Former South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier Headlines 2026 SC Athletic Hall of Fame Class

South Carolina's "Head Ball Coach" Steve Spurrier will be honored among the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame Class.

Clemson interim head coach Dabo Swinney, right, shakes hands with South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier before the start of their game Saturday, November 29, 2008 at Clemson's Memorial Stadium. Clemson South Carolina Football | BART BOATWRIGHT/Staff, Bart Boatwright

Former South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, also known as the "head ball coach", will headline this year's South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame class. Spurrier spent nearly 11 seasons from 2005-2015 with the Gamecocks and amassed an 86-49 record.

Spurrier's 86 wins is the most by any South Carolina coach in history. He also has the only 11-win seasons in program history and did it three straight seasons from 2011-2013. Those seasons were the first double digit win Gamecocks squads since 1984.

South Carolina fans enjoyed some great wins with Spurrier as head coach. In 2007, following a loss to the eventual national champion LSU Tigers, the Gamecocks were back home to take on the eighth ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Spurrier's Gamecocks came away with a 38-23 victory that evening. But perhaps the defining win of the Spurrier era in Columbia was against number one Alabama in 2010.

The Tide were rolling at the time before coming into hostile territory at Williams-Brice Stadium. Fresh off a national title winning season, Nick Saban's Alabama squad was 5-0 on the year and looking like one of the more dominating teams in the country. Spurrier's talented Gamecocks team led from early on in the first and never looked back coming away with a 35-21 victory that afternoon.

Honoring the 'Ole Ball Coach

Legendary USC football coach Steve Spurrier headlines 2026 SC Athletic Hall of Fame inductees https://t.co/zlVvUHrNDB

— FOX Carolina News (@foxcarolinanews) January 21, 2026

Spurrier headlines a class that includes Clemson pitcher Brian Barnes, Clemson SID Tim Bourret, Coastal Carolina's Amber Campbell, Clemson women's basketball coach Jim Davis, Appalachian State QB Armanti Edwards, SC State DB Dwayne Harper, Bob Jenkins, South Carolina's Andrew Provence, and Saudia Roundtree.

Spurrier's legendary career includes a Heisman as a player at Florida, and success as a head coach with both Florida and South Carolina. He retired in 2015 with a 228-89-2 record all time.

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