University of South Carolina Columbia |
The University of South Carolina in Columbia is the main campus for the USC system. It is home to over 25,000 students.
Colleges and Schools
History
The university was founded as South Carolina College on December 19, 1801. It closed during the War Between the States due to a lack of students, re-opening
in 1866. During Reconstruction,
the university was the only one in the South to admit and
grant degrees to blacks. Once Reconstruction ended, the university
was closed for three years and then reopened in 1880 as a whites-only agricultural college.
In 1906, the institution was rechartered as the University of South
Carolina. In the 1950s, other campuses across the state began to be established.
On September 11, 1963, as a result of
a court order, the university admitted three African-Americans, the first
since Reconstruction.
Athletics
The school sponsors 18 collegiate sports. All teams compete at the Division
I level of the NCAA and all sports but men's soccer compete in the Southeastern
Conference. South Carolina's student athletes are also known as Fighting Gamecocks. The school colors are Garnet and
Black.
The University was a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953 but left in 1971 after disputes over the conference's recruiting
regulations and the dominance of the four North Carolina schools. The
football team started competing as an independent and other sports competed in the
Metro Conference. In 1992
South Carolina joined the Southeastern Conference
together with the University of Arkansas to bring
membership total to 12.
Football is the school's most popular sport as standing room only crowds are
common at 82,000 seat Williams-Brice Stadium. Prior to
the 2000 season, the University hired legendary coach Lou Holtz as head coach.
Basketball has been a popular sport ever since coach Frank McGuire was the head coach in the
late 1960's and early 1970's. Under his watch the University built the 12,000 Carolina Coliseum. Starting in the 2002/2003 season
the Gamecock Basketball teams started playing in the 18,000 seat Colonial Center. Before the
2001/2002 season Dave Odom became the
school's basketball head coach.
The Baseball teams also have been successful over the year. Under Head Coach
Ray Tanner the team made its 6th and
7th appearance at the College World Series in 2002 and 2003. The school has been the national runner up on
three different occasions.
Other successful programs include Men's Soccer, Track & Field, Softball, and Women's Basketball.
Clemson University is South Carolina's in-state rival and
the two schools compete in all sponsored sports besides Softball and Equestrian. Another rivalry is developing with the University of Georgia.
Famous Alumni
- Andrew Card, President George W. Bush's Chief of Staff
- Rita Cosby, Fox News correspondent
- Mike Dunleavy, NBA head coach
- Dawn Ellerbe, US Track &
Field Champion, US Olympian
- Alex English, NBA star, basketball
Hall of Famer, top ten all-time scorer with 25,343 points
- Adam Everett, shortstop
for the Houston Astros
- Lindsey Graham, US Senator
- Jim Hodges, former SC governor
- Fritz Hollings, US Senator, former SC governor
- Hootie Johnson, Chairman
Augusta National Golf Club
- Clint Mathis, played on
US national
soccer team
- Robert McNair, owner of the
Houston Texans
- Darla Moore, successful banker,
the Moore School of Business is named after
her
- Brian Roberts, infielder for the Baltimore Orioles
- George Rogers, Heisman Trophy winner
- Sterling Sharpe, former
NFL player, ESPN show host
- John Swearingen, former
chairman of Standard Oil
- Terrence Trammell,
won silver in Olympics, world champion in 60 meter hurdles
- Van Earl Wright,
Fox Sports anchor
Other Campuses
- University of South Carolina
Aiken
- University of South Carolina Beaufort
- University of South Carolina Lancaster
- University of South Carolina Salkehatchie
- University of South
Carolina Spartanburg
- University of South Carolina Sumter
- University of South Carolina Union
External links
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