After 12 years as athletic director at Landrum High School, where the Cardinals recorded 13 state titles, 21 Upper State titles and 58 regional titles, John Cann will serve in the same capacity at T.L. Hanna High School, Anderson (SC), after the Anderson District Five School Board approved on Feb. 10, the Anderson administrations’s recommendation to hire him.

It’s emotional, leaving (Landrum),” said Cann. “We raised our family here. We’ve got a ton of memories.”

He said with so much invested in both the school and the community, it took a major offer to entice him away. However, Cann will be joining former Presbyterian College football teammate Bruce Ollis, who recently accepted the position of head football coach at Hanna, a AAAA school.

It is not known exactly when Cann will assume his new duties. He has notified Landrum officials of his new position.

Cann said that beyond the challenge of working at a AAAA school, “ . . . to be doing that with Bruce is too good to pass up.” Cann noted that for many years, he and Ollis had hoped to work together.

Cann will be taking valuable experience with him. From 2001-2007, he served as the Cardinals’ head football coach. In addition, he has served in a variety of roles with the South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association, including as president in 2011, and was named State Athletic Director of the Year in 2012 by the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association.

Brian Sherman, Principal of Landrum High stated, “John Cann has done a tremendous job at our school and he will be missed, and I know for certain that Anderson Five and T.L. Hanna have chosen a proven winner.” Sherman noted, “When Mr. Cann first came here, there were many naysayers about our athletic program, but for 13 years Mr. Cann put in the hard work necessary to develop a strong and viable athletic program, which is evidenced by the multiple titles and dozens of Landrum athletes now playing at the college level.”

Cann admitted he “was ready for a new challenge.”

“I am extremely excited to be coming to T.L. Hanna, and can’t wait to join Coach Ollis and Principal Hilton as we work to move Yellow Jacket athletics forward.,” he said. “While I am leaving behind 13 years of great memories at Landrum and Spartanburg One, I plan on bringing the same level of intensity, passion, and work-ethic that I had there to T.L. Hanna.”

“Mr. Cann’s dedication to his students and his ability to lead successful programs will be a great addition to our already strong foundation in place at T.L. Hanna, and I am excited about the innovative ideas he will be bringing to Anderson Five,” said Superintendent Tom Wilson.

Cann praised the Anderson people with whom he’ll be working.

“The Good Lord has provided me with the ideal opportunity as I will be joining one of my closest friends in Bruce Ollis, who is the new head football coach and (who) will be my assistant AD. Bruce and I go all the way back to playing the same position together at Presbyterian College, and I then student taught (government) under him at Laurens High School back in 1983,” Cann said. “We have always dreamed about working on the same team. Now the dream is a reality and a tremendous career opportunity for both of us.

“I will always treasure the many great memories, friends and colleagues I have here in the Landrum-Campobello area and at Landrum High School.. Nancy and I raised our kids here and we leave with so many fond memories. It was an honor to be the AD and head football coach here, and we made a great team.

We all accomplished so much in the past 13 years through hard work and all of us pulling together as a team and a family. I can truly say I gave it 110% every day I was here for these kids and this community. I am very excited about the new challenge that lies ahead of me as Bruce and I work to turn around T.L. Hanna High School and get it back to the prominence it once enjoyed in SC. We both feel it is a “sleeping giant” and we plan to wake it up.

A big part of my heart will always be a Cardinal; it is a very special place and I will treasure all the great times we shared here together in our journey!”