Oct. 4, 2002
Completing what is the most successful athletics season in the school’s history, Sports Illustrated has ranked the University of South Carolina No. 5 nationally among the nation’s 324 universities and colleges in the magazine’s Oct. 7 special issue entitled “America’s Best Sports Colleges.” In addition four SEC schools were ranked in the top 10 – posting the best finish of any conference. The magazine is on newstands now.
Said Sports Illustrated of South Carolina: 5. SOUTH CAROLINA Gamecocks finished No.1 in women’s track, No.2 in baseball, No.6 in women’s basketball and No.13 in football. … Insiders say: “It’s an exciting time to be a Carolina student. Thanks to Lou Holtz our football game has finally caught up to our tailgating game.”
“We congratulate our student-athletes and coaches for an outstanding year,” said USC athletics director Mike McGee. “The commitment to excellence has been made across the board and it’s rewarding to see the efforts of our athletes and coaches come to fruition. Our coaches have recruited the caliber of student-athletes it takes to compete at the highest level. All of our coaches have set their standards high. The confidence has been contagious throughout the department. Much of our success stems from that, and we have had some good fortune along the way, as well.”
Gamecocks fans have long been seen as some of the most loyal in the country. Their support, combined with the achievements listed below, point towards Carolina’s top five finish in this national ranking:
* USC finished a program-best 11th in the 2001-02 Sears Cup rankings.
* USC was third nationally when using using the four revenue producing sports (football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball) – finishing only behind Oklahoma and Texas.
* USC will open the new $65 million Carolina Center in November, playing host to basketball, concerts and family entertainment.
* The Gamecock Club collected more than $11.5 million in donations this past year – ranking USC in the top 10 in the country in athletic development fund-raising.
* USC has ranked second in the SEC only to Vanderbilt in graduation rate four of the past five years.
* A new $48 million Campus Recreation Center is set to open in the Spring of 2003.
* The University of South Carolina snared two No. 1 rankings in the 2003 “Best Colleges Guide” published by U.S. News and World Report. In a new category, called “Programs that Really Work,” which singles out academic programs that lead to student success, USC earned a No. 1 ranking. USC retained its No. 1 ranking in undergraduate international business.
The top 10 in Sports Illustrated’s rankings are as follows: 1. Texas 2. Stanford 3. Oklahoma 4. Florida 5. SOUTH CAROLINA!!! 6. Louisiana State 7. Minnesota 8. North Carolina 9. Tennessee 10. Michigan
Sports Illustrated combined a variety of factors in arriving at its 2002 rankings of DivisionI schools, including performance during the 2001-02 school year in the big five sports (baseball, football, hockey and men’s and women basketball); position in the ’01-’02 Sears Cup NCAA all-sports standings; number of varsity, club and intramural sports; range of recreational facilities; and whether or not spirit-boosting events like Midnight Madness were held.
