COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer is a little more than a week away from his first preseason camp as the head coach of the Gamecocks.
That means with the days dwindling down before the August grind begins, Beamer is using some evenings to speak directly to the fans. Monday night, the coach was at the Traditions Club at Williams-Brice Stadium where the Welcome Home Tour returned with members of the Richland County and Lexington County Gamecock Clubs showing up to the stadium for autographs, pictures and a chance to hear directly from Beamer.
Beamer was asked by members of the media about the biggest news in college athletics. The new NIL rule is no longer the lead story as Texas and Oklahoma have infomed the Big 12 they will not be renewing their grants of media rights after their expiration in 2025. The two schools issued a joint letter informing the Big 12 of their intention to leave the conference while fulfilling their existing agreements.
Meanwhile, Beamer – a former Oklahoma assistant – was asked about the huge domino of Texas and Oklahoma likely leaving the Big 12 for the SEC.
“I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t been on Twitter all day today. We’ve got enough going on at the office, to keep me busy with our program. Obviously, a lot happening in college football right now, across college athletics,” Beamer said Monday night at the Welcome Home Tour.
“Still trying to figure out what’s what, what’s real and what’s not real. Saw some of the news today. I’ll be honest with you, I’ve talked to nobody at Oklahoma. I’ve talked to nobody other than the golf coach. The golf coach is a really good friend of mine, he called me, but I haven’t talked to anyone else. Really haven’t talked to anyone here at Carolina. We’re just worried about what we can control here at South Carolina and that’s getting ready to start practice next week.”