For the second straight year, JaMeesia Ford won the SEC championship in the 200 meters at the SEC Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Fayetteville, N.C. native was also the NCAA indoor champion in the 200 meters and 4×400 meter relay last season. Way to go JaMeesia!
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From the Desk of Jeremiah Donati, No. 2
South Carolina Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati discusses the hot topics around Gamecock Athletics
Dear Gamecocks:
It is beginning to feel like spring around Columbia and as the temperatures start to rise many of our teams are competing for conference and national championships. I hope you enjoy the updates from this month’s newsletter.
House VS. NCAA Pending Settlement
Last month, I led off my inaugural communication with an update on the pending House vs. NCAA settlement and some of the major issues that we have been tasked with addressing this winter and spring:
- Institutional Revenue Sharing
- Roster Limits and Scholarships
- The Future of NIL
- Financial Implications
Our “implementation team” has been working diligently to put our department in the best position possible in light of the suddenly changing environment. Specifically, we are working through and finalizing plans to add a significant amount of new scholarships beginning in the fall. We are also finalizing our revenue sharing distribution plan and identifying and organizing the necessary resources to ensure our student-athletes can capitalize on third-party NIL deals post-July 1 that will be subject to an objective fair market value analysis.
While I am very confident in our work it is imperative that we remain flexible in our planning so that we can adapt to what we know will be more change in the future. In the coming months, I hope to share with you details in these areas.
The next phase in the legal proceedings involving the House case, NIL and revenue-sharing will be on April 7, when U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken holds a final approval hearing concerning these agreements. While we anticipate her approving the settlement we will be prepared in the event there is a different outcome.
SEC Champs Again
Our Gamecock women’s basketball team continued its tradition of excellence this season, winning the SEC Tournament in Greenville. I am looking forward to seeing our top-seeded Gamecocks in the NCAA Tournament, making another run at national title! Congratulations to Chloe Kitts for being named the tournament MVP. Joining her on the all-tournament team were MiLaysia Fulwiley and Sania Feagin.
In addition to winning our ninth conference regular season title in the past 12 seasons, Joyce Edwards was named to the SEC first-team and All-Freshman Team, MiLaysia Fulwiley and Te-Hina Paopao were named to the SEC second-team, Sania Feagin and Raven Johnson were named SEC All-Defensive Team and MiLaysia was named the Sixth-Woman of the Year.
Best in class for Williams-Brice Stadium Improvements
Our staff has been working closely with Populous, the worldwide leading venue design firm, that was selected by a university committee to lead our Williams-Brice Stadium project. I am excited about the progress that we have made and the insights that Populous has brought to this project. Populous’ name is synonymous with quality, excellence and innovation, having been involved in projects around the NFL, college athletics, convention centers and multi-use venues. We will be sharing more information on our progress very soon but please know that we are looking at all aspects of the game day experience in hopes to build upon and improve it.
Coach Beamer in Washington, D.C.
Coach Beamer took to the national stage on March 4, when he appeared in front of a congressional committee on Name, Image, Likeness about the issues that lie ahead for college athletics. Being a leader amongst his peers, he was spot on in his take and made great points – he made us all very proud! He was right when he said, “College sports is a cornerstone of American culture and identity. But without a uniform set of rules and regulations, we’re on the verge of chaos. We need action to prevent the system from falling apart.”
The Best Fans
I continue to be in awe of the passion and loyalty I see every day from our fans that make up Gamecock Nation. We have three sports that lead the nation in average attendance for this season – men’s soccer, women’s soccer and women’s basketball. After 13 home games, baseball is ranked 5th in the nation and football finished in the top 20 (15th). Thanks for your loyal support!
Women’s Basketball Viewership
Three of the top seven most-watched women’s basketball games on TV were to watch the Gamecocks. This includes the UConn game (1.8 million viewers), Feb. 9 Texas game (1 million) and the SEC Tournament Championship Game vs. Texas (1.3 million viewers). No doubt that NCAA Tournament games will join this list.
Spring Football Game
As schools are making decisions on how to proceed with their spring football games, we will continue to have our annual game on Friday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Williams-Brice Stadium. It should be a fun time to watch football, ending with a post-game fireworks show.
NIL Summit
On March 3, we hosted our first NIL Summit at the Cockaboose Club inside Williams-Brice Stadium. The event gave area businesses an opportunity to learn more about maximizing their opportunities in partnering with student-athletes as well as what may be occurring soon as it pertains to Name, Image, and Likeness. Thank you for considering South Carolina student-athletes in your promotional and advertising strategies.
Gamecock Photo Store
Gamecock Athletics is proud to offer images from its events, available to purchase as prints. Purchase these images of your favorite and memorable moments. These images can also be framed and ready to display in your home or office. See all the best photos from photography and creative media staff on USC Athletics’ new official photo website, GamecockPhotoStore.com.
National Athletic Trainers’ Month
March marks National Athletic Trainers’ Month and I want to send out a salute to our wonderful athletic trainers, led by Senior Associate AD/Sports Medicine John Kasik. Our group also includes Brainard Cooper, Mayleen Cordero-Villamil, Clint Haggard, Joshua Fike, Cory Barton, Jenn Herod, Kelsey Hounshell, Jared Muth, Craig Oates, Nate Orth, Krista Richards, Mark Rodger, Stephanie Rosehart, Kelsey Chambers and our student trainers. Thanks for all you do to support our student-athletes!
Thanks for tuning in! I look forward to continue getting to know more of our amazing fans and continuing to serve our student-athletes. We have a tremendous amount of accomplishments and success to be proud about that fully be captured in this newsletter. Check out some more of our things to crow about below.
FOREVER TO THEE!
Sophomore Collin Murray-Boyles has been named Second-Team All-SEC and graduate student Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk voted as SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, by the league’s head coaches. Way to go Collin and Benjamin!
Congratulations to Coach Ashley Chastain Woodard and the Gamecock Softball team for its 20-0 start, which tied the 1976 team for the best start in program history, including a sweep at Top-10 ranked Duke. Pitcher Jori Heard (Feb. 24) and first baseman Arianna Rodi (March 3) have been earned SEC Player of the Week mentions so far this season. Going into SEC play, Carolina was 3rd in the NCAA RPI and reached 9th in the D1Softball.com and Softball America polls.
In one of the best fields in women’s college golf, senior All-American Louise Rydqvist picked up her second collegiate win at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, earning SEC Golfer of the Week honors. Carolina tied for the top spot with LSU in the team standings (falling in a tiebreaker) among the 17 teams competing, 12 ranked in the Top 25.
Not only did the Gamecocks upset #6-ranked Auburn in women’s tennis on March 2, but head coach Kevin Epley earned his 200th win as our head coach.
Carolina had 11 invitees to this year’s NFL Combine, a school-record and tied for the fourth highest of any school in the nation. Safety Nick Emmanwori had the best vertical jump (43”) and broad jump (11’6”) of anyone at the combine. I look forward to watching Nick and all of our Gamecocks playing on Sundays during the 2025 season.
It’s great to see our student-athletes achieve success on and off the field. Congratulations to graduate student Oscar Adaway III for being named chairman of this year’s SEC Football Leadership Council. SEC Student-Athlete Leadership Councils give SEC student-athletes the chance to engage with university administrators as well as conference office staff to present issues that concern student-athletes.
