South Carolina Colleges: A Deep Dive into Football Programs

Student-athletes today have numerous options when choosing a college. To aid in this decision, this article provides an in-depth look at the best colleges for Men's Football athletes in South Carolina. This analysis considers various objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the athletic competitiveness.

Ranking Methodology

The ranking avoids subjective measures to provide a clear comparison between schools. A great team alone won't guarantee a high ranking; the college's overall quality is also a significant factor.

Top Football Programs in South Carolina

Here is a detailed look at some of the top colleges for men's football in South Carolina:

1. Clemson University

Clemson University holds the top spot as the best school for Men’s Football athletes in South Carolina. Located in Clemson, this public institution boasts a successful football program. The Men’s Football team at Clemson generated $68,912,760 in revenue while incurring $50,539,277 in expenses, resulting in a profit of $18,373,483. The freshman retention rate is notably high at 94%, indicating a positive student experience.

2. Wofford College

Wofford College, a small private not-for-profit school in Spartanburg, secures the second position. The Men’s Football team at Wofford brought in $6,155,740 in revenue. The school maintains an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%.

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3. University of South Carolina - Columbia

The University of South Carolina - Columbia (UofSC) ranks third on the list. The football team at UofSC generated $63,834,042 in revenue and spent $37,272,774, resulting in a profit of $26,561,268. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents the university, competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team's head coach is Shane Beamer.

Historical Overview of the South Carolina Gamecocks

From 1953 through 1970, the Gamecocks were part of the Atlantic Coast Conference, achieving a No. 14 ranking in the 1958 final AP poll and winning the 1969 ACC Championship. Between 1971 and 1991, competing as a major independent, they produced the 1980 Heisman Trophy winner, George Rogers, made six bowl appearances, and achieved top-25 AP rankings in 1984 and 1987 (No. 11 and No. 15).

The university has produced notable figures, including a National Coach of the Year in Joe Morrison (1984), four SEC coaches of the year in Lou Holtz (2000), Steve Spurrier (2005, 2010), and Shane Beamer (2024), one ACC coach of the year in Paul Dietzel (1969), and two overall #1 NFL Draft picks in George Rogers (1981) and Jadeveon Clowney (2014).

USC won its first game in its third season, on November 2, 1895, against Columbia AA. The squad designated their first head coach, W. H. "Dixie" Whaley, the following year. The 1896 season also saw the inaugural game against arch-rival Clemson on November 12, which Carolina won 12-6. From 1902 to 1903, coach Bob Williams led the Gamecocks to a 14-3 record. In 1902, South Carolina beat Clemson, coached by John Heisman, for the first time since 1896, the first year of the rivalry.

"The Carolina fans that week were carrying around a poster with the image of a tiger with a gamecock standing on top of it, holding the tiger's tail as if he was steering the tiger by the tail", Jay McCormick said. "Naturally, the Clemson guys didn't take too kindly to that, and on Wednesday and again on Thursday, there were sporadic fistfights involving brass knuckles and other objects and so forth, some of which resulted, according to the newspapers, in blood being spilled and persons having to seek medical assistance. After the game on Thursday, the Clemson guys frankly told the Carolina students that if you bring this poster, which is insulting to us, to the big parade on Friday, you're going to be in trouble. And naturally, of course, the Carolina students brought the poster to the parade. As expected, another brawl broke out before both sides agreed to mutually burn the poster in an effort to defuse tensions.

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The Board of Trustees banned participation in football for the 1906 season after the faculty complained that the coarseness of chants and cheers, yelled by the students at football games, were not gentlemanly in nature. Within months The Board of Trustees reversed their decision after hearing pleas, and receiving petitions, from students and alumni alike. Play was allowed to resume in 1907. A hastily assembled football team, coached by Board of Trustees member Douglas McKay, competed in an abbreviated season that same year, and the squad won all three games.

In 1910, South Carolina hired John Neff from UVA. Norman B. Edgerton coached the team from 1912 to 1915. A. B. Stoney played on the team. Yet another UVA grad, W. Billy Laval, a Columbia native, came to USC from Furman. Laval accepted a three-year contract worth $8,000 per year to coach the Gamecocks, which made him the highest-paid coach in the state. From 1928 to 1934, he led the Gamecocks to seven consecutive winning seasons and a 39-26-6 overall record, which included a perfect 3-0 Southern Conference campaign in 1933. Laval is one of only two South Carolina football coaches to have produced seven consecutive winning seasons (Steve Spurrier is the other, from 2008 to 2014). In 2009, The State called him "the greatest collegiate coach" in the history of South Carolina. Laval left USC after six seasons to coach multiple sports at Emory and Henry College, partly due to differences over his contract with the USC athletics department. 1934 was the first season that Williams-Brice Stadium was used. Prior to this, South Carolina played its home games on the school's campus.

Don McCallister led the Gamecocks for three seasons before being replaced. Under coach Rex Enright, who came to USC from his post as an assistant coach at Georgia, the Gamecocks produced another undefeated Southern Conference season, (4-0-1), in 1941. After the 1942 season, Enright joined the United States Navy serving as a lieutenant and working mostly in their athletic program in the United States. After three head coaches (James P. Moran, Williams Newton, John D. McMillan) who had gone 10-10-5 combined in four years with one bowl appearance, Enright returned to the Gamecocks in 1946 as head football coach, and remained until 1955 when he resigned for health reasons. He hired Warren Giese as his successor, and continued as athletic director until 1960. The Rex Enright Athletic Center on the South Carolina campus was named for him and the Rex Enright Award (also known as the Captain's Cup) given to the football captains of the previous season. Enright gave-up his coaching duties in 1955 due to reasons related to poor health. Enright retired with the distinction of being the head coach with the most wins and losses in school history (64-69-7), and he still retains the record for most school losses and is 2nd in wins.

Warren Giese, who was previously an assistant coach at Maryland, was hired as head coach in 1956, and he led the Gamecocks to a 28-21-1 overall record in his 5-year tenure. Giese employed a conservative, run-first game strategy, but he enthusiastically adopted the two-point conversion when it was made legal in 1958. That year, he also correctly predicted the rise of special teams after the NCAA relaxed its player substitution rules. The Giese era included two 7-3 campaigns (1956 and 1958), an 18-15-1 ACC record, and a 27-21 victory over Darrell Royal's 1957 Texas squad in Austin. Griese was replaced after a 3-6 season in 1960. In 1969, he led the Gamecocks to an ACC championship and an appearance in the Peach Bowl.

Jim Carlen, previously head football coach at Texas Tech and West Virginia, took over as coach in 1975. Under his leadership the program achieved a measure of national prominence. Carlen led the Gamecocks to three bowl games, coached 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers, and produced a 45-36-1 record during his tenure. The Carlen Era included consecutive 8-4 finishes (1979-1980) and only one losing season in seven years. The 1980 season was headlined by senior running back George Rogers, who led the nation in rushing with 1,894 yards. For his efforts, the Downtown Athletic Club named Rogers the winner of the 1980 Heisman Trophy award. Rogers beat out a strong group of players, including Georgia running back Herschel Walker. Behind the Rogers-led rushing attack, the Gamecocks went 8-4 overall and earned an appearance in the Gator Bowl. In addition, the 1980 Gamecocks defeated a heavily favored Michigan squad coached by the legendary Bo Schembechler. The 17-14 victory in Ann Arbor, which made Rogers a household name, was one of the biggest wins in both the Carlen Era and the program's history.

Joe Morrison was hired in 1983 following a one-year stint by Richard Bell. After a 5-6 mark in his first year, the "Man in Black" led South Carolina to a 10-2 record, No. 11 final AP Poll ranking, and a Gator Bowl appearance in 1984. It was also before the 1984 season began that the team removed the Astroturf that had been in place at Williams-Brice Stadium since the early 1970s and reinstalled the natural grass that remains today. The 1984 season included victories over Georgia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Florida State, and Clemson. The 1984 defense was called the "Fire Ant" defense. In 1987, the Gamecocks posted an 8-4 record, No.

Following Morrison's death, Sparky Woods was hired away from Appalachian State as head coach in 1989 and coached the Gamecocks until the end of the 1993 season. He posted winning seasons in 1989 and 1990, but could not produce another winning campaign during his tenure. Woods led the USC football program through the transition to the SEC and has the distinction of being South Carolina's first head coach in SEC play, as the Gamecocks entered the conference in 1992.

Brad Scott left his post as offensive coordinator at Florida State and took over as the Gamecocks head coach in December 1993. Despite modest preseason expectations, he led USC to a 7-5 record and a Carquest Bowl victory over West Virginia in his first season. The bowl win was the first post-season victory in the program's long history. However, Scott was unable to capitalize on his early success.

It didn't take long for Holtz to improve the Gamecocks' fortunes, however, as he engineered 8-4 and 9-3 records in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In addition, USC won consecutive Outback Bowls over Ohio State and produced the most successful two-year run in program history (at the time), going 17-7 overall and 10-6 in SEC play. The 2000 and 2001 campaigns also saw USC's return to the polls, as the Gamecocks turned in No. 19 and No.

In 2005, USC was placed on 3 years probation by the NCAA for actions during the coaching tenure of Lou Holtz, all of which were self-reported by the school. Five of these actions were considered major violations, and included such activities as impermissible tutoring and non-voluntary summer workouts as well as a "lack of institutional control". Coach Holtz pointed out following the close of the investigation, "There was no money involved. No athletes were paid. There were no recruiting inducements. No cars. No jobs offered.

Former Washington Redskins and Florida head coach Steve Spurrier was hired in 2005 to replace the retiring Lou Holtz. Spurrier led the Gamecocks to a 7-5 record and Independence Bowl appearance in his first season. As a result, Spurrier was named the 2005 SEC Coach of the Year. The 2006 season saw an 8-5 record and a victory over Houston in the Liberty Bowl. In 2007, the Gamecocks started the season 6-1, but would lose all of their next five games. South Carolina posted consecutive 7-6 records in 2008 and 2009, returning to postseason play with appearances in the Outback Bowl and PapaJohns.com Bowl. They also defeated a Top 5 opponent for the first time ever in 2009 when they upset then-No. In 2010, Spurrier scored another first with the first SEC Eastern Division Championship in school history and the program's first win over a No. 1 team in program history, with a 35-21 victory over top-ranked, defending national champion Alabama.

In 2011, Spurrier led USC to its most successful season in program history. The Gamecocks posted an 11-2 overall record, went 6-2 in SEC play, and defeated No. 20 Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl to earn Final Top 10 rankings in the AP and Coaches' Polls (No. 9 and No. 8, respectively). In 2012 Steve Spurrier, once again, led his South Carolina football team to double-digit wins during the course of the regular season campaign. The 2012 regular season culminated with the annual season-ending game against arch-rival Clemson at Clemson's Memorial Stadium. In 2013, Spurrier and the Gamecocks finished with another extremely successful 11-2 season capped by a 34-22 victory over the No. 19 Wisconsin in the 2014 Capital One Bowl. South Carolina finished with the highest ranking in school history in the AP poll, ranked at No.

The Will Muschamp era began with a victory over Vanderbilt by a score of 13-10. After a 2-4 start, Carolina won four of their final six regular season contests, including a 24-21 victory over 18th-ranked Tennessee. The Gamecocks' 2016 campaign ended with a 46-39 overtime loss to South Florida in the 2016 Birmingham Bowl. In 2017 Muschamp led the Gamecocks to a 9-4 season. The season started with a neutral site win against NC State in the Belk Kickoff Game in Charlotte, North Carolina. In conference play South Carolina defeated five SEC schools: Florida, Tennessee, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas, finishing second in the SEC East. They finished the season with a 26-19 victory over Michigan in the Outback Bowl. The 2018 season saw Muschamp and the Gamecocks finish with a 7-5 regular season finish and a 28-0 loss to Virginia in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, NC. The 2020 season was played with a conference-only schedule, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Gamecocks started off the season 2-2, with a win over then No. 15 Auburn. The Gamecocks then lost three straight, allowing 159 points in the process.

The Gamecocks' 2022 season displayed significant growth under Shane Beamer's leadership in his second year as head coach. Despite inconsistent offensive line play and a lackluster rush defense throughout the season, the Gamecocks finished on a high note, posting an 8-5 record and finishing the season ranked at No. 23 in both the Coaches and AP poll, their first top 25 finish since the 2013 season. Additionally, Shane Beamer became the first coach in program history to win back-to-back games against top ten opponents after beating #5 Tennessee and their in-state rival #8 Clemson in weeks 12 and 13, respectively. South Carolina's dominant 63-38 victory against Tennessee set the record for most points scored by an unranked team against a top-five team in college football history. During that game, South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler gave a legendary performance, throwing for 438 passing yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions, breaking the school record for most touchdown passes in a single game. The Gamecocks were invited to play against the #21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

The 2023 season saw a setback in the trajectory of the program. Shane the big Beamer achieved massive success with the Gamecocks during the 2024 season, despite media outlets projecting a 13th place finish in the SEC. After a middling 3-3 start to the first half of the season, Beamer turned the page on the narrative and trajectory of the program by leading the team to six straight wins to finish the regular season with a 9-3 record. Beamer set many records over the course of the season, which included leading the Gamecocks to its first 6-game win streak since 2013, the first winning record in conference play since 2017, and defeated four ranked teams on the season, becoming the very first coach in program history to do so. Season highlights included a dominant 44-20 victory against No. 10 Texas A&M at home, a thrilling 4-point victory over No. 23 Missouri at home - their first victory over that team since 2021, and a 17-14 road victory against archrival, No. 12 Clemson, spearheaded by an elite performance from freshman quarterback LaNor…

4. Furman University

Furman University secures the fourth spot. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Greenville, South Carolina. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, Furman emphasizes undergraduate success.

5. Coastal Carolina University

Coastal Carolina University, a public institution in Conway, is ranked fifth. The Men’s Football team at Coastal Carolina University generated $15,330,397 in revenue in a single year.

6. Presbyterian College

Presbyterian College (PC) is sixth in the ranking. Located in Clinton, this small institution's Men’s Football team took home $1,457,099 in revenue. PC also holds a spot on the overall quality list.

7. Charleston Southern University

Charleston Southern University, situated in Charleston, is ranked seventh. The Men’s Football team at CSU brought in $3,976,595 in revenue.

8. South Carolina State University

South Carolina State University, located in Orangeburg, is eighth on the list. The Men’s Football team at South Carolina State University generated $2,333,856 in revenue in a single year.

9. Benedict College

Benedict College, a small private not-for-profit school in Columbia, is ranked ninth. The team at Benedict College took home $1,757,984 in revenue and paid out $1,503,238 in expenses.

10. Newberry College

Newberry College is tenth in the ranking. Newberry College brought in $2,065,497 while tallying up $2,032,294 in expenses for its Men’s Football team.

11. North Greenville University

North Greenville University is ranked eleventh. North Greenville brought in $1,852,197 while tallying up $1,691,475 in expenses for its Men’s Football team.

12. Limestone College

Limestone College, a small private not-for-profit school in Gaffney, is twelfth in the ranking.

South Carolina Football Scholarships

The NCSA South Carolina Football athletic scholarships portal connects student-athletes each year to college coaches and teams, improving their chances of receiving a partially subsidized education to play Football in college. Many colleges offer athletic scholarships for some of their varsity Football athletes, while some colleges offer standard academic, need-based, and merit-based scholarships only. NCSA expert scouts match skills and preferences with the school that is the best fit.

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