South Carolina Athletics: Gamecock fans prove they are among the country’s best once again
By Kevin Miller
![South Carolina football fans. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F4852fe1080cc69f4d6fd8f765b97ab9a83fe3e92632b4c5761a684fc88a60178.jpg "South Carolina football fans. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
The South Carolina Athletics Department has much to be proud of in recent years. In the last twelve years, the Gamecocks have had the football team, men’s basketball team, women’s basketball team, baseball, and women’s soccer team finish in the top-4 of the final standings, something accomplished by no other athletics department.
The South Carolina Athletics Department is also blessed with some of the best fans in the country. Carolina fans have been known as elite supporters for a long time. Gamecock loyalty is special, and the attendance numbers from 2022 back up that fact.
According to the South Carolina Athletics Department’s official Twitter account (@GamecocksOnline), the University of South Carolina is one of just six schools in the country to finish in the top-40 nationally in average fan attendance for home games in the sports of football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, and softball.
Did you know: Just six schools (South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Texas) finished in the Top 40 in average attendance per game in each of these five sports – football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, and softball.#Gamecocks I #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/XQfOnCGjy3
— Gamecock Athletics (@GamecocksOnline) July 19, 2023
Only the Kentucky Wildcats, Arkansas Razorbacks, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Tennessee Volunteers, and Texas Longhorns can match the impressive feat from South Carolina Athletics of top-40 attendance numbers across the board.
Dawn Staley’s South Carolina basketball team led the country in average attendance per game by a wide margin as they welcomed over 13,000 fans each game in Colonial Life Arena.
The Gamecock baseball program had the 6th-best average attendance figures in the country with almost 7,000 coming out each game to Founders Park.
South Carolina softball ranked 9th nationally in average attendance with 1,500 fans watching them each game.
The South Carolina football team placed 16th in the country in average attendance at around 75,000 fans per contest.
Gamecock men’s basketball finished 21st in the country in average attendance numbers with about 10,000 fans per game.
The Gamecocks’ top-21 attendance figures actually place the South Carolina Athletics Department as one of just four athletic departments that ranked so highly in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, and softball along with Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee.