What Tim ‘Pops’ Frisby is up to 14 years after his improbable story with Gamecocks
When Tim Frisby sees his old South Carolina football teammates, it doesn’t feel as if 14 years have gone by.
It’s not quite the length of his military career, the one he finished before he returned to college in the early 2000s and made the Gamecocks roster as a 39-year-old walk-on. His story made national news, as he played for Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier before earning his degree.
And now he’s found a role that fits his forte: helping others as part of South Carolina’s state government.
“I run the state’s Military Valance program,” Frisby said. “We provide legal assistance and stuff to all military, all former military, but more so retirees and their dependents, and former military, who need legal assistance, who need help with wills, power of attorneys, with expungements and things of that nature.”
He didn’t find that role immediately after finishing his degree in public relations and journalism out of school, but instead started out in the human resources field (something he did in the Army) and then transitioned into the Department of Social Services.
It was working there that he was tabbed by the state attorney general for a role that could blend his military background, skill set and recognition, which allows him to give a public-facing face to the program.
“A lot of people don’t realize a lot of military people, some have mental illnesses, some are strapped financially because they suffer from different things, the Veterans Administration type stuff,” Frisby said. “So it’s hard for me to get services out there, so we provide that at the state level for them.”
Now at age 55, the father of six looks back fondly at his time putting on the garnet and black. He still talks often with teammates, the same ones who were more than 15 years his junior when he arrived on campus.
Teammate Syvelle Newton remembered Frisby working hard like any other freshman. He didn’t act differently and they didn’t treat him differently.
“It was very interesting, very also inspiring to see someone who everyone would say is too old to be playing the game and maybe shouldn’t even be taking the risk that Tim, that Pops was,” Newton said. “Pops just gave us inspiration daily. He kept the meeting rooms very fun. We’d laugh. We’d joke.”
Frisby noted the alumni functions that started late in the Spurrier era and have kept going strong under Will Muschamp have allowed them to keep up. He felt a family vibe not only with those who were around, but also players such as Erik Kimrey, who played before him, and Marcus Lattimore or Alshon Jeffery, who came after him.
“I definitely appreciated and benefited from playing for two Hall of Fame coaches,” Frisby said. “And just the relationships you build, both with students and with athletes along the way.
“Carolina was a great place, a great choice I made to come here. Just full of memories.”
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 1:15 PM.
