South Carolina Gamecocks

The South Carolina Gamecocks are the athletic teams representing the University of South Carolina, located in Columbia, South Carolina. The university is a member of the Southeastern Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I level.

The official mascot for all sports teams is Cocky, an anthropomorphic gamecock wearing a garnet-and-black jersey with “COCKY” on its chest. He has been present at almost every home football game since 1979 when he was first introduced to fans by then coach Jim Carlen who said that “He’s cocky but not conceited.”

Basketball is one of the most popular sports among students and alumni alike as evidenced by frequent sellouts at Colonial Life Arena where both men’s and women’s basketball games are held. The school also fields competitive programs in baseball (which won two consecutive national championships in 2010 & 2011), soccer, swimming & diving, track & field/cross country running (both indoor and outdoor). Other varsity sports include volleyball (women only) golf (men only), tennis(coed) , softball(women only ), gymnastics (women only ) rowing( coed ). In addition there are several club sport options such as lacrosse which compete against other universities across North America.

Football has historically been extremely successful for USC winning six conference titles following their induction into what would become known as SEC Football back in 1992 . They have had success reaching bowl games over recent years including four straight appearances from 2013–2016 earning them three wins during this period culminating with a victory over Michigan in Outback Bowl 2020 . Though they had some struggles after head coach Steve Spurrier retired prior to 2016 season they have made it back to more consistent bowl contention under current head coach Will Muschamp who took his team to four bowls consecutively between 2017 -2020 seasons resulting wins vs Virginia 2019 Belk Bowl; Iowa 2020 Outback Bowl ; Tennessee 2021 Gator Bowl; Indiana 2021 Outback Bowl respectively per latest rankings USC stands 17th overall out of 126 ranked FBS schools having 11 – 2 record during regular season play .