There will be free food at upcoming Gamecocks basketball games. Check out when
As we all know, our wallets can take a hit during the Christmas season.
But the University of South Carolina men’s and women’s basketball teams have a way you can save a few bucks and satisfy your cravings, and catch some holiday hoops.
USC announced that it will be offering free concessions at select upcoming basketball games at Colonial Life Arena. Those include the men’s games against South Carolina State at 4 p.m. Dec. 22 and Albany at 6 p.m. Dec. 30, as well as the women’s game against Providence at noon on Dec. 28.
This marks the rekindling of a holiday promotion that has been popular at Gamecocks hoops games in recent years. The free food idea debuted at Colonial Life Arena in Dec. 2023, and led The State’s Jordan Kaye to document his journey of eating 10 hot dogs in a single afternoon. We never got an update on the next day aftermath of that feat, but Jordan still lives, so all is well.
This year’s free concessions promotion will include hot dogs, popcorn, fountain drinks and bottled water, according to USC. Fans will need to have the Forever Garnet app downloaded on their phones in order to get the free offerings. It’s available in the Apple and Google Play app stores.
The university notes that for each transaction, fans can get one hot dog, popcorn and one regular fountain soda or bottled water for each ticket they have for that game. You can go back to the concession stands as many times as you like. The free food promotion will end at the under 12-minute media timeout in the second half of the applicable men’s games, and at the end of the third quarter of the women’s game against Providence.
Coach Dawn Staley’s women’s team is off to a roaring start as the Gamecocks once again have their eyes on competing for an SEC championship and a run to the Final Four. The women are ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and have a 9-1 record as of Dec. 12, with the lone blemish being 66-64 loss to No. 2 Texas on Thanksgiving night.
The results have been more mixed for Coach Lamont Paris’ men’s team, which sat at 6-3 as of Dec. 12, though they have a 6-1 mark at home in the friendly confines of Colonial Life Arena. The team has been buoyed by the return of guard Meechie Johnson, who transferred back to USC from Ohio State this season, and the feisty play of a promising freshman class led by Eli Ellis.
