Just over 10 months after South Carolina’s Board of Trustees approved the move from Under Armour to Nike, the Gamecocks’ new look is officially here.
And for fans expecting a dramatic makeover, the first wave is pretty familiar. The Nike football jerseys now in stores and available for purchase look almost exactly like the mockups shown at the board meeting last year, and they also bear a strong resemblance to the Under Armour uniforms South Carolina has worn in recent seasons. The main differences are the fabric and the Swoosh.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who liked the old jerseys. There were few complaints about South Carolina’s Under Armour football uniforms, and Nike is not expected to rip everything up right away. In fact, the contract gives Nike until 2030 to deliver a full redesign of at least three football jerseys.
For now, the more immediate conversation is the color. Nike’s garnet is noticeably lighter than Under Armour’s version, and that has created some real variation across apparel.
On all-garnet items, the shade can drift closer to Alabama’s “crimson.” On black- and white-based pieces, it looks more like the Under Armour garnet.
The result depends on the fabric and the base color, which is why some items feel closer to South Carolina’s standard and others look a little off at first glance.
There’s a reason for that. Nike typically sorts schools into color groups, with names like “Team Crimson” and “Team Cardinal,” and South Carolina likely landed in the group Nike believed matched its official garnet, Pantone 203, most closely.
The Gamecocks’ colors have also seen small adjustments before, so this isn’t exactly uncharted territory. Spend enough time looking at the new gear and you may talk yourself into one opinion, then another.
The rollout also isn’t complete. Gamecock Traditions in Lexington still hasn’t received a full shipment of hats, aside from kids caps and visors, and while the store does have some polos, more than a dozen styles are still on the way.
One familiar logo appears to be making a comeback, too: the old-school rooster head long associated with The Cockpit, USC’s student section. Nike included it in South Carolina’s vault collection of retro logos, and it shows up on a large number of items at Gamecock Traditions.
Fans hoping for more than football will have to wait. Jerseys for South Carolina’s other sports are set to arrive closer to each team’s season, which means a Nike basketball jersey is still a few months away and a Nike baseball jersey will take even longer.
As of now, South Carolina-specific Nike shoes are also unlikely to be available this year.
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Gamecocks Fans Can Finally Get A Piece Of The Under Armour Era
South Carolinas move from Under Armour to Nike has created an unexpected little time capsule for fans, because all of the old UA gear is being cleared out of the programs equipment rooms and sent to South Carolina State Surplus. After 19 years of accumulated jerseys and apparel, the leftovers are headed to the public market, giving longtime supporters a chance to pick up a piece of the apparel era the Gamecocks are leaving behind.
The gear is expected to hit the State Surplus Property Warehouse in West Columbia in mid-August, though the exact sale date is still to come. What ends up on the racks is part of the appeal, too, since there are about 25 pallets of USC Under Armour items in the mix and it is not yet clear how deep the discounts will go or which pieces will draw the most interest. [Read more 🡒]
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Christian Clark, brought in from Texas, is among the newcomers giving the staff another layer to consider, and Briles has said it is still too early to lock anyone into a true lead role. Beamer also pushed back against the idea that a committee means nobody can take over a game, pointing to the kind of workload a back can handle when the moment calls for it. The question now is how South Carolina balances depth, durability and production once the season starts, because the room has enough bodies to create options, but not enough certainty to make the pecking order simple. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Enters A Nerve Wracking Finish For Elite Cornerback
Joshua Dobsons decision is approaching, and South Carolina has spent months positioning itself as a serious player for one of the nations premier cornerbacks. The highly ranked prospect is set to announce his commitment on July 1, with Texas A&M, Michigan and the Gamecocks still in the mix as each school leans on its own recruiting pitch and track record. Dobsons blend of size, speed and return ability has made him one of the most coveted defensive backs in the class.
For South Carolina, the appeal is about more than just landing a top-ranked talent, even if that is obviously part of it. Shane Beamer has been on Dobson for years, Torrian Gray has been deeply involved, and the Gamecocks have pushed hard as the race has tightened late with Michigan gaining traction and South Carolina making its own surge. Now the staff is left waiting on a finish that will say plenty about how far its recruiting reach can stretch in battles like this. [Read more 🡒]