COLUMBIA — Tennessee’s football team will make a trip to Columbia to take on South Carolina Saturday night, and while the Gamecocks’ history does not pack the lore of Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, LSU or Alabama — South Carolina does have some gridiron tradition.
The Gamecocks have for coaches or players with ties to their program in the college football Hall of Fame. One of those men, running back George Rogers, won the Heisman Trophy in 1980.
Two coaches, who have prowled the sideline in Columbia, are also enshrined in the hall. They include Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier.
Former Green Bay Packers’ wide receiver Sterling Sharpe played for the Gamecocks and is also in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Rogers went on to have a stellar career in the NFL, while Sharpe had his professional career cut short when he sustained a neck injury in 1994.
South Carolina first fielded a football team in 1892 and joined the Southeastern Conference in 1992. They were independent from 1892-1921 and again from 1971-91.
South Carolina was in the Southern Conference from 1922-52 and a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference from 1953-70.
The Gamecocks won an ACC championship in 1969 under the guidance of head coach Paul Dietzel.