Carolina's 18 collegiate sports teams are known as the
Fighting Gamecocks. They all compete at the Division I level of the
NCAA and all sports but men's soccer compete in
the Southeastern Conference (East Division). 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 team started competing as an independent
and other sports competed in the Metro Conference. In 1992, South Carolina joined the SEC 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. After the retirement of Lou Holtz from the coaching ranks in 2004,
the University hired Steve Spurrier to lead the Gamecock football
program.Basketball has been a popular sport ever since coach Frank McGuire was the head coach in the
late 1960s and early 1970s. 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 three consecutive appearances at the College World Series from 2002 to 2004. 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 aside from Softball and Equestrian. Another rivalry is with the University of Georgia.