Oct. 11, 2011

University of South Carolina senior quarterback Stephen Garcia has been dismissed from the football team, it was announced today.

“Being a student-athlete at the University of South Carolina is a privilege, not a right,” said Athletics Director Eric Hyman, “and we remind all of our student-athletes that there are consequences for their actions. For Stephen to return to and remain with the football squad this fall, we agreed on several established guidelines. Unfortunately, he has not been able to abide by those guidelines and has therefore forfeited his position on the roster. We wish him the best of luck as he moves forward in life.”

“We are all saddened that this has occurred,” said head coach Steve Spurrier. “We all feel like we’ve given Stephen numerous opportunities to be a student-athlete here at South Carolina. Obviously, he has chosen not to follow the guidelines of his reinstatement contract. We wish him the best.”

Garcia finishes his career with 7,597 passing yards, completing 589-of-1021 passes (57.7 percent), with 47 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. He became the third quarterback in school history to throw for more than 7,500 yards in a career, and also ranks third on the all-time charts in pass attempts, pass completions and passing touchdowns. He posted a 20-14 record as a starting quarterback. This season, he was 61-of-118 (51.7 percent) for 844 yards with four touchdowns and nine interceptions in five games.