March 5, 2015

A five-percent increase in annual Gamecock Club donation levels, with the exception of the Roost level, originally approved in 2012, has been reinstated for the 2016 giving year, the Gamecock Club Board of Directors announced today. This will mark just the third increase in Gamecock Club annual donation levels since 1989, and the first donation increase since 2008.

“The Board of Directors felt it was important to manage the donation structure of the Gamecock Club by ensuring that we continue to equip our student-athletes with the academic and athletic tools that will assist them in succeeding in the classroom and field of play,” said Patrick McFarland, Director of the Gamecock Club.

“The Gamecock Club has a great history of providing financial support for our student-athletes, whether it be tuition and fees, room and board, books or other education needs,” noted Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “We appreciate the Gamecock Club Board of Directors in approving this increase. It will be a benefit to us as we begin to address the impact of the new NCAA legislation benefitting Cost of Attendance needs for student-athletes at Carolina.”

Ted Girardeau, Gamecock Club Executive Committee Chairman, added, “The Executive Committee and Board of Directors felt it was imperative that we stay in line with tuition increases and continue providing a quality education for our student-athletes. This will be possible by implementing this minimal increase to prevent finding ourselves in a situation similar to 2007 when substantial increases had to be made across the board to be competitive in the Southeastern Conference.”

The Gamecock Club Board of Directors represents the 45 local chapters throughout South Carolina and 16 out-of-state chapters that comprise the over 18,000 members of the Gamecock Club.

Here are the current giving levels and the contribution levels approved for 2016: