Sports in South Carolina
A variety of sports are popular in the US state of South Carolina.
College football is the most popular sport.[1][2] Memorial Stadium and Williams–Brice Stadium are two of the 55 largest stadiums in the world. Clemson University and the University of South Carolina are both ranked in the top 27 colleges in the country in athletic revenue.[3] Their rivalry is considered one of the best in college sports,[4][5][6][7] and their annual football game (the Palmetto Bowl) is considered the most important sporting event in the state.[8]
There are no major league professional franchises based in South Carolina. However, the state does have numerous minor league and lower-division (soccer) teams. Additionally, the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC, two major league professional teams based in Charlotte near the South Carolina border, have shown their desire to represent both of the Carolinas.[9][10][11][12]
Myrtle Beach is the self-proclaimed "Golf Capital of the World", with around ninety courses.[13] The Grand Strand and Hilton Head areas are both ranked in the top four locations in the country in golf courses per capita.[14] The state is also a prime destination for water sports. A government survey from 2000 found that South Carolina had the seventh most surfers of any state in the nation.[15]
Table
The following table shows the sports teams in South Carolina that average over 8,000 fans per home game:
Team | Competition | Location | Venue (capacity) | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
Clemson Tigers football | NCAA FBS – ACC | Clemson | Memorial Stadium (81,500) |
80,400[16] |
South Carolina Gamecocks football | NCAA FBS – SEC | Columbia | Williams-Brice Stadium (80,250) |
73,628[16] |
South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball | NCAA D-I – SEC | Columbia | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) | 11,472[17] |
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football | NCAA FBS – Sun Belt | Conway | Brooks Stadium (20,000) | 10,463[16] |
South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball | NCAA D-I – SEC | Columbia | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) | 10,406[18] |
The Citadel Bulldogs football | NCAA FCS – SoCon | Charleston | Johnson Hagood Stadium (14,500) | 9,343[16] |
South Carolina State Bulldogs football | NCAA FCS – MEAC | Orangeburg | Oliver C. Dawson Stadium (22,000) | 9,174[16] |
College sports
College sports — particularly college football — are very big in South Carolina. The
Clemson and South Carolina are the two most prominent of the state's 11 NCAA Division I members. They are the only two schools that are members of the so-called Power Five conferences, the most prominent leagues in the top level of American college football, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The Tigers additionally have an ice hockey team that competes at club level in the South Division of the Atlantic Coastal Conference.
Clemson is a charter member of the
compete in the Big South.Major league
South Carolina has no major professional franchise of the
The highest level of professional sports played by a team from South Carolina is the Charleston Battery, who play in the USL Championship, the second division of the U.S. Soccer pyramid.
Minor league
There are numerous
For a state where natural ice is a rarity, professional ice hockey has been popular in a number of areas of the state since the 1990s. Though four teams competed at one time in South Carolina, the ECHL (formerly called the East Coast Hockey League) currently oversees operations of only two franchises, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and the South Carolina Stingrays. The Stingrays play in the North Charleston Coliseum, located in North Charleston.
The Charleston Battery play professional soccer in the USL Championship, the second division of the U.S. Soccer pyramid, which is technically not a minor league as the concept doesn't apply to the soccer tier system.[21] The team plays in the soccer-specific Patriots Point Soccer Complex, located in Mount Pleasant. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating soccer club in the United States. Greenville Triumph SC are members of USL League One, a step below the Championship in the third division, and played their inaugural season in 2019. The Triumph play their home matches at Paladin Stadium.
The American Basketball Association currently oversees operations of only three semi-pro basketball franchises, the South Carolina Warriors which are based in Myrtle Beach, the Greenville Galaxy which are based in Greenville, and the Palmetto State Rizers which are based in Columbia.
NASCAR racing
Golf
South Carolina is a popular golf destination. With nearly one hundred golf courses, the Grand Strand region has more public golf courses per capita than any other place in the country.[22] Some have hosted PGA and LGPA events in the past, but most have been designed for the casual golfer.
Hilton Head Island & Kiawah Island have several very nice golf courses and host professional events every year. The
The upstate of South Carolina also has many nice golf courses, most of the nicer courses are private including the Cliff's courses and Cross Creek Plantation (the Cliff's courses host the annual BMW PRO/AM that brings many celebrities and professionals to South Carolina. Cross Creek Plantation located in Seneca, also private hosted a PGA Qualifier in the 90's). In 2007, The Ocean Course, the signature course of the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, was ranked #1 in Golf Digest magazine's "America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses"[23] and #38 on their "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses".[24]
Water sports
Water sports are also an extremely popular activity in South Carolina. With a long coast line, South Carolina has many different beach activities such as surfing, boogie boarding, deep sea fishing, and shrimping. The Pee Dee region of the state offers exceptional fishing. Some of the largest catfish ever caught were caught in the Santee Lakes. The Upstate of South Carolina also offers outstanding water activities, especially in Lakes Hartwell, Jocassee, and Keowee. The Midlands region also offers water-based recreation revolving around Lakes Marion and Murray and such rivers as the Congaree, Saluda, Broad, and Edisto, including water skiing and swimming.
Roller Sports
Following the rebirth of
Misc. Sports
While there are no race tracks with betting in South Carolina, there is significant horse training activity, particularly in Aiken and Camden, which hold steeplechase races.
Professional bass fishing tournaments are also found in South Carolina. Lake Hartwell, Lake Wylie, and Lake Murray both host Bassmaster Classic tournaments.
Spartanburg, South Carolina, is also the home of the national evangelical sports program Upward Sports.
See also
- Sports in Columbia, South Carolina
- Sports in Sumter, South Carolina
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Clemson Tigers
References
- ^ "Most popular sport in each of the 50 states". Yahoo Sports. 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ R, Brett (2022-02-26). "The Most Popular Sports in America By Each State". FanBuzz. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "NCAA Finances: Revenue & Expenses by School". USA Today. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "Ranking the top 25 rivalries in college sports". Saturday Down South. 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "What are the best rivalries in college athletics? It starts in North Carolina". College Sports Wire. 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "Ranking the Top 25 Rivalries in College Football History". AthlonSports.com. 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ Humphrey, Chris. "College Football: The 50 Best Rivalries in College Football". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "Clemson, South Carolina enter Palmetto State's biggest rivalry on three-game win streaks". Yahoo News. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ a b Callihan, Schuyler (2022-05-07). "Odds Are 'Slim' That the Panthers and Rock Hill 'Resurrect' Terminated Agreement". Sports Illustrated Carolina Panthers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ a b Raven, Jason (2019-06-28). "Carolina Panthers officially become 'two states, one team'". wistv.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ "Carolina Panthers training camp: What to know about practice times, parking, autographs". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "Charlotte FC reveal inaugural 'Carolina Kit' primary jersey". MLSSoccer.com. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "Capital Conundrum: Which destination is the golf capital of the United States?". NBC Sports. 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ Leonard, Michael (2021-05-23). "U.S. Golf Destinations With the Most Courses Per Capita". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "How many surfers?". surfrider.org. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ a b c d e "2018 Football Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Attendance" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "2018-19 NCAA Division I Home Attendance" (PDF). NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance Records Through 2018-19. NCAA. p. 3. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
- ^ "2013 NATIONAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE" (PDF). ncaa.org. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ mlssoccer. "Charlotte FC reveal inaugural "Carolina Kit" primary jersey | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/07/26/why-minor-league-soccer-will-never-work/
- ^ "Myrtle Beach Golf".
- ^ "GolfDigest.com – America's 50 Toughest Golf Courses".
- ^ "GolfDigest.com – America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses". Archived from the original on 2006-07-21.
- ^ "WFTDA Leagues".