Williams-Brice upgraded with recruiting in mind

South Carolina recruits’ gameday gateway into Williams-Brice Stadium has a new look just in time for the 2017 season.

The entrance for prospective student-athletes near the stadium’s southwest corner has been upgraded with a black backdrop, a “Welcome to Gamecock Country” sign and a photo of USC football great Jadeveon Clowney.

“We’re always trying to improve our brand and what we can do,” coach Will Muschamp said. “The new entrance side was another way to show off our stadium and make it a little more appealing as you enter the weight room and the Crews facility, where we house all of our recruits on gameday.”

The cost of the enhancements was $125,000, with a single donor making the contribution.

The recruit gate concept came with the addition of the Springs Brooks Plaza that surrounds Williams-Brice.

“The entrance and exit side was an issue with compliance,” Muschamp said. “You can’t really have the recruits mingling with fans, with our boosters. That was an issue there. That’s why that was created.”

The new signage appears to be the largest cosmetic change for the home of the Gamecocks this year. A new Block C logo was added on the exterior of the south end zone.

An in-house DJ will be part of the gameday experience for 2017, and that also has an element of recruiting to it.

“Everyone’s pulling the same direction that recruiting is our No. 1 focus,” Eric Nichols, the school’s senior associate athletics director for marketing and branding, told The State last week in relation to the new DJ. “With that being the direction, it’s a natural fit.”

Muschamp confirmed that the DJ concept was embraced by current players and recruits.

“During the game, when we normally played music is when the DJ will play, when the band is not playing,” Muschamp said. “It’s not going to affect our band at all and that part of our game-day atmosphere, which I think is fantastic.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Williams-Brice upgraded with recruiting in mind."