Gamecocks everywhere are mourning the weekend passing of William "Hootie" Johnson, a determined businessman and dedicated sponsor of the University of South Carolina.
Johnson died of congestive heart failure Friday at the age of 86. Sports fans will remember him as chairman of Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club, site of the annual Masters Tournament. But to Gamecock Nation, Johnson is remembered as one of the university's most prominent alumni in the world of business and politics, both state and national.
A Greenwood native, Johnson attended USC on a football scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1953. He led the Bankers Trust of South Carolina for 21 years through its 1986 merger with North Carolina National Bank of Charlotte, the first interstate merger of its kind in South Carolina, according to the Moore School.
At one time or another, Johnson served on the boards of directors of Alltel and Duke Energy and served as financial chairman for three South Carolina governors, two United States senators and former President George H.W. Bush.
Johnson is arguably most famous for his eight years as chairman of Augusta National, particularly an incident just prior to the 2002 Masters. That year, Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organizations demanded that Johnson discontinue the club's policy of refusing membership to women. Johnson argued that, as a private club, Augusta National maintained the right to exclusively admit male members.
“There may well come a day when women will be invited to join our membership,” said Johnson at the time. “But that timetable will be ours and not at the point of a bayonet.”
Augusta National changed its policy and extended membership to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lake City-based financier Darla Moore in 2012, six years after Johnson was succeeded as chairman.
In remembering Johnson, USC President Harris Pastides described Johnson's status as an ardent supporter of all things Carolina.
"We were saddened to learn about the passing of W.W. Hootie Johnson, a much loved member of the Carolina family," Pastides said. "An enthusiastic Gamecock fan, he had a great love for his alma mater and was a generous benefactor. His legacy will live on through the use of the beautiful W.W. Hootie [Johnson] Performance Hall located in the Darla Moore School of Business."
Opened with the rest of the new Moore School building in 2014, the Johnson Performance Hall seats 500 students.
"The contribution Hootie Johnson made to the school is immense by any measure," said Peter Brews, Dean of the Moore School. "Few individuals have made a more substantial contribution to our school than Hootie Johnson."
Aside from his undergraduate degree, Johnson received three honorary doctorates in his lifetime from USC, the Medical University of South Carolina and Lander University.