How soon will South Carolina’s athletes start wearing Nike jerseys?
It’s official: South Carolina will be a Nike school. The Gamecocks, as of next summer, are leaving Under Armour after 20 years with the Baltimore-based athletic apparel brand.
The University of South Carolina board of trustees approved the change Friday. The Gamecocks’ agreement with Under Armour, however, doesn’t officially expire until June 30, 2026. This means USC athletes will wear Under Armour gear through the end of the current school year.
Fans and athletes alike will be clamoring to rock the iconic Swoosh as soon as possible. Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati presented a few model Nike football jerseys at Friday’s trustees meeting, but when will we see South Carolina athletes in Nike jerseys for the first time?
Donati said any official first looks will have to wait until the contract becomes official July 1, 2026.
“We’re a proud Under Armour school until we make the transition,” he said.
As for when fans can get their hands on Nike gear, Auburn’s timeline might be a good barometer. Its deal with Nike kicked in July 1, but apparel wasn’t made available for sale until July 25.
Donati’s message to fans was a plea for patience.
“That’s one thing that fans don’t understand — they think uniform redesigns are something you just kind of do over the weekend,” Donati said. “It takes probably a full year to execute that.”
In addition to a full redesign of the football and women’s basketball uniforms over the first four years of the deal, the contract term sheet released by the university includes promises of a specialty alternate uniform for Gamecock football.
The term sheet describes the alternates as a “bespoke alt football uniform as part of an energy program including more than 15 elite college football programs.” The uniforms are promised to be rolled out during the first five years of the contract, or USC will receive $10 million in cash instead.
While initial rollout of Nike uniforms and apparel is just under a year away, it seems USC and Nike have big plans for the next era of Gamecock uniforms.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 11:02 AM.