Aug. 17, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Athletics Department helped welcome the Class of 2013 to campus Saturday during First Night Carolina, held at Williams-Brice Stadium. The annual event, organized by the Russell House University Union, kicked off Carolina Welcome Week.

Nearly 3,000 freshmen were bussed from Green Street to what they were told was an “undisclosed location” – the stadium – where they entered through the football team’s tunnel while “2001” played. Although a drizzling rain threatened to dampen the fun while the students entered, the weather cleared so that five of the Gamecocks’ fall sports teams could address the excited crowd.

Coach Shelley Smith and the women’s soccer freshmen were first up and encouraged the crowd to come out and support the team at its first home game on August 27. Smith was followed by men’s soccer head coach Mark Berson, who introduced his four freshmen, all of whom were from the Carolinas.

Women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley gained more Twitter followers by promising special Gamecock apparel to the first 10 people who tweeted “First Night Carolina” to her.

Men’s basketball coach Darrin Horn arrived in his Garnet Army t-shirt and invited the freshmen to join the student section this season. He brought the crowd to its feet by stressing that the key to winning “is believing that it’s going to happen” and ended with “This ain’t your daddy’s Carolina… this Carolina doesn’t lose at home!”

Senior wide receiver Moe Brown closed the speeches by thanking the students for coming, and along with some of his teammates on stage, finished by dancing to F.L.Y.’s “Swag Surfin'”, to which several people in the crowd joined in.

After the program was finished, freshmen stopped by the sports marketing table to pick up football, volleyball, and soccer posters, as well as their Students Rewards Cards – part of a new program in which Carolina students will be able to earn points towards Under Armour apparel by attending Gamecocks home games.