The story behind The Cockpit: South Carolina’s student section is now its own brand
South Carolina’s student section has been called “The Cockpit” for years. Now, it’s grown from a word-of-mouth moniker to an official brand.
In this Saturday’s football season opener between South Carolina and Eastern Illinois, The Cockpit will make its first appearance in Williams-Brice Stadium as a university-branded student section.
What exactly will The Cockpit entail? At its simplest, it’s what the student section at each South Carolina event will be called. In terms of communication, USC is now using The Cockpit name in its rewards app for students who attend games, as well as its Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Eric Nichols, director of marketing and branding for USC athletics, said the school will be rolling out “physical representation” across stadiums and arenas.
The brand is catching on across the athletics department. The Cockpit is already becoming part of first-year head football coach Shane Beamer’s vocabulary.
“I know I can count on The Cockpit in Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday night,” Beamer said. “I know they will bring it, fired up to see those guys at it.”
There’s also new merchandise for The Cockpit. Students who pay a $35 yearly membership in the Student Gamecock Club receive a garnet Under Armour T-shirt with a rooster illustration over “The Cockpit” name.
Nichols said putting official recognition to The Cockpit was intended to create an identity for students attending all Gamecock sports events.
“We have a really great student section in all of our venues, which is a bit unusual,” Nichols told The State. “Most people have good student sections at maybe one or two sports, but I think the fact that we have broad-based student success, we felt there was an opportunity to brand all of them the same.”
The Gamecock Club website has an online form available for current students to apply for the Cockpit leadership team, working alongside the athletics department.
“It’s not a one-and-done thing,” Nichols said. “We intend for this to be the brand that only grows over time.”
South Carolina kicks off its football season in Williams-Brice Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday The game will not be on traditional TV, but it will be available for streaming on SEC Network Plus and ESPN+.
