April 8, 2011
The University of South Carolina football squad will hold its annual Garnet & Black Spring Game on Saturday, April 9. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.
The “Black” team will be led by quarterbacks Connor Shaw and Seth Strickland, while the “Garnet” team will be directed by Dylan Thompson and Andrew Clifford. The first half will consist of two periods of 12 minutes each with the clock operated under normal game situations. The second half will have a running clock.
Admission to the game is free to the public. The stadium gates (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 16, 18, 23 and 24) will open at 11:30 a.m. The annual spring football awards will be presented at halftime. In addition, a commemorative marker for the 2010 SEC East champions will be unveiled on the south side of the Williams-Brice Stadium during the halftime festivities.
For those fans unable to attend, the game will be videostreamed live on ESPN3, with Bill Rosinski and Randy Shannon describing the action.
Fans attending the game have several parking options available. The Fairgrounds will open at 11 a.m. with parking spaces available for $10 each. ETV Lots will open at 9 a.m. with spaces available for $10. USC’s Key Road lot will open at 9 a.m. with free parking spaces available. The Farmers Market will be closed and will not be available for the game.
The Gamecock Gear Store located on the North End Zone side of Williams-Brice Stadium will open at 9 a.m. There will also be a booth inside the stadium near Gates 2 and 3. The 2011 Football Gameday T-Shirt will be available for the first time and they are offering an additional 25% off of all clearance items.
The spring game is also the first time the new 2011 Football Poster will be available. They will be at a table in front of the Gamecock Gear Store on the North End Zone side of the stadium.
Thirty minutes following the game, the first ever Gamecock Fan Fest presented by the Gamecock Club will start on the field at Williams-Brice. Fans can enter through the players tunnel to participate in various activities on the field.
Activities will include skills challenges, photo opportunities with the SEC Eastern Division Champions Trophy and the Hardee’s Trophy, Cocky and the cheerleaders, the Gamecock bounce house for kids, a cornhole tournament, select players from the 2010 team signing autographs, and more, all to the tunes of live music from Tokyo Joe. In addition, tailback Marcus Lattimore and center T.J. Johnson will take part in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes session with team chaplain Adrian Despres, beginning at 11 a.m. It is open to the public. Enter the stadium through Gate 16 in the south end zone.
