First look at Gamecocks Nike gear, jerseys that USC fans can buy
Just over 10 months ago, following the South Carolina Board of Trustees meeting that approved the Gamecocks’ to transition from Under Armour to Nike, USC’s Board Chair, President and Athletic Director stood for a photo op holding up mockups of South Carolina Nike jerseys.
On Wednesday, that transition became official and, well, the jerseys that fans can buy and in-store look almost identical to those held up at the board meeting. Which is also to say that South Carolina’s Nike football jerseys look eerily similar to the Gamecocks’ Under Armour uniforms, save for the material and the Swoosh.
To be clear: That is not a bad thing — there were minimal complaints about the Under Armour jerseys South Carolina wore over the past few years. And change will eventually come. Per its contract with USC, Nike agreed to do a full redesign of at least three football jerseys by 2030.
We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
As for Nike’s initial rollout, a few things to note:
- This will certainly be a hot topic on Wednesday: The shade of garnet used by Nike is, um, different. It’s a lighter tone than Under Armour’s garnet, which causes some “garnet” items to appear closer to Alabama’s shade of “crimson” and others closer to Georgia’s “Bulldog Red.” It varies based upon the fabric and, of course, the base color (All-garnet apparel makes the lighter shade stand out. Meanwhile, the garnet looks closer to the Under Armour version on black- and white-based items).
- You may be asking, how is this possible? The most likely answer: Nike assigns its schools to a color “team” — there is a “Team Crimson”, a “Team University Red,” etc. It probably matched South Carolina with the team — and color — it thought was closest to South Carolina’s official garnet (Pantone 203), which seems to be “Team Crimson.” With that being said, South Carolina’s colors have gone through slight tweaks in the past. This is nothing new; and if you stand around the Nike merchandise long enough, you will convince yourself it looks like it came from another school, stand there longer and then debate if it even looks that much different.
- This is not the full shebang — there are hoards of unique items that still have not been delivered. Like most (if not all retailers), Gamecock Traditions in Lexington has yet to receive its shipment of hats, save for kids caps and visors. And while they have a handful of polos on their racks, there’s still more than a dozen styles that have yet to arrive. Be patient. More stuff is on the way.
- A logo that Nike seems to be brining back is the old-school rooster head that has been featured prominently with The Cockpit, USC’s student section. That logo was a part of Nike’s vault collection for South Carolina, which included other retro logos, and was featured on a large quantity of items at Gamecock Traditions.
- The jerseys for all non-football sports will be released closer to each sport’s start date, so you might have to wait a few months to snag a South Carolina Nike basketball jersey and even longer for a Gamecocks’ Nike baseball jersey.
- As of now, it is unlikely that South-Carolina-specific Nike shoes will be available this year.
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 12:02 AM.
