Furman Athletics is not just about the athletes — it has a team working behind the scenes to enable action on the field. Todd Duke makes sure everything you don’t see goes smoothly. From sunrise setup to last-minute fixes, Duke is the reason fans experience a seamless show long before the first whistle blows.
Duke has worked at Furman since 1997, originally as the Business Manager and Director of Operations for Timmons Arena from its opening in 1997 to 2004. Then, Duke became an Associate Director with University Conference and Event Services until 2013 when he became a part of Furman’s Athletic Department.
His current title is Associate Athletics Director and Director of Facilities & Game Operations. Though, most athletics staff members say that Duke does nearly everything.
In the Furman Athletics offices, everyone’s title is on the door to their office. “Everybody’s got titles on their doors. Mine said involved.” said Duke.
“I try to organize the chaos,” said Duke.
Duke coordinates a team of people, including parking lot employees, concessions staff and even his own kids. Duke’s four children, Dru ‘18, Shannon ‘20, Phillip ‘26, and Michael ‘29, have all either graduated from or currently attend Furman.
“I guess it would be a lot like having your kids play for you,” said Duke. “I was lucky they all like sports, and they all like hanging out with me.”
Duke’s children grew up around Furman Athletics. They would perform a variety of jobs at the games happening in a given week, including selling concessions, running the softball scoreboard, keeping the statbook at basketball or working cameras at women’s lacrosse games.
Besides being a family affair, the typical gameday for Duke is spent around the athletic facilities making sure everything goes according to plan.
For a 2 p.m. kick-off, Duke arrives on campus at 5:30 a.m., ensuring all the logistics are running smoothly.
“[I] kind of check off the list. Did the people that were supposed to arrive at 10 a.m., did they make it? Okay, did the 11:30 people make it?” said Duke. “If it all works right, then I just check on people. You never know what’s gonna, you know, who’s gonna call, what’s gonna happen.”
Duke has a team of people, who he calls “his friends,” that help him with each and every Furman athletic event.
“My friends do this with me because nobody in their right mind would do this all the time. I have a slew of friends that I am blessed with. Without them, none of this happens,” said Duke.
Despite the team, managing athletics logistics is not without difficulty. Duke’s biggest challenges often come from the coaching staff.
“I say, a lot of times, coaches are like trees. They have no idea they live in the forest because they’re really focused on this game or their team. I have to see the whole forest so that we can make sure that all the trees are taken care of,” said Duke.
Of all the stories Duke has accumulated throughout his time at Furman, one sticks out to him as the most memorable. In January 2022, a snowstorm came through campus while Timmons was hosting a gymnastics meet.
At the time, the basketball court in Timmons was portable. It was removed for the gymnastics meet but needed to be replaced before a basketball game the following Wednesday.
“It’s a big enough snowstorm that they’ve called off school [at Furman], they call off public school. The roads are a mess,” said Duke.
Duke was concerned that the contractors who normally set up the court wouldn’t be able to reach campus. To recruit assistance, Athletics published a graphic urging football players and other students on campus to help reinstall the court, and Duke personally messaged students who worked with Athletics.
“Well, Monday morning rolls around about 9 a.m., and there’s the softball team, there’s football players and soccer players. I had more people in here than I knew almost what to do,” said Duke. “It was probably as quick as we’ve ever put the floor down because we had so many people. They were lined up holding pieces, putting them back together and putting all the stuff in.”
For Duke, the Timmons court scenario was emblematic of what makes Furman athletics special beyond the sports themselves — community.
“When it was time to let’s go and bail somebody out, they never thought twice. They just jumped right in. That was a really nice memory of how it generally is here at Furman no matter where you are,” said Duke.
