Game Day Fixture is Officially the Tommy Suggs 2001 Gamecock Football Entrance

South Carolina football hasn’t always made its entrance to the tune of “2001,” but since 1981 it has been a fixture at Williams-Brice Stadium that has become part of the Gamecock Athletics brand. It wouldn’t have happened if former South Carolina quarterback and long-time radio analyst Tommy Suggs hadn’t pushed the Athletics Department administration for it. Now, Suggs will permanently have his name attached to it as he is the official naming sponsor for the new “Tommy Suggs 2001 Gamecock Football Entrance” in the southwest corner of the stadium.

“It’s my legacy,” said Suggs. “Records on the field are meant to be broken. This won’t be broken. This is very important to me and my family to get recognition there in perpetuity. This is a way for me to leave a lasting impression and something that a lot of people can identify with. It helps them enjoy and be excited about Carolina football when they run out on the field.”

The Gamecocks started playing football in 1892, but it was more than 80 years later that the idea for the most electric entrance in college football came about. Suggs had seen Elvis Presley live at a couple of concerts at which the singer entered the stage to the Richard Strauss 1896 composition “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” later to be known as “2001” thanks to its use in the 1968 movie, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” After the second concert, Suggs was determined to bring the masterpiece to Gamecock Football.

“I’ve always thought that music was a mood-setter,” Suggs said. “I felt like Carolina needed a little something extra at the time that had a little more pop to it. Heck, if it’s good enough for Elvis Presley, it ought to be good enough for us! I’ve always felt like there are only two international languages in the world: music and laughter. People communicate with music, and they communicate with laughter and smiles. I just felt like it could be that good.”

“I know that Tommy has gotten more pleasure out of this,” said Jane Suggs, Tommy’s wife. “It took a lot of patience and tenacity to make this happen, but he got it through. It was worth it. That’s what I think is important about it. Over the years, the story of how it came to be, has sort of been forgotten. This will be a small reminder that Tommy Suggs did ‘2001.’

“This is the story about one person who didn’t give up and did something special for their university.”

Football coach Jim Carlen wanted the marching band to play the piece, which it did for two games in 1981, but it was difficult for the crowd to hear it and didn’t have the intended effect so it was temporarily shelved until two seasons later when the sound system at the stadium was significantly updated so the music could be played loud enough to inspire the crowd and student-athletes alike. The Gamecocks first ran out to “2001” in its current form in 1983 during Joe Morrison’s first year as South Carolina’s head coach.
The rest is history.

“Tommy has done a lot of things as a businessman, but of all the things he has done in his life, one the most important things he felt like he accomplished was creating this ‘2001’ entrance,” Jane Suggs said. “When he’s up in the broadcast booth, and they start up ‘2001,’ he gets quiet. He is looking at the field and the crowd reaction. I think he feels like he created something that gave the fans a moment to come together and really celebrate and get excited about Carolina the way he is. He is always thrilled at the moment itself and the joy on people’s faces in that moment.

“When more games started being put on TV, it made Carolina look really good. Now, it’s 2024, and it’s still a great entrance.”

There are more whistles and bells to the entrance now, with flames, smoke, and dazzling lights, but the sound – that beautiful, yet bombastic tune remains the same as the Gamecocks take the field. Several decades later, it still resonates.

“It has become somewhat of an institution,” Suggs said. “Other teams around the country picked up on it after we did it, including the NFL. People change and every coach comes in and redesigns uniforms, but this has stood the test of time. This has become a signature of Carolina football, and fans like it, too. There has been a lot more emphasis in recent years on game day experience.

“You can have a seven -year-old child tugging on their parents saying, let’s come next weekend. They may not know what’s happening on the field, but it’s the music, the atmosphere, and the fun part of it that makes them want to come back. ‘2001’ helps create that. Then you throw in ‘Sandstorm’ later, and it’s the best beginning to a game in America. There’s no question about it. There are a lot of other colleges and teams around the country that wish they had thought of this first.”

The new “Tommy Suggs 2001 Gamecock Football Entrance” in the southwest corner of the stadium is ready as the Gamecocks take the field this Saturday.