Posted on 07.07.08

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Steve Wiseman

Sports Writer

swiseman@thestate.com
(803) 771-8472

ONCE MORE WITH some extra pizzazz and, more importantly, more certainty.

South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier’s Web site, spurrierhbc.com, re-launches today under the Gamecock Sports Properties umbrella.

The site originally went up last season, charging $99.95 a year to get USC football information directly from Spurrier. But the site stayed up for only a few months before its operator, Greenville-based Champion Technologies, ceased operations in February.

Since then, the site has been populated with highlight videos and other tidbits from last season.

Today, however, the site is back online for a much cheaper price.

One-year subscriptions for new customers are $49.95 with month-by-month plans available for $4.95.

Customers who signed up for a year’s worth of coverage last year, only to see the site basically go dark, will get this year’s subscription for no additional cost. Customers who signed up for three-month subscriptions (which cost $29.95) on or after Jan. 1 will receive free access to the site through Sept. 30.

The site is no longer selling three-month plans. The existing usernames and passwords for one-year and qualifying three-month subscribers will get them back on to the site.

“When the site went dark, they didn’t get their money’s worth,” said Derek Scott, Gamecock Sports Properties’ assistant general manager. “We’ve got to give people proof that the site is something they can count and is worth their time and money.”

Rebuilding the site has not been easy, Scott said. When the old site went down, the server was lost, wiping out nearly all the content.

“On some levels, we are starting from scratch,” Scott said.

The site will feature a staple of last year’s site: the ‘Ask HBC’ section, where fans type their questions and get them answered by Spurrier. The video playbook also returns as Spurrier and his assistants break down key plays from the most-recent game to give fans an inside look.

That peek behind the scenes will be a major theme on the revamped site, Scott said.

“These are things that you are not going to find other places,” he said.

Planned features include having Spurrier miked up while playing a round of golf plus construction updates on the expansion of the team’s training room at Williams-Brice Stadium. Scott said a member of the training staff will talk about what the improvements will mean for USC’s athletes.

All of this is in addition to the usual highlights, interviews, blogs and photos.

Today’s re-launch is just the beginning. By the time two-a-day workouts are ending in late August, the site will be redesigned. Scott said Gamecocks Sports Properties decided to re-launch ahead of the re-design because waiting until after practice to have the site populated with new material would be a disservice to USC’s fans who crave information.

By the time the season begins Aug. 28 with a home game against North Carolina State at Williams-Brice Stadium, the site’s new look should be available.

“The site will have a completely different look,” Scott said. “We’ll make it easier to navigate and have a brighter look to it.”