General . August 14, 2025

From the Desk of Jeremiah Donati, No. 8

DEAR GAMECOCKS:

The fall sports season is officially here! There’s energy in the air as Gamecock athletes gear up for a new season and campus begins to buzz with life as students return to Columbia for the start of the school year.

We’re entering the year with great momentum and I wanted to take a moment to share some exciting updates about the incredible progress happening within our department.

BUILDING A STRONGER SOUTH CAROLINA TOGETHER

On Monday, we announced a historic partnership with Blanchard Machinery, a locally owned, alumni-led company that included the largest single-time gift in USC Athletics history. In addition to the Blanchard logos on the field at Williams-Brice Stadium, the Blanchard Family is making an incredible financial investment into our stadium renovation plans and are helping pave the way for us to create a world-class experience for our student-athletes and our fans.

We are incredibly thankful for the Blanchard Family’s vision, leadership and support of Gamecock Athletics.

More information

A RECORD-BREAKING YEAR FOR THE GAMECOCK CLUB

We recently announced that during the 2024-25 fiscal year, the Gamecock Club had a record-breaking year, raising over $107 million. Thank you to the entire Gamecock community for your unwavering loyalty! Your passion and commitment allow us to continue to invest in our student-athletes, enhance our facilities and continue building a championship culture at South Carolina. Without your support none of this would be possible!

CONGRATULATIONS STERLING SHARPE

Earlier this month, Sterling Sharpe became the first Gamecock inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sterling is an incredible representative of our University and I hope you join me in congratulating him on this tremendous honor.

GET READY FOR KICKOFF

We’re 17 days away from kickoff of the 2025 football season. I know we will have a strong contingent of Gamecocks making their way to Atlanta for the Aflac Kickoff. If you don’t have your tickets yet, there’s still time to secure yours.

We also recently announced details for our Saturday headquarters, Saturday night reception at the College Football Hall of Fame and official tailgate on Sunday. I hope to see you at some or all of these events prior to the 3 p.m. kickoff inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Aflac Kickoff Hub

FALL SPORTS SEASON IS HERE

Today marks the official start of the athletic regular season as our women’s soccer team travels to take on College of Charleston tonight. They’ll open their home slate this Sunday when they take on USF at 6 p.m. at Stone Stadium. Our men’s soccer team opens their season on August 21 at the College of Charleston and our volleyball team opens their season on August 29 at home vs. ETSU. To check out the full schedules of all our fall sports teams, visit our All Sports Calendar or download the Gamecocks App.

The best way to check out these sports and more is with the Gamecock Go Pass, a monthly subscription mobile ticket plan that is only $25 a month. It’s built for our ultimate Gamecock fans who want the flexibility to attend games based on what works with their schedule.

More information on the Gamecock Go Pass

CATCH A GAME

While I’ve not yet experienced a home football game (only the Spring Game!), from everything I’ve seen and heard, I know the experiences you’ll have at Williams-Brice Stadium can’t be matched by staying at home. Our team is hard at work preparing for the upcoming season and soon, we’ll be announcing some new initiatives that will enhance your game day experience at Williams-Brice Stadium. If you don’t have your tickets yet or want to see some of the things we already have planned for the upcoming season, visit our 2025 Football Hub. See you Saturday, September 6 for the home opener!

2025 Football Hub

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Last week, we announced the 2025 USC Athletics Hall of Fame class: Natasha Hastings (women’s track), Brandon Hulko (men’s diving), Paul Jubb (men’s tennis), Akram Mahmoud (men’s swimming), Mollie Patton (women’s soccer) and A’ja Wilson (women’s basketball). I look forward to honoring them at the induction ceremony in October. Congrats everyone!

WELCOME WES MALLETTE

I’m excited to welcome Wes Mallette to our Gamecock family as our new Deputy Athletics Director/Chief Marketing Officer. He comes to Carolina after most recently serving as the Athletics Director at the University of California, Riverside. Wes brings a wealth of energy and experience from his time at multiple stops at other campuses and also outside college athletics – he will undoubtedly help us excel as we continue to embrace the new and evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics.

CHECK OUT GAMECOCKS+

Netflix’s new series SEC Football: Any Given Saturday is out now. If you haven’t watched it yet, I encourage you to check out their behind the scenes look to last year’s SEC season. Carolina was the most featured SEC team in the series.

If you want to see more content like this, I encourage you to check out Gamecocks+, our official streaming platform, which is free to all Gamecock Club members, Roost level and above. They have a great lineup of content including the first episode of season 3 of The Story, a weekly series following the football team, a new episode of Tailgate Talks featuring Marcus Lattimore and a new special coming out soon on the 1984 Black Magic Gamecocks.

Check out Gamecocks+

GAMECOCK SPORTS PREVIEW

The Gamecock Sports Preview presented by Founders Federal Credit Union is back at the Pastides Alumni Center next Thursday, August 21. Join myself, Kalen Anderson, Shane Beamer, Paul Mainieri, Lamont Paris and Ashley Chastain Woodard and emcee Connor Shaw as we kick off the 2025-26 athletic season.

Tickets are on sale for Alumni Association and Gamecock Club members via the button below.

Purchase tickets

I hope you and your family had a great summer and are ready to hit the ground running cheering on our Gamecocks this fall. Our student-athletes are prepared and excited for the season ahead and I encourage you to come out and support them – there’s nothing like the energy of a Gamecock game day as you all know well!

FOREVER TO THEE!