Look who was there to greet Frank Martin and the Gamecocks to Gainesville

Steve Spurrier fulfilled his duties as an ambassador successfully Wednesday.

The winningest college football coach in the history of the University of South Carolina now serves as an ambassador for the University of Florida, his alma mater.

It looks like he made Frank Martin feel welcome Wednesday, as Spurrier took time to chat with his former USC colleague. It was certainly a warmer welcome than the 20th-ranked Gators and their fans provided to the South Carolina men’s basketball coach.

Martin’s Gamecocks were in Gainesville for an important SEC showdown with their longtime rivals, a game USC won 77-72.

During an afternoon shoot around, Spurrier took time to pay a visit to Martin. They, along with women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley and former baseball coach-turned-athletic director Ray Tanner were among the most prominent USC employees before Spurrier resigned as HBC midway through the 2015 season.

Spurrier was known to be a big basketball fan when he coached in Columbia. He was frequently spotted at men’s and women’s basketball games, vocally supported the programs and built relationships with Martin and Staley.

In addition to the former HBC, it was another Spurrier that gave a special welcome a different member of the Gamecocks contingent. Derek Scott, the radio voice of the Gamecocks, posted on Twitter about a nice reunion with Spurrier’s wife, Jerri Spurrier.

“Jerri still gives the best hugs on the planet,” Scott tweeted.

This was the first time USC and Florida had played since the Gamecocks beat the Gators in the Elite Eight of last season’s NCAA Tournament. At that time, Spurrier was publicly coy about who he was rooting for to win and advance to the Final Four.

To the delight of Gamecocks around the world, USC prevailed that time.

Spurrier coached collegiately for 26 years at Duke, Florida and South Carolina, compiling a 228-89-2 record. He won the 1996 national championship as the Gators’ coach. Spurrier led the Gamecocks to their only SEC East title, three consecutive 11-win seasons and was 86-49 in 10 1/2 years at the school.

Spurrier, who won the 1966 Heisman Trophy as Florida’s quarterback, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986 and as a coach in 2017. He’s the fourth person to be elected to the Hall as both a player and a coach.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 6:20 PM with the headline "Look who was there to greet Frank Martin and the Gamecocks to Gainesville."