A QUICK LOOK AT - South Carolina

by Jack Witthaus

The Institution

School Quick Facts

Official Name:

University of South Carolina

Nickname:

Gamecocks

Location:

Columbia, SC

Enrollment:

45,774

Founded:

1801

Mascot:

Cocky

Live Mascot:

Sir Big Spur

Fight Song:

"The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way"

SEC Division:

East

The University of South Carolina is the second oldest school in the SEC behind Georgia. Before the Civil War, many SC graduates were on the forefront of succession from the Union. The university was regarded as a symbol of the South during the antebellum period.

In 1862, all of the students left SC to enlist in the Confederate army. The school tried to open its doors again, but low student turnout forced them to close. Later, the school served as a hospital for Confederate soldiers. This usage persuaded General Sherman to spare the school.

After the war, SC was given money in part to help African Americans attend the university. In 1873, Henry E. Hayne became the first black student, enrolling in the medical college.

Currently, South Carolina is one of the largest schools in the SEC. As one of the oldest schools in America, SC has 10 buildings National Register of Historic Places.

South Carolina Football

Football Quick Facts

Venue Name:

Williams-Brice Stadium (aka The Cockpit)

Venue Capacity:

80,250

Venue Surface:

Natural Grass

First Season:

1892

Overall Record:

555-542-44

Last Season:

11-2 (6-2 SEC, Capital One Bowl winner)

Head Coach:

Steve Spurrier (55-35)

Football Rivals:

Clemson, Georgia

The Gamecocks have been apart of the SEC since 1991 when the program joined with Arkansas. Since that time, SC has captured one SEC East title in 2010. Before the SEC, South Carolina played in the ACC and then later as a major independent.

Altogether, South Carolina has gone 5-12 in bowl games, but the program has one Heisman winner to its name and three consensus All-Americans.

Head coach Paul Dietzel really helped the football program in the 1960s, winning South Carolina’s only ACC championship. Dietzel also helped create the current fight song.

The 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers played under the next head coach, Jim Carlen. Rogers helped beat heavily-favored Michigan at Ann Arbor that year, which turned him into a household name.

Nearly 20 years later, Lou Holtz took over the program. In Holtz’s first year, SC went a miserable 0-11. The next two years, however, marked the greatest period of SC success in the SEC at the time. The Gamecocks went 17-7 overall and 10-6 in SEC play. In both years, South Carolina won the Outback Bowl. In 2005, the NCAA dealt the Gamecocks a three-year probation for non-monetary reasons like impermissible tutoring.

Current head coach Steve Spurrier grabbed the reigns in 2005 and has performed admirably. In his first season, Spurrier coached the Gamecocks to a 7-5 record and a win in the Independence Bowl. That season, he was named SEC coach of the year. Last year, South Carolina had its best season ever with an 11-2 record, finishing No. 9 in the AP Polls.

Over the off-season, an investigation revealed that players were receiving reduced living costs at a local hotel. South Carolina cut three football scholarships and paid nearly $20,000 in fines.

On the playing field, the program has one of the most exciting entrances in college football with the playing of the song that starts the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

The music continues before each kickoff, when South Carolina plays “Sandstorm” while chanting “USC, USC, USC.”

The university also boasts a unique tailgate. Fans can step inside the Cockaboose Railroad, a series of old cabooses on a railroad track, before each home game.

South Carolina Basketball

Basketball Quick Facts

Venue Name:

Colonial Life Arena

Venue Capacity:

18,000

First Season:

1908

Last Season:

10-21, (2-14 SEC)

Head Coach:

Frank Martin (0-0, 218-110)

NCAA Final Fours:

0

Although last season’s record was pitiful, South Carolina’s basketball program has been fairly successful over the years. Overall, the Gamecocks have made it to the Big Dance eight times. SC has captured one SEC championship in 1997 and won the SEC East in 2009. In 2005 and 2006, SC was crowned NIT champs.

In the pre-SEC days, South Carolina was very competitive under College Hall of Fame coach Frank McGuire. He tallied a 283-142 record between 1965-1980, including three Sweet Sixteen appearances and the 1970 ACC championship. McGuire remains the all-time winningest coach in Gamecock history.

Former Kansas State coach Frank Martin replaced Darrin Horn after Horn was fired this March. Horn left South Carolina with a 60-63 record.