during his tenure.