How much will USC’s move to Nike impact recruiting? It depends who you ask
South Carolina’s long-awaited apparel transition from Under Armour to Nike is about a month way.
Product will soon be arriving in Columbia. Plans for the July 1 change-over will soon be made. And Gamecock fans will soon be buying garnet-and-black gear with a swoosh.
While the deal between South Carolina and Nike — a 10-year partnership that guarantees, among other things, South Carolina receiving $70 million in product and $5 million cash — is lucrative, there is also built-in cache that the Nike brand provides, something that would seemingly only help with recruiting.
When asked at SEC Spring Meetings how much Nike comes up in his conversations with recruits, Gamecocks football coach Shane Beamer responded instantly.
“A lot. A lot,” he told The State. “They’re aware and I think there’s a lot of excitement with recruits that we’re going to Nike. ... Nothing against Under Armour, but with the majority of recruits I talk to, Nike is a major selling point with them.”
While the switch to Nike seems to be a major factor with the recruits Beaemer speaks with, the South Carolina basketball coaches offered different perspectives.
“When you pick your spouse, maybe you hope she can cook, too,” USC men’s basketball coach Lamont Paris said. “But there’s a lot of other things that go in there. You’re not picking them because the cooking, but if they can then you’re like, ‘Great! I was hoping.’
“Like, there are a lot of other, more-substantial reasons a person picks their spouse.”
In other words: Nike is awesome. Cash is better.
South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, who’s been a Nike athlete for over 30 years, said the switch will be an “added bonus.” But ...
“When it’s all said and done, it’s not gonna sway (a recruitment),” Staley said. “Bottom line: It’s money. ... I mean, we got basically every kid we wanted when we were (with) Under Armour.”
This is not just an apparel discussion. In the current NIL age, money often outranks the traditional recruiting pitches: Uniforms, locker rooms, stadiums, quality of education, etc.
But if all else is equal — or rather, multiple schools in the same conference offer a recruit the same amount of money — Nike is only going to be a positive for South Carolina.
“Trust me, (recruits and current players) are glad. They’re glad,” Paris said. “I certainly think it’ll help. I certainly don’t think it detracts in any of our efforts.”
For the women’s basketball team, too, the Nike partnership will allow the Gamecocks to become intertwined with former USC star A’ja Wilson’s branding.
“I don’t think any other school is gonna get what we’re gonna get when it comes to A’ja and her legacy,” Staley said. “All the things that make her special are all the things that will make our program more special.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
