From the Desk of Jeremiah Donati, No. 6
South Carolina Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati discusses the hot topics around Gamecock Athletics
DEAR GAMECOCKS:
As the academic year has officially concluded and we wind down the athletic year, I hope your summer is off to a great start! Our department has accomplished a lot over the last six months and we are carrying a lot of momentum heading into the fall.
WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM UPDATE
A few weeks ago, our Board of Trustees gave its approval for us to move to the next step in the Williams-Brice Stadium project. This new approval will allow us to expand the project’s original scope and ensure we’re providing an enhanced game day experience for as many fans as possible.
The next step in the approval process will occur in August when we go in front of the State of South Carolina Legislature’s Joint Bond Review Committee and the State Fiscal Accountability Authority. These approvals help us get one step closer towards our goal of beginning construction following the 2025 football season.
Our staff, along with key partners in Populous, Legends, Contract Construction and Manhattan Construction Company have been working tirelessly to help us reimagine what is possible at Williams-Brice Stadium. I want to applaud them for their collective efforts and collaborative approach thus far – we truly have an All-Star Team working on behalf of our great University.
HOUSE v. NCAA SETTLEMENT
In case you missed it, last Friday, Judge Claudia Wilken officially approved the House v. NCAA settlement, which will fundamentally change how college athletics departments around the country operate. The settlement paves the way for us to directly share revenue with our student-athletes, allowing them more opportunities than ever to financially benefit during their participation in college athletics. To learn more about the settlement and how it will affect college athletics, check out my From the Desk special edition.
FOOTBALL KICKOFF WINDOWS ANNOUNCED
In late May, ESPN and the SEC announced that our first two home games would be under the lights and yesterday the SEC announced our full kickoff windows for the remainder of the season.
I look forward to seeing everyone at Williams-Brice Stadium this fall! Only a limited number of season tickets remain, so request more information to secure yours. Single game tickets for the 2025 season are also on sale now.
More information on the 2025 season
2025 FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP TRAINING SITE
With the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup on the horizon, the University of South Carolina has been chosen as one of 34 Team Base Camp Training Sites. Columbia will be home to Fluminense FC, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – one of the biggest clubs in the world. The City of Columbia and the University of South Carolina continue to be an amazing destination for soccer events, and we’re excited to continue to be a presence on the international soccer stage.
NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fourteen track and field student athletes are currently out in Eugene, Oregon competing in the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Good luck to all of our student-athletes competing!
KICKING OFF FOOTBALL SEASON IN ATLANTA
Our football team will open the season in Atlanta on Sunday, August 31 against Virginia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Game. We need all of Gamecock Country to help us paint Mercedes-Benz Stadium Garnet & Black. If you don’t have your tickets yet, there’s still time to get yours for the Labor Day Weekend matchup. See you in Atlanta!
SOFTBALL SUCCESS
Congratulations to this year’s softball team on their tremendous accomplishments. They made a great run achieving a national seed for the first time in modern program history and hosted both the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals. A special congratulations to head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard for being named the National Coach of the Year by D1Softball.
WELCOME COACH LOIOLA
I’m excited to welcome home Jose Loiola as our new head beach volleyball coach. Coach Loiola comes to us after serving as assistant coach at UCLA for two years and also has professional coaching experience on both the men’s and women’s side, dating back to 2014. This spring, he was recognized as the American Volleyball Coaches Association Collegiate Beach Assistant Coach of the year. We got a great one!
SUMMER BASH
While the 2025-26 athletic season won’t begin for another two months, the Gamecock Club is looking forward to hosting the Gamecock Summer Bash at Columbia Craft on Friday, June 20 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. This free event is open to the public and will include inflatables, food trucks, music, autographs from Gamecock student-athletes and more. Come on out!
HALL OF FAMERS
Congratulations to Coach Dawn Staley who was inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame and Landon Powell (former baseball student-athlete) and Shannon Johnson (former women’s basketball student-athlete) who were both inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame last month.
MOMENTUM
As of today, we have had 13 of our 21 teams either finish the season or are currently in-season (track & field) ranked in the Top 25 of their respective sports, with five of our teams being ranked in the top 10. Our teams finished the year with 65 wins against Top 25 opponents, including 26 wins vs. Top 10 teams. I look forward to our teams building on this success for years to come.
FRANKIE GOES TO THE US OPEN
Congratulations to men’s golf redshirt junior Frankie Harris who punched his ticket to the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club last week after finishing as co-medalist at final U.S. Open Qualifying. U.S. Open play begins today, so be sure to tune in and cheer on Frankie.
CONGRATS TO OUR STAFF
Our creative video teams picked up 13 SVG College Sports Media Awards nominations and walked away with two wins at the annual SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards. Our Football Communications Staff also received the Super 11 Award given by the Football Writers Association of America.
Sport & Story’s the Brew won the Best Newsletter at the 2025 Digiday Media Awards. In addition to their work bringing you great content through Gamecocks Plus, they also create a daily newsletter, The Cock-A-Doodle Brew keeping you updated on all things Gamecocks.
The Brew is free to subscribe to, so visit gamecocksbrew.sportandstory.com/subscribe to sign up today.
I hope that you and your family have a great summer and I appreciate all you have done to welcome me and my family into Gamecock Country. I look forward to continuing to get to know all our amazing fans and can’t wait for the next athletic year to begin in a few months.
FOREVER TO THEE!
