Richard Bouknight enters his seventh year with the College of Charleston Athletics Department, serving as Associate Athletics Director for External Operations and a member of the department’s Senior Leadership Team. He is dedicated to advancing student-athlete success, strengthening relationships, and driving sustainable growth through a people-first leadership approach.
Bouknight provides oversight for event and facility operations, broadcast operations, creative video and video board content, and equipment services. He also serves as sport administrator for Men’s and Women’s Soccer, where a focused strategy around alumni engagement and donor cultivation has generated more than $380,000 in new philanthropic support since 2023, including record-setting increases of 200% for Men’s Soccer and 600% for Women’s Soccer.
He oversees operations for 17 NCAA Division I programs, managing more than 320 events annually at TD Arena and Patriots Point. Bouknight has led $12.2 million in capital projects aimed at enhancing the student-athlete and fan experience while guiding master planning for future facility development and execution.
Under his leadership, the department has achieved historic growth in multimedia visibility. Creative video impressions surpassed 6 million for the first time in 2023–24, and total broadcasts have increased 180% since 2019, reaching over 2.1 million views in 2024–25, the highest in school history. Bouknight also played a key role in securing the largest CW television agreement in program history, positioning Charleston Sports Network among league leaders in broadcast quality and exposure.
Prior to joining Charleston, Bouknight spent eight years at the University of South Carolina (2012–19), managing event operations for nine varsity sports, including men’s basketball, baseball, and football. He served as tournament director for more than 60 NCAA events, highlighted by the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament First and Second Rounds in Columbia. His career began in ticket operations and grounds before advancing into an Event Management role.
A native of West Columbia, S.C., Bouknight earned his bachelor’s degree from Clemson University (2010) and master’s degree from the University of South Carolina (2018). He is also a graduate of the Sports Management Institute (SMI) Executive Program (2018).
He and his wife, Kaylin, and two sons, Clarke and Caden, live on Johns Island.
