USC Upstate Division I

USC Upstate + Atlantic Sun = A Winning Combination

The University of South Carolina Upstate accepted an official invitation from the Atlantic Sun Conference to become the league’s 12th member beginning with the 2007-08 season. This puts the USC Upstate Spartans one step closer in its journey towards reclassifying to National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I.

Dr. John Stockwell, chancellor of USC Upstate, addresses the gathering at the press conference to announce USC Upstate's move to Division I in 2007-08 and acceptance of the invitation to join the Atlantic Sun Conference. A-Sun commissioner Bill Bibb (immediate right) and Senior Associate Commissioner Ted Gumbart (far right) look on.

Athletic Overview

The USC Upstate athletics department is a diverse, dynamic, and widely successful arm of the university, one that promotes teamwork, leadership, and an overall sense of community both on campus and in the greater Upstate region of South Carolina.

USC Upstate boasts a widely successful athletics program, one that has achieved tremendous success both on the playing fields and in the classroom. From the early days as a two-year institution, through the years as the university became a four-year institution and a member of NAIA in the 1970’s and continuing through the 1980’s, and continuing to today as a member of the NCAA as a Division II member, USC Upstate athletics has a proud history of success.

The men’s basketball program claimed the 1982 NAIA National Championship and the university’s other athletic teams built a strong foundation. With the desire to compete in the nation’s highest quality sports organization, USC Upstate moved its athletic teams to NCAA and Division II status in 1990. Since the move, USC Upstate has made 31 appearances in NCAA Tournaments, won 21 Peach Belt Conference regular season championships and 18 Peach Belt Conference Tournament titles, and its student-athletes have received 27 All-America and 198 All-Conference honors.

Off the field, USC Upstate athletics has also enjoyed tremendous success. Two of its student-athletes have been named the NCAA Woman of the Year for South Carolina and two student-athletes have won the university’s Earl Gordon Service Medal for exemplary community service. The athletics department averages over 60 selections to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Academic Honor Roll awarded to students with a 3.0 or better grade point average. The GPA’s of the student-athletes have continued to improve in each of the last eight semesters. In the fall of 2005 alone, over half of the university’s 170 student-athletes earned a 3.0 GPA or better and every team GPA was above a 2.7. Committed to diversity, the athletics department has received the university Tapestry Award for Diversity four times.

USC Upstate and its athletics program are committed to change. The Louis P. Howell Athletic Complex is the home to six of the eight outdoor athletic programs currently offered at the institution – men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s tennis. Cyrill Stadium, the home of the softball program, earned the NFCA/TURFACE National Field Maintenance Award for 2006 and was named the 2005 Field of the Year in South Carolina. The total cost of the athletic complex exceeded $6 million and followed a $2.5 million expansion and renovation of the Hodge Center, home to the volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball programs. Planning and design of a track and field complex and golf practice facility is underway.

In addition to the facility improvements, the USC Upstate athletics department has begun a new campaign of raising funding for its athletic programs by launching the Spartans Athletic Association. Geared at supplementing the existing athletic budgets, the Spartans Athletic Association has the ability to increase the experience of the student-athletes by providing them with the needed support to not only find success on the field, but also become successful students in the classroom and citizens within the community.

A Proud Athletic History

1982 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship

Since joining NCAA Division II in 1991…

31 NCAA Tournament Appearances
27 All-Americans
Four Peach Belt Conference Commissioner Cup Championships
21 Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championships
18 Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championships
198 Peach Belt Conference All-Conference Selections
123 Peach Belt Conference All-Tournament Selections
Two NCAA South Carolina Woman of the Year Selections
Two USC Upstate Earl Gordon Medal for Service Selections
Four University Tapestry Awards for Diversity
Cyrill Softball Stadium named 2006 National NFCA/TURFACE Field Maintenance Award and 2005 South Carolina Field of the Year
Student-Athletes have averaged over 60 selections to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Academic Honor Roll

Just this year…

Six of the 11 Teams Competed in NCAA Tournaments
11 Peach Belt Conference All-Conference Selections
8 Peach Belt Conference All-Tournament Selections
7 All-Region Selections
4 All-Americans

Our current coaching staff has won over 1,600 games, including…

Chris Hawkins (Softball) – 400 Victory Milestone
Eddie Payne (Men’s Basketball) – 300 Victory Milestone
Greg Hooks (Men’s Soccer) – 250 Victory Milestone
Jennifer Calloway (Volleyball) – 200 Victory Milestone
Alessandro De Marzo (Men’s and Women’s Tennis) 50 Victory Milestone