One of the most beloved faces in the history of the University of South Carolina College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management is retiring after 14 years.

Adonis "Sporty" Jeralds has stepped down from his full-time roles as a senior clinical instructor in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management and as assistant dean for diversity inclusion for the college. He will continue to teach part-time.

Jeralds came to USC after a long and distinguished career in venue management, including 15 years as manager of the Charlotte Coliseum. He was still working full-time in Charlotte when Frank Roach, then chair of the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, recruited him to teach a class on booking events, but found a way to make it work.

"I would leave Charlotte at 5, get to campus at 6:45, plug in my stick into the computer, teach hard from 7:00 to 9:45, head back with a stop at Taco Bell and get home at midnight," Jeralds remembers. 

Roach, now retired, looks back on the decision to recruit Jeralds as a very good one.

"I don't think any faculty member connected better with students than he did," Roach says. "His combination of vast industry experience, honesty, straightforwardness, and humility gave him great credibility with the students. For Sporty, it was never about him; it was always about the students."

Jeralds taught as an adjunct for three years before joining the faculty full-time. He became a mentor to many and a very popular instructor, though also a strict one.

"I never let current students refer to me as Sporty," he says. "I’d tell them nope, I'm Professor Jeralds. Sporty is your friend. Sporty might want to give you one point at the end of the semester. Professor Jeralds is not going to give you anything. You earn what you get in Professor Jeralds' class."

Jeralds says more than one student held that against him for a while, but thanked him later for holding them accountable and teaching them responsibility.

Life lessons have always been a part of Jeralds' classes alongside lessons in sport and entertainment management. From starting each class by asking students to share personal good news to bouncing beach balls, doing the Tooty Ta dance, or thanking those who helped them along the way via handwritten notes and the Wall of Fame, every activity had a purpose.

"I always like to think that there's been a method to my madness," Jeralds says. "I'm always thinking of how I can maybe incorporate these life skills into the teaching. Plus, I want them to know I'm strict but we're also going to have fun, because both parts of that are the business we're in."

Jeralds' work in the classroom earned him the 2019 College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management Teacher of the Year award. "That was just one of the highlights of my life, not only my time here. Knowing that the award is a student-driven process really made it even more special," he says.

In 2020, Jeralds accepted an additional role, becoming the College of HRSM’s first assistant dean for diversity inclusion. It meant additional hard work, but he saw it as something easily worthy of the extra effort.

"I knew if I could help raise people's awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion in our college, then that would be one of the things I'd be proud of," he says. "It is important that our students do not feel disconnected or disenfranchised. We all should feel included in this space that we all can enjoy if we'll work a little bit to do that. We don't have to take something from someone for someone else to enjoy the benefits."

"It's been a privilege to work with Sporty," says Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Chair Matt Brown. "He has been a mentor to so many and impacted countless careers and lives. Beyond teaching, Sporty worked with our students to provide access and support to those underrepresented in our industry. From group mentoring sessions to meetings in the hallways and his office, he always found a way to connect."

Jeralds says the thing he looks forward to most in retirement is having more time to spend with his wife of 39 years, Teresa, and as he jokingly puts it, "trying to get published in the International Journal of Cruise Passengers."

"With all the late nights and weekends working, I jokingly kind of say it's hard to make up for years of neglect with a little bit of travel, but I'm really looking forward to it," he says. "We have about seven cruises scheduled. I'm just amazed at the ocean. I love cruises and that's our mode of vacation."

Jeralds taught nearly 7,000 students in his time at USC, and has stayed in touch with many of them long after their time in his classroom. Even as he moves on to the next chapter, that will continue (between cruises, of course).