COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gamecocks football coach Shane Beamer has gotten a big raise that more than doubles his salary.
The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees approved the new five year, $33 million a year deal Friday afternoon. Beamer previously had been making $2.75 million a year. It also extends the length of his deal out to 2027.
While a significant pay bump, he still trails some of the league’s highest paid coaches, including Alabama’s Nick Saban ($11.7 million average a year) and Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($11.2 million average a year). Among SEC coaches, he rises from the 13th highest paid to the 10th highest paid. (In case you’re wondering–and many Palmetto State fans do–Clemson’s Dabo Swinney made $10.5 million last year).
Beamer just completed his second season at Carolina which saw the Gamecocks post an 8-5 overall record. Most significantly, the team posted back to back wins over top 10 teams for the first time in program history. First, they shocked the college football world with a 63-38 win over then fifth-ranked Tennessee The following week, it was arch-rival Clemson’s time to fall to USC, 31-30 up in Clemson.
The victory over the Tigers was their first in the bitter rivalry in nine years. Overall, the Gamecocks are 15-11 in Beamer’s first two years on the job.
The school also approved contracts for a number of assistant coaches, including Special Teams Coordinator Pete Lembo.
Beamer named the South Carolina coach back on December 6, 2020. Beamer is the son of legendary Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer, and was born in Charleston, South Carolina when his dad was an assistant coach at The Citadel in the late 70s.
He’d previously been a member Steve Spurrier’s coaching staff from 2007 to 2010. During his tenure, he helped bring in players such as Alshon Jeffrey, Melvin Ingram, Marcus Lattimore, and Connor Shaw–stars who would go on to lead the program to its first SEC Eastern Division title followed by three straight season of 11 wins, a program record.