Jim Tanner, the founder and president of Tandem Sports + Entertainment who has represented more than 70 NBA players over a 28-year career, has been named executive director and general manager of the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team, director of athletics Bubba Cunningham announced on Tuesday.
In this role, Tanner will, among other things, help manage the construction of the roster, negotiate contracts, identify and hire new scouting and analytics staff and spearhead player development programs.
Tanner, a 1990 Carolina graduate, has represented 40 first-round NBA Draft picks, including 12 top-five selections, and six inductees in the Naismith Hall of Fame (UNC’s Vince Carter, Ray Allen, Tamika Catchings, Tim Duncan, Grant Hill and Dominique Wilkins) and has negotiated more than a billion dollars in contracts for his clients.
He has represented 17 former Tar Heels in their professional careers, including Carter; Final Four Most Outstanding Players Joel Berry II, Wayne Ellington and Sean May; All-Americas Raymond Felton, Tyler Hansbrough, John Henson, Justin Jackson and Luke Maye; and top-10 first-round draft picks Marvin Williams and Brandan Wright.
“Both of my kids and I went to Carolina and we owe so much as a family to this university,” says Tanner. “This is such an exciting opportunity, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically in a short period of time with NIL, collectives and the transfer portal. It’s a highly-competitive and constantly-evolving environment. I look forward to using my 28 years of experience recruiting and representing players to help position UNC as strategic, adaptive and innovative in scouting and attracting top domestic and international talent while staying true to the principles and values that have defined Carolina Basketball over the years.
“I look forward to working with Coach Davis, the staff, Bubba Cunningham and the Carolina Athletics family.”
A native of High Point, N.C., Tanner was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at UNC and attended law school at the University of Chicago. He sits on Carolina’s Board of Directors in the College of Arts and Sciences and previously served on the Board for the Morehead-Cain Scholarship Fund.
“We are so pleased and excited to bring on an individual with Jim’s decades-long legal and financial experience in negotiating contracts, in identifying top talent across the country and throughout the international game, who works with the best people in all aspects of the sport,” says Cunningham. “This is a new position at Carolina but it is one that numerous programs, including ours, have identified as essential to continue to compete at the championship level in college basketball.”
“I am excited and happy to have Jim join our staff and the UNC family,” says head coach Hubert Davis. “Jim’s experience and knowledge is needed in helping us navigate contracts, the transfer portal and the advancement of this program. His resumé speaks for itself and his commitment to this university and community make him a great addition to the Carolina men’s basketball program.”
The complete list of Tar Heels Tanner has represented during their professional careers include Berry, Leaky Black, Nate Britt, Carter, Ellington, Felton, Hansbrough, Henson, Isaiah Hicks, Jackson, May, Maye, James Michael McAdoo, Leslie McDonald, Deon Thompson, Williams and Wright.
Tanner began his legal career as a corporate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom before becoming a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP. He founded Tandem Sports + Entertainment in 2013. In 2020, Tandem merged with You First Sports, a global agency based in Madrid, Spain, which was later acquired by Gersh Sports. The combined sports and entertainment agency has a presence in 15 countries, and a wide range of expertise offering Tanner and Tandem a broad network of globally-sourced talent, resources and relationships.
Sports Illustrated recognized Tanner twice as one of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.” He was named to the Washington Business Journal’s list of Minority Business Leaders and was recognized on Washingtonian’s list of “Top Lawyers” for media and sports law. He has been invited to speak to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, the NCAA Commission on College Basketball, and the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
