Jan. 26, 2006

Dear Gamecock Student Body,

Thank you!

Thank you for your outstanding showing at the Florida basketball game on Wednesday night. Your support was invaluable in our 68-62 win over No. 4 Florida. The team was thrilled to come out to warm-ups and see a packed student section loud and ready to go. We hope we will see you early for each of our five remaining home games as well.

In addition, the Gamecock basketball team, coaches, staff and athletics department administration appreciates the way you carried yourself with class before, during and after the game. We want to ‘win with class’ and the students behavior afterwards reflected what the Gamecock athletics teams are trying to do as well. While we are working to make the Colonial Center one of the toughest places to play in the country, we want to do it with class and good sportsmanship.

With input from the student-body, the athletics department has worked hard to make the Colonial Center a more student-friendly environment with the shuttles from the dorms, additional entrances available to students, the acceptance of Carolina Card in the Colonial Center and the student-friendly music. In addition, don’t forget to wear your tie-dye t-shirts: you will receive a hot dog and Coke for $2 every time you are wear it to a game!

I know the basketball team has been on the road quite a bit in January and will not return home for a couple of weeks. Please mark these home dates down in February: the 11th – Mississippi State; the 14th – Alabama on ESPN; the 18th – Kentucky on CBS; the 25th – Vanderbilt; and Feb. 28 – LSU on ESPN. Each one of these SEC games is very important and we look forward to you being there, cheering loudly and proudly.

Thanks again for your support, your class and go Gamecocks!

G. David Odom
USC Head Men’s Basketball Coach