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THROUGHOUT YOUR TIME here at USC, you will start to feel like there is no better atmosphere at a sporting event than the ones here in Columbia. In the fall, Saturdays in South Carolina are meant to be spent in WilliamsBrice Stadium. The winter doesn’t feel cold while waving rally towels for the women’s basketball team in Colonial Life Arena, and the spring is designed for days watching walk-off wins at Founders Park. Cheer on the Gamecocks’ 21 varsity sports teams with no additional costs for students.

“I love the connection that sporting events bring us; it helps build community,” said Erin Lewantowicz, a student intern for the Athletic Department. “There is truly no place like Willy-B under the lights. I think it is really cool how so many people can come together for one team!”

The University of South Carolina is one of two schools in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) that offers free tickets to students, with the other being Vanderbilt. Tickets for all Carolina sporting events are included in tuition for all full-time undergraduate students, while part-time and graduate students can pay an optional athletic event fee to receive the same access. Other SEC schools charge students upwards of $300 for football season tickets, so this is definitely a significant perk for Carolina students eager to experience college athletics.

“Because of the free tickets and the demand, we have the point system to award tickets,” Assistant Athletic Director Joe O’Clair said. “Since students have to attend other athletic events to earn points, it helps us increase attendance at those sports and create a better home field/court experience.”

Students can gain entry to most Carolina sporting events by simply showing their CarolinaCard, which the school issues during orientation. There is a request-and-claim system in place for football, basketball and baseball due to the high demand for tickets to these events. The Cockpit Rewards app is essential for all students, and it shows upcoming events for all sports teams, the point amount needed to go, and the point amount earned once you attend the event.

Reward points are how the university chooses which students earn tickets for high-demand football, basketball and baseball games. Students with the highest amounts of points receive tickets first, and and allocation continues in descending order until all tickets for the student sections are distributed. If tickets go unclaimed, those will later be distributed as well. Students receive their first set of points at the beginning of the school year based on grade level: freshmen receive three points, sophomores receive four points, juniors receive six points and seniors receive eight points.

By Madison Lee

The process for claiming tickets varies per sport, but all information can be found on the Student Tickets section on the USC website: sc.edu/studenttickets.

Football Claiming Process:

Ticket requests for football games will open Friday at 9 a.m. the week before the home game and run until 3 p.m. on Tuesday the week of the game. Going through the request process does not guarantee a ticket to the game. Tickets are awarded based on reward point amounts. On Wednesday at 10 a.m., students will receive an email notification of their awarded ticket, which will be loaded into their student ticket accounts. These will be either upper-level or lower-level based on reward points. Lower-level ticket distribution starts with the highest amount of points and works downwards until all allocated tickets are given out. Then the upper-level tickets will be distributed to the remaining students. The upper-level student section is in sections 508 and 509, while the lower level is in the end zone.

For students who don’t receive a ticket through the request process, the on-demand period will start Thursday at 3 p.m. Tickets will be firstcome, first-served, so it is crucial to request quickly.

The closer you are to graduation, the more points you receive, but that does not guarantee game tickets. You must continue earning points to continue getting tickets and to get the best tickets available. Points are also achieved by attending any sporting events. All matches earn you at least one point, and SEC matchups award two points for attending. Students can pay to join the Gamecock Student Club to earn additional points and a Cockpit T-shirt. At the end of each school year, 10% of the points a student earns will roll over to the following year. In the fall, football season comes around very quickly, and points are needed to attend home games at Willy-B. Both soccer and volleyball start in early August, so attending these is an easy way to earn rewards points to help ensure underclassmen receive tickets to football games that are early in the season.

If you cannot attend the game, you must return your ticket by 5 p.m. on Friday. Students who fail to do so will receive a penalty strike on their account. Students who wish to bring a guest can purchase a guest ticket when they request their student ticket. However, guest tickets will always be in the upper level requiring the student who bought them to be placed in the upper deck. The price of guest tickets will vary by game.

Basketball and Baseball Claiming Process: Basketball and baseball tickets can be claimed any time before the game using the Cockpit Rewards app. Just select the game you wish to attend and click “claim ticket.” Present the barcode given to gain admission into the event.