The University of South Carolina are also good at sports. The university offers club, intramural, and varsity sports. University athletics programs offer one-of-a-kind academic opportunities for students preparing for different careers. Some of these careers are sports, medicine, entertainment and communications. Cocky is the mascot of the University of South Carolina athletics teams. He represents a cartoon version of a gamecock.
The South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represents the University of South Carolina and competes in the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks won Southern Conference titles in 1927, 1933, 1934, and 1945. The University of South Carolina's men's and women's basketball teams play at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The mens basketball head coach is Lamont Paris. The womens basketball head coach is Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks won the 2017 NCAA East Regional Championship and reached the Final Four for the first time in school history.
The South Carolina Gamecocks football program represents USC. The Gamecocks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Southeastern Conference. The team's head coach is Shane Beamer. The team plays their home games at Williams–Brice Stadium. Since 1992 they have competed in the Southeastern Conference and they won the SEC East Division in 2010. USC fielded its first football team on Christmas Eve, in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1892.
| Basketball Championships (Years) | Football Championships (Years) |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 2013 |
| 2006 | 2014 |
| 2009 | 2018 |
| 2017 | 2021 |
