Sports in South Carolina facts for kids
Although there are no major league professional franchises based in South Carolina, the state does have numerous minor league teams. The Carolina Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes major league pro teams representing both North Carolina and South Carolina, are based in neighboring North Carolina. The Carolina Panthers, the professional American football team of the National Football League based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has training facilities in Rock Hill, South Carolina. College teams throughout the state represent their particular South Carolina institution, along with the state being a prime destination for golf and water sports.
Table
The following table shows the sports teams in South Carolina that average over 8,000 fans per home game:
| Team | Competition | Location | Venue (capacity) | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson Tigers football | NCAA FBS - ACC | Clemson | Memorial Stadium (81,500) | 84,038 |
| South Carolina Gamecocks football | NCAA FBS - SEC | Columbia | Williams-Brice Stadium (80,250) | 78,822 |
| South Carolina State Bulldogs football | NCAA FCS - MEAC | Orangeburg | Oliver C. Dawson Stadium (22,000) | 15,629 |
| South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball | NCAA D-I - SEC | Columbia | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) | 14,364 |
| South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball | NCAA D-I - SEC | Columbia | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) | 11,995 |
| The Citadel Bulldogs football | NCAA FCS - SoCon | Charleston | Johnson Hagood Stadium (21,000) | 10,678 |
| Clemson Tigers men's basketball | NCAA D-I - ACC | Columbia | Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000) | 8,703 |
Major league
South Carolina has no major professional franchise of the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLS, or MLB located in the state; however the NFL's Carolina Panthers (based in Charlotte, North Carolina), the NBA's Charlotte Hornets (based in Charlotte, North Carolina), and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes (based in Raleigh, North Carolina) represent both North and South Carolina. In addition, the Panthers played their first season in Clemson, and maintain training facilities at Wofford College in Spartanburg.
NASCAR racing
NASCAR racing was born in the South, and South Carolina has in the past hosted some very important NASCAR races, at the Darlington Raceway. Darlington Raceway plays host to NASCAR's Labor Day weekend classic, the Southern 500. The Whelen, Xfinity Series, and Cup Series cars all race at Darlington.
College sports
College sports — particularly college football — are very big in South Carolina. The University of South Carolina's Gamecocks and Clemson University's Tigers regularly draw more than 80,000 spectators at the schools' home football games, placing them among the top twenty schools in average attendance. Their rivalry is called the Battle of the Palmetto State. Clemson's football team won the National Championship in 1981, 2016 and 2018. Both South Carolina's and Clemson's baseball teams are consistently ranked. The Gamecocks won the national title in 2010 and 2011. The South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams both made the Final Four of their respective tournaments in 2017, with the women winning the national title.
Clemson and South Carolina are the two most prominent of the state's 11 NCAA Division I members. They are the only two schools that are members of the so-called Power Five conferences, the most prominent leagues in the top level of American college football, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The Tigers additionally have an ice hockey team that competes at club level in the South Division of the Atlantic Coastal Conference.
Clemson is a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and South Carolina is in the Southeastern Conference. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are the state's newest FBS program, having completed a transition from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) in 2018. Coastal, whose baseball team won the College World Series in 2016, joined the Sun Belt Conference for non-football sports the day after it won the CWS, joined Sun Belt football in 2017, and became full FBS members in 2018. Six other schools that play Division I football are full members of FCS conferences. The Citadel Bulldogs, Furman Paladins, and Wofford Terriers are all in the Southern Conference; the Charleston Southern Buccaneers are members of the Big South Conference; and the South Carolina State Bulldogs compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Presbyterian Blue Hose played their final season of Big South football in 2019; they remain Big South members in non-football sports, but the football team played the 2020 season as an FCS independent before joining the single-sport Pioneer Football League in 2021. Finally, three schools are full members of Division I conferences but do not sponsor football. The Charleston Cougars compete in the Colonial Athletic Association, and the USC Upstate Spartans and Winthrop Eagles compete in the Big South.
Misc. Sports
While there are no race tracks with betting in South Carolina, there is significant horse training activity, particularly in Aiken and Camden, which hold steeplechase races.
Professional bass fishing tournaments are also found in South Carolina. Lake Hartwell, Lake Wylie, and Lake Murray both host Bassmaster Classic tournaments.
Spartanburg, South Carolina, is also the home of the national evangelical sports program Upward Sports.
