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Gamecocks NCAA World Series Champs 2011
South Carolina finished the 2011 regular season 44–12 (22–8 SEC) and shared the SEC regular-season championship with divisional rivals Florida and Vanderbilt, but posted a 1–2 mark in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama despite their #1 overall seeding. Once the NCAA Tournament began, however, the Gamecocks rode strong pitching, clutch hitting, and incredible defense while cruising through their Regional and Super Regional, without a loss, on their way to a second consecutive berth in the College World Series. South Carolina proceeded to defeat Texas A&M 5–4 in their first game, then swept #1 national seed Virginia (7–1 and 3–2) in the next two, including a 13-inning win in the second matchup, to battle their way back to the CWS Championship Series versus SEC Eastern Division foe Florida. This marked the second time two teams from the SEC had participated in the Championship Series/Games. In-Game 1 of the Championship Series, South Carolina lived up to their mantra as they battled to win their second straight extra-inning game in the CWS, 2–1 over the Gators, in 11 innings. They had a much easier time with the favored Gators in Game 2, winning 5–2 to earn the 2011 CWS Championship and their second consecutive national title. The Gamecock defense turned an incredible nine double-plays in this CWS – no other participant turned more than three. South Carolina finished the season with a 55–14 overall record, setting a new NCAA record for consecutive postseason wins with 16, a new record for consecutive College World Series wins with 11 and became the just the sixth program in history to win back-to-back NCAA Division I Baseball Championships. Carolina became the first team to win the College World Series in the new TD Ameritrade Park, and Gamecock second baseman Scott Wingo was named CWS Most Outstanding Player.
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Women’s NCAA Basketball Champs 2017
The 2017 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament was played from Friday, March 17 to Sunday, April 2, 2017, with the Final Four played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on March 31 and April 2. This was the first time that the women’s Final Four was played in Dallas and the first time since 2002 that the Final Four games were played on Friday and Sunday, rather than Sunday and Tuesday. South Carolina defeated Mississippi State to win the championship.
Tennessee continued its record streak of making every NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at 36 consecutive appearances. UConn also continued its record streak of 10 consecutive Final Four appearances.
All of the University’s varsity teams compete at the Division I level of the NCAA, and all but men’s soccer and women’s beach volleyball compete in the Southeastern Conference. Men’s soccer competes in Conference USA and women’s beach volleyball competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association because the SEC does not sponsor those sports.
The athletic department is supported with private money from the Gamecock Club. It was originally formed as the B.A.M. (“Buck-A-Month”) Club in 1939 and 1940 to benefit the athletic programs from privately raised funds.
The university’s athletic programs have earned ten national team titles and produced many Olympians. Tim Brando (formerly of CBS Sports) was quoted as saying, “You won’t find any more loyal fans in the country than those who follow the South Carolina Gamecocks.”
College Sports Established
1922
Location
Columbia, South Carolina
College Name
University of South Carolina
Collegiate History
1973 – Present / NCAA Division 1
1922 – 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
Conference History
1991 – Present / SEC Conference
1983 – 1991 / Metro Conference
1971 – 1983 / Independent
1953 – 1971 / ACC Conference
1922 – 1953 / Southern Conference
Nickname
Gamecocks – South Carolina has competed on the football field for more than a century, but the original South Carolina Gamecock fought on the battlefield more that 200 years ago. General Thomas Sumter, the namesake of Sumter, S.C., was a fierce combatant in the American Revolution. The Virginia native fought in the militia during several campaigns against local American Indian tribes, then became a key officer in the struggle for American independence.
As battles against the British raged on, he became the de facto leader of South Carolina during the War and waged many battles before being wounded in 1780. He survived his wounds and was commissioned a general near the end of the war. Sumter was a constant thorn in the side of the British forces — so much so that the British dubbed him “The Fighting Gamecock” for his never-say-die attitude. The name made sense, since Sumter was devoted to the sport of cockfighting as a young man and employed fierce, guerilla-style tactics against the more buttoned-up Redcoats.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 2
2011, 2010
Men’s Basketball 0
Women’s Basketball 1
2017
Football 0
Soccer 0