South-Carolina
Psychiatric facilities prioritize out-of-state kids for profit
![Psychiatric facilities prioritize out-of-state kids for profit Psychiatric facilities prioritize out-of-state kids for profit](https://www.tampabay.com/resizer/nWzTAWP33BwyE6iOM2eh6pDAzCU=/1200x675/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/AKNNON5Y7RGNXMLUYWLBZC5J4Y.png)
South Carolina kids who want fast, around-the-clock psychiatric care danger being stranded for days — even weeks — ready for assist, solely to be despatched tons of of miles away from residence for remedy.
When no psychiatric residential remedy beds are open in South Carolina, some kids should journey throughout the Southeast to amenities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, or Kentucky — wherever a mattress is perhaps out there.
The issue in South Carolina isn’t a scarcity of psychiatric residential remedy beds, state company leaders say, however that so most of the state’s 518 licensed beds for youngsters are crammed by sufferers from different states. Eventually rely, based on the state Division of Well being and Human Providers, about half the youngsters assigned to a psychiatric residential remedy mattress in South Carolina weren’t South Carolinians.
The explanation comes all the way down to the underside line of the amenities, that are pushed by states’ reimbursement charges, since Medicaid typically covers such sufferers’ care. South Carolina’s fee has been about $330 a day, one of many lowest for these companies within the nation, stated Deborah McKelvey, government director of Windwood Household Providers in rural Charleston County. North Carolina’s Medicaid fee is nearer to $500 a day, she stated, and different states pay as a lot as $800.
“It’s like several enterprise,” stated McKelvey, whose psychiatric residential remedy facility is a nonprofit with a mission to care particularly for South Carolina sufferers. Her facility operates at a loss and partly bridges the hole by way of fundraising.
The state’s seven different psychiatric residential remedy amenities for youngsters function as for-profit corporations. Three are owned by Broadstep, a portfolio firm of personal fairness agency Bain Capital. Some well being care researchers stated such possession preparations might prioritize income over affected person care.
“Greater than some other a part of the well being care companies trade, non-public fairness is pouring cash into behavioral well being,” stated Eileen O’Grady, a researcher for the watchdog group Personal Fairness Stakeholder Mission. “We actually don’t have a transparent window into how a lot cash they’re making. They’re not required to reveal principally something to the general public.”
The group printed a report in February referred to as “The Youngsters Are Not Alright” that outlines some measures that behavioral well being amenities owned by non-public fairness companies have taken to extend their revenue margins in recent times, together with decreasing employees and deferring constructing upkeep.
“Regardless of horrific circumstances at some youth behavioral well being corporations, their non-public fairness house owners have in some circumstances reaped huge income,” O’Grady wrote.
Officers from Bain Capital and Broadstep wouldn’t agree to talk on the document and didn’t reply to written questions.
The inflow of such investments has helped create a sort of arms race. South Carolina Medicaid raised its reimbursement fee on April 1 to $500 per little one per day in a bid to entice the for-profit amenities to confess extra of the state’s kids. The adjustment is predicted to value the Medicaid company a further $14 million yearly, on prime of the $20 million it already spends on psychiatric residential remedy for youngsters. The cash ought to unencumber some mattress area, stated S.C. Well being and Human Providers Director Robbie Kerr. But it surely will not be sufficient in the long term.
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“We already know our neighboring states are poised to lift their charges as quickly as I do,” Kerr advised a panel of lawmakers in January. “It’s going to be an inflationary spiral.”
It isn’t unusual for U.S. kids who want intensive psychiatric care to journey to a different state for remedy. KHN just lately reported that about 90 Montana kids lined by Medicaid are unfold out at psychiatric amenities throughout 10 states. Related developments have occurred in Arizona, Minnesota, and Oregon. Many states have a scarcity of psychiatric beds.
But many psychologists and little one welfare specialists recommend that youngsters who obtain this care nearer to residence shall be extra prone to succeed. That’s primarily as a result of sufferers can extra simply keep contact with their mother and father, caregivers, and communities throughout stays that may common a number of weeks or months.
Medicaid paperwork present a few of the corporations in South Carolina have admitted kids from as far-off as Alaska and Vermont. In the meantime, South Carolina ranks fiftieth amongst all states and D.C. — with solely North Carolina rating decrease — for the share of youngsters who’ve main melancholy and don’t obtain remedy for it, based on the advocacy group Psychological Well being America.
Some kids, left untreated, grow to be violent and suicidal and finally require care in a psychiatric hospital or a residential remedy facility. They could be experiencing anxiousness, melancholy, or post-traumatic stress, or have a substance use dysfunction. In lots of circumstances, the pandemic has made their psychological sickness worse. It’s additionally made psychiatric mattress area scarcer.
At New Hope Carolinas, a for-profit facility for sufferers ages 12-21 in Rock Hill, South Carolina, 133 of 150 psychiatric beds have been stuffed with sufferers lined by out-of-state Medicaid plans final summer season, based on a report filed by the power to the South Carolina Division of Well being and Human Providers. At Springbrook Behavioral Well being in Greenville, a psychiatric residential facility that makes a speciality of kids with extreme autism, solely one in all 40 Medicaid sufferers was from South Carolina. At a facility in Simpsonville referred to as Excalibur-Venice, 41 Medicaid sufferers got here from North Carolina and solely 10 from South Carolina.
Excalibur-Venice is one in all three amenities in South Carolina that fall beneath the umbrella of Broadstep, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based firm backed by the non-public fairness agency Bain Capital’s Double Influence Fund. Broadstep’s footprint encompasses dozens of comparable psychiatric amenities in seven states, based on its web site, and Bain Capital is much from the one non-public fairness participant making investments in behavioral well being.
In its 2022 “World Healthcare Personal Fairness and M&A Report,” Bain & Firm — a consulting agency separate from the non-public fairness firm however based by the identical businessman — reported that the pandemic has offered alternatives to spend money on behavioral well being care.
“With the diminished stigma for psychological well being companies, mixed with larger employer and payer commitments,” the report famous, “the addressable psychological well being market appears sure to increase over the following few years.”
Nonetheless, within the Carolinas, the necessity for psychiatric beds stays notably acute. In mid-March, Bailey Pennington, a spokesperson for North Carolina’s Division of Well being and Human Providers, confirmed that 21 kids from that state have been in a holding sample, ready for a mattress to grow to be out there at a facility in North Carolina or in one other state. Almost 250 North Carolina kids lined by Medicaid have been despatched to an out-of-state psychiatric facility between mid-2019 and mid-2021, she stated. And North Carolina, regardless of having twice as many residents and a a lot greater Medicaid enrollment, has fewer psychiatric remedy beds for youngsters than South Carolina.
“I most likely have 5 to 10 younger individuals proper now who may benefit from this stage of care who’re bouncing round from placement to placement,” stated Michael Leach, director of South Carolina’s Division of Social Providers.
In some circumstances, mother and father have deserted their kids as a result of they will’t deal with their psychological well being wants anymore, he stated. Generally, regulation enforcement turns into concerned, however mother and father refuse to retrieve their kids. Youngsters sleep in county workplaces or hospital emergency departments, he stated, when psychiatric beds aren’t out there.
Typically, beds in South Carolina are technically out there, however the psychiatric amenities can’t retain employees to deal with extra sufferers. That’s when kids could also be despatched out of state, Leach stated. Nineteen South Carolina kids in state custody have been getting out-of-state psychiatric remedy, Leach stated in mid-March.
“I’ve extra want for [beds] proper now than I’ve entry to,” Leach stated. “It’s an actual factor.”
KHN (Kaiser Well being Information) is a nationwide newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about well being points. Along with Coverage Evaluation and Polling, KHN is among the three main working applications at KFF (Kaiser Household Basis). KFF is an endowed nonprofit group offering data on well being points to the nation.
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South-Carolina
After going years without an earthquake more tremors have hit this part of South Carolina
For the second time in less than a week, an earthquake hit South Carolina.
A 2.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded Sunday morning in McCormick County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Not only was it South Carolina’s second confirmed earthquake in a six day span, it also was recorded near the same part of the Palmetto State where the previous quake occurred.
Sunday’s earthquake was confirmed at 2:53 a.m. near Jackson, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said.
The earthquake happened about half 3.5 miles beneath the surface, according to the USGS.
This was the 12th confirmed earthquake this year in South Carolina, after 28 quakes were recorded in 2023, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
The last time seismic activity was recorded in South Carolina was on Aug. 26, when tremors were recorded as a 1.9 magnitude earthquake hit in the Jackson area of Aiken County, state Department of Natural Resources data shows.
This was the first earthquake recorded in McCormick County since May 25, 2019, and it’s only the third time since 2006 that seismic activity has been confirmed there, according to the USGS.
History of earthquakes in SC
It has been uncommon for earthquakes to hit outside of the Midlands area of the Palmetto State, specifically beyond Kershaw County, where 62 earthquakes have been confirmed since the end of June 2022, according to the South Carolina DNR.
That’s also where South Carolina’s most powerful recent earthquakes were recorded on June 29, 2022.
On that day, two earthquakes — one a 3.5 magnitude and the other 3.6 — were included in a flurry of tremors and aftershocks. Those were the two largest quakes to hit South Carolina in nearly a decade. A 4.1-magnitude quake struck McCormick County in 2014.
Anyone who felt tremors and shaking or heard rumbling from Sunday morning’s earthquake can report it to the USGS.
The most recent earthquake means at least 116 have been detected in the Palmetto State since the start of 2022, according to South Carolina DNR. All but 13 of the quakes have been in the Midlands.
In all, 108 earthquakes have hit the Columbia area since a 3.3-magnitude quake was recorded Dec. 27, 2021, according to the DNR.
The S.C. Emergency Management Division said Sunday morning’s earthquake was classified as a micro quake, according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.
No major damage or injuries have been reported from any of the recent quakes.
Earthquakes that register 2.5 magnitude or less often go unnoticed and are usually recorded only by a seismograph, according to Michigan Technological University. Any quake less than 5.5 magnitude is not likely to cause significant damage, the school said.
It had been typical for South Carolina to have between six and 10 earthquakes a year, the S.C. Geological Survey previously reported. There have been 130 earthquakes in South Carolina since Jan. 18, 2021, according to DNR.
During a 2022 town hall to address the earthquakes, state geologist Scott Howard said as many as 200 smaller tremors might have gone unnoticed and unrecorded.
Why the increase in earthquakes?
An explanation for the outburst has eluded scientists.
Some experts have theorized there’s a link between the Wateree River and the earthquakes northeast of Columbia. They said the combination of a single moderate earthquake in December 2022 and high water levels in the Wateree River during parts of 2022 and 2023 have contributed to the earthquakes.
But no one has settled on the single cause for the Midlands’ shaking.
Elgin, about 20 miles northeast of Columbia and situated on a fault line, experienced an unusual earthquake “swarm,” leaving some residents feeling uneasy.
The series of quakes might be the longest period of earthquake activity in the state’s history, officials said. But they don’t believe the spate of minor earthquakes is an indicator that a bigger quake could be on the way.
“Though the frequency of these minor earthquakes may alarm some, we do not expect a significantly damaging earthquake in South Carolina at this time, even though we know our state had them decades ago,” South Carolina EMD Director Kim Stenson previously said in a news release.
“Now is the time to review your insurance policies for earthquake coverage, secure any items in your home that may become hazards during a tremor and remember to drop, cover and hold on until the shaking passes. These are the precautions South Carolinians can take to properly prepare for earthquakes.”
The strongest earthquake ever recorded in South Carolina — and on the East Coast of the United States — was a devastating 7.3 in Charleston in 1886.
That quake killed 60 people and was felt over 2.5 million square miles, from Cuba to New York and Bermuda to the Mississippi River, according to the state EMD.
Reported earthquakes in SC in 2021-24
Date/Location |
Magnitude |
Depth (km) |
2021 |
||
Jan. 18/Dalzell |
2.1 |
6.9 |
Feb. 13/Summerville |
2.1 |
5.1 |
May 12/Heath Springs |
1.8 |
9.99 |
May 31/Summit |
2.6 |
1.7 |
May 31/Summit |
2.0 |
5.1 |
July 16/Ladson |
2.0 |
4.0 |
July 22/Ladson |
1.3 |
3.5 |
July 22/Ladson |
1.95 |
3.97 |
Aug. 21/Centerville |
1.75 |
1.97 |
Aug. 21/Centerville |
1.71 |
3.37 |
Sept. 27/Summerville |
2.8 |
6.0 |
Sept. 27/Summerville |
2.0 |
5.8 |
Sept. 27/Centerville |
3.3 |
6.8 |
Oct. 25/Jenkinsville |
2.2 |
3.8 |
Oct. 26/Jenkinsville |
1.8 |
0.0 |
Oct. 28/Jenkinsville |
1.8 |
1.8 |
Oct. 28/Jenkinsville |
1.7 |
0.0 |
Oct. 28/Jenkinsville |
2.1 |
4.2 |
Oct. 31/Jenkinsville |
2.3 |
0.1 |
Nov. 1/Jenkinsville |
2.0 |
5.1 |
Nov. 9/Centerville |
1.5 |
3.8 |
Nov. 16/Arial |
2.2 |
5.4 |
Dec. 20/Ladson |
1.1 |
2.8 |
Dec. 27/Lugoff |
3.3 |
3.2 |
Dec. 27/Lugoff |
2.5 |
2.4 |
Dec. 27/Elgin |
2.1 |
0.7 |
Dec. 27/Lugoff |
1.7 |
4.9 |
Dec. 29/Elgin |
2.3 |
1.6 |
Dec. 30/Elgin |
2.5 |
2.5 |
Dec. 30/Elgin |
2.4 |
3.8 |
2022 |
||
Jan. 3/Lugoff |
2.5 |
2.7 |
Jan. 5/Lugoff |
2.6 |
0.5 |
Jan. 5/Lugoff |
1.5 |
7.0 |
Jan. 9/Ladson |
1.4 |
2.9 |
Jan. 11/Elgin |
1.7 |
5.4 |
Jan. 11/Lugoff |
2.0 |
3.2 |
Jan. 11/Elgin |
1.3 |
5.0 |
Jan. 15/Elgin |
1.8 |
3.5 |
Jan. 19/Elgin |
1.9 |
5.0 |
Jan. 21/Elgin |
1.9 |
4.8 |
Jan. 27/Lugoff |
2.1 |
1.0 |
Feb. 2/Elgin |
1.5 |
3.9 |
March 4/Elgin |
1.8 |
2.8 |
March 9/Elgin |
2.2 |
3.6 |
March 11/Camden |
2.1 |
1.2 |
March 27/Lugoff |
2.1 |
1.9 |
March 28/Centerville |
0.9 |
2.9 |
April 7/Elgin |
2.0 |
2.9 |
April 8/Centerville |
1.6 |
3.6 |
April 22/Ladson |
1.1 |
3.5 |
April 22/Taylors |
2.2 |
2.3 |
May 9/Elgin |
3.3 |
3.1 |
May 9/Elgin |
1.6 |
2.9 |
May 9/Elgin |
1.78 |
4.1 |
May 9/Elgin |
2.1 |
3.7 |
May 9/Elgin |
2.9 |
5.6 |
May 10/Elgin |
2.3 |
3.9 |
May 10/Elgin |
2.8 |
6.2 |
May 19/Elgin |
1.8 |
2.5 |
May 21/Elgin |
1.9 |
5.6 |
June 26/Elgin |
1.88 |
4.09 |
June 29/Elgin |
3.5 |
2.64 |
June 29/Elgin |
1.88 |
2.92 |
June 29/Elgin |
3.6 |
2.95 |
June 29/Elgin |
1.79 |
2.07 |
June 29/Elgin |
1.51 |
3.72 |
June 29/Elgin |
1.46 |
1.93 |
June 29/Elgin |
2.06 |
2.22 |
June 30/Elgin |
2.32 |
3.09 |
June 30/Elgin |
1.44 |
2.8 |
June 30/Elgin |
2.03 |
3.11 |
June 30/Elgin |
2.15 |
2.56 |
June 30/Elgin |
2.06 |
1.92 |
June 30/Elgin |
1.49 |
2.46 |
July 1/Elgin |
1.55 |
3.37 |
July 1/Elgin |
2.11 |
3.83 |
July 1/Elgin |
1.26 |
3.3 |
July 1/Elgin |
1.68 |
4.02 |
July 2/Elgin |
2.09 |
1.65 |
July 3/Elgin |
1.9 |
2.1 |
July 3/Lugoff |
1.6 |
3.2 |
July 3/Elgin |
1.4 |
1.96 |
July 3/Elgin |
1.1 |
5.0 |
July 7/Elgin |
2.1 |
4.0 |
July 8/Elgin |
1.6 |
2.5 |
July 8/Elgin |
1.4 |
3.8 |
July 14/Elgin |
1.3 |
2.5 |
July 15/Elgin |
1.6 |
3.3 |
July 18/Elgin |
1.2 |
3.2 |
July 19/Elgin |
2.2 |
1.8 |
July 19/Elgin |
2.1 |
3.2 |
July 24/Lugoff |
2.3 |
2.4 |
July 25/Lugoff |
2.1 |
2.2 |
July 30/Elgin |
1.8 |
3.6 |
July 31/Elgin |
1.7 |
1.6 |
Aug. 3/Elgin |
1.8 |
3.0 |
Aug. 9/Boykin |
1.6 |
6.9 |
Aug. 15/Elgin |
1.5 |
3.6 |
Aug. 18/Homeland Park |
2.1 |
0.03 |
Aug. 27/Elgin |
1.3 |
2.4 |
Sept. 1/Centerville |
1.5 |
0.7 |
Sept. 21/Elgin |
1.9 |
3.2 |
Sept. 22/Lugoff |
1.4 |
1.5 |
Oct. 14/Elgin |
1.3 |
4.2 |
Oct. 30/Elgin |
2.5 |
0.02 |
Nov. 24/Elgin |
2.0 |
3.5 |
Dec. 9/Elgin |
1.7 |
2.4 |
2023 |
||
Jan. 10/Hopkins |
1.9 |
6.0 |
Jan. 18/Centerville |
1.4 |
8.8 |
Jan. 20/Lugoff |
1.8 |
4.5 |
Feb. 17/Cayce |
1.9 |
5.0 |
Feb. 17/Elgin |
2.4 |
2.4 |
Feb. 28/Elgin |
1.3 |
2.5 |
March 27/Winnsboro |
1.4 |
4.5 |
April 4/Cross Anchor |
1.6 |
11.5 |
June 5/Elgin |
1.72 |
3.6 |
June 20/Elgin |
2.0 |
3.4 |
July 24/Ladson |
2.5 |
6.4 |
Aug. 3/Six Mile |
1.9 |
5.6 |
Aug. 5/Summerville |
1.72 |
4.83 |
Oct. 6/Kershaw County |
2.2 |
2.9 |
Oct. 9/Elgin |
1.68 |
4.67 |
Nov. 17/Jenkinsville |
1.8 |
3.4 |
Nov. 19/Jenkinsville |
1.7 |
11.6 |
Nov. 21/Jenkinsville |
1.6 |
5.4 |
Nov. 26/Jenkinsville |
2.2 |
4.0 |
Nov. 26/Jenkinsville |
2.09 |
6.34 |
Nov. 27/Jenkinsville |
1.86 |
5.67 |
Nov. 29/Jenkinsville |
2.0 |
4.6 |
Nov. 29/Jenkinsville |
2.01 |
1.8 |
Nov. 30/Jenkinsville |
2.41 |
2.87 |
Dec. 13/Jenkinsville |
1.6 |
6.41 |
Dec. 22/Lugoff |
2.2 |
2.4 |
Dec. 28/Jenkinsville |
1.8 |
1.6 |
Dec. 30/Elgin |
2.1 |
4.4 |
2024 |
||
Jan. 8/Elgin |
2.1 |
3.2 |
Feb. 6/Lugoff |
1.7 |
1.7 |
March 9/Elgin |
2.83 |
2.86 |
March 9/Elgin |
1.3 |
1.5 |
March 17/Elgin |
1.9 |
2.9 |
March 24/Elgin |
2.1 |
4.9 |
March 27/Elgin |
2.2 |
6 |
April 6/Jenkinsville |
1.2 |
5.1 |
June 11/Lesslie |
2.2 |
2.8 |
Aug. 9/Elgin |
2.3 |
3.9 |
Aug. 26/Jackson |
1.9 |
0.7 |
Sept. 1/Parksville |
2.1 |
5.6 |
South-Carolina
Why South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer told freshmen ‘we are past that excuse’
![Why South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer told freshmen ‘we are past that excuse’ Why South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer told freshmen ‘we are past that excuse’](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/08/31/PNAS/75035181007-usatsi-24125601.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2699,1518,x0,y0&format=pjpg&width=1200)
COLUMBIA — South Carolina football won Saturday’s season opener against Old Dominion 23-19 at Williams-Brice Stadium, but it was far from a perfect game for the Gamecocks.
Coach Shane Beamer made it clear in his opening statement after the game that South Carolina will celebrate the win, but thought almost all three levels of play were full of mistakes.
“Unacceptable from us in the way we performed, starting with me,” Beamer said. “Winning is hard … sloppy without a doubt, on all three phases, lots to clean up … did some good, did some bad, so we have to coach better without a doubt.”
South Carolina was led by redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers at quarterback, and had true freshman on both sides of the field. Dylan Stewart, Josiah Thompson, Mazeo Bennett, and Michael Smith all played their first college game.
“We aren’t the only the school in the country playing true freshman and we have to put them in position to make plays.” Beamer said. “I told those guys coming out of half, you ain’t a freshman anymore, you played a half of SEC football, we are past that excuse.”
What Beamer did draw attention to was the Gamecocks’ self-inflicted errors, like dropped passes and penalties. The Gamecocks were called for two penalties that eliminated scoring chances, and only completed 10 passes for 114 yards. Sellers fumbled on a drive in the first quarter, and knocked over his own player while trying to block for running back Juju McDowell.
“Let’s not beat ourselves, I thought we had too much of that tonight,” Beamer said. “It start’s with us as coaches and we will do a better job of getting that cleaned up.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
South-Carolina
Gameday Guide: South Carolina vs. Old Dominion
![Gameday Guide: South Carolina vs. Old Dominion Gameday Guide: South Carolina vs. Old Dominion](https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/08/20134605/Untitled-design-810.png)
The South Carolina Gamecocks open the 2024 season by hosting Old Dominion on Saturday, Aug. 31.
GamecockCentral’s Gameday Guide features game info, TV, odds, notes, and more below!
Old Dominion (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) @ South Carolina (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
When: Aug. 31, 2024 – 4:15 ET
Where: Columbia, S.C. – Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559)
Broadcast: SEC Network (Dave Neal, Aaron Murray, Ashley ShahAmadi)
Local Radio: Gamecock Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Chet Tucker)
Satellite Radio: Sirius/XM Channel 106 or 190
Odds: South Carolina -21
Weather: 92°, Sunny
ALSO SEE: South Carolina football recruiting visitors for the Old Dominion game
Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | App | YouTube | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster | Depth Chart | Commit List
South Carolina vs. Old Dominion Preview Content
How to watch today’s game
As South Carolina kicks off the 2024 season Saturday against Old Dominion, SEC Network will carry all the action from the 4:15 p.m. kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The SEC Network is available nationwide from every major cable, satellite, and streaming provider.
GC LIVE: Gamecocks vs. Old Dominion Preview
Watch on YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS feed
Quick notes from South Carolina Athletics
QUICKLY: The South Carolina Gamecocks begin the fourth year of the Shane Beamer Era in non-conference fashion when they host the Old Dominion Monarchs out of the Sun Belt Conference at Williams- Brice Stadium (77,559) in Columbia, S.C. on Saturday, Aug. 31. Game time has been set for 4:15 pm ET.
OVER THE AIRWAVES: The 2024 season opener will be televised on the SEC Network. Long-time SEC play-by-play voice Dave Neal will call the action, with former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray providing the color commentary. Ashley ShahAmadi will patrol the sidelines. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock great quarterbacks in Todd Ellis (33rd season) and Tommy Suggs (52nd season) in the booth. Chet Tucker returns for his second season as the network’s sideline reporter.
A LITTLE HISTORY: 2024 marks year four of the Shane Beamer Era and the 131st season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 118th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 634-613-44, a .508 winning percentage. Since the start of the 21st century, the Gamecocks have posted a 168-131 record, a .562 winning clip. In three seasons under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 20-18, a .526 winning percentage.
[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-LSU football game]
OPENING REMARKS: Through 130 years of intercollegiate football, the Gamecocks have compiled an 86- 40-4 record in season openers, a winning percentage of .677. In the 97 seasons in which the Gamecocks have opened at home, the record is a very impressive 73-20-4, which translates into a .773 winning mark. In 28 seasons in which the Gamecocks have opened on the road, they are 10-18 for a .357 winning pct. South Carolina opened the 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2023 seasons at a neutral site, posting a 3-2 record in those five contests. Carolina has won all three of its home openers under Coach Beamer.
IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2024 season will mark South Carolina’s 33rd year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the SEC prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 109-148-1 (.424) all-time in SEC regular season play but posted a 42-38 (.525) record in conference action from 2010-19. Under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 10-14 in SEC play, a .417 winning percentage.
YOU’RE SIXTEEN: The Southeastern Conference will take on a new look in 2024 with the addition of blue blood programs in Texas and Oklahoma. The Gamecocks will not face the Longhorns in 2024 but will travel to Norman for their first encounter with the Sooners on Oct. 19. With the additions of the two schools, the league will no longer be divided into two divisions, but rather just one 16-team conference with the top two finishers advancing to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game on Dec. 7.
TOUGH SLATE: South Carolina has one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2024, as seven of its 12 regular-season opponents are ranked in the nation’s preseason top 20. The Gamecocks’ 2024 slate includes contests against Alabama (5/5), Ole Miss (6/6), Missouri (11/11), LSU (13/12), Clemson (14/14), Oklahoma (16/16), and Texas A&M (20/20).
Other resources from Gamecock Central: News | App | YouTube | Schedule | Future Opponents | Scholarship Breakdown | Roster | Depth Chart | Commit List
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