South Carolina didn’t just struggle on the field last year. The Gamecocks’ 4-8 finish to the 2025 campaign came with a 33% drop in alcohol sales. That includes other sports as well. However, the reasons for the drop aren’t limited to what the fans were seeing from their team.

According to a report by The State, South Carolina Athletics saw a roughly $3 million decrease in gross alcohol sales across major sports, from a record high of $9 million in 2024–25 to approximately $6 million. This drop is significant because it occurred during a period of strong fan engagement, with scanned ticket attendance at Williams-Brice Stadium averaging over 63,000 fans per game, a 9% increase over 2023 levels.

Despite the high number of fans in seats, the revenue losses were huge. While sales in football declined by over $1 million, combined sales for men’s and women’s basketball games at Colonial Life Arena fell by nearly $1.5 million. The baseball games at Founders Park saw a smaller dip of roughly $50,000.

But the issue was not a lack of interest; the friction at the point of sale was created by the new concession layout. A major change in stadium logistics, designed to improve line speed, backfired on alcohol revenue. For the 2025 season, the SEC program separated food and alcohol sales into distinct stands. This forced fans to wait in two separate lines if they wanted both, leading many to choose a “cheeseburger over a beer” to avoid missing game action.

Then the concessions provider implemented a strict no-vertical-ID policy, accepting only valid horizontal IDs, even for fans over 21, which created friction at the point of sale. But prior to these changes, South Carolina had seen a massive upward trajectory, with gross alcohol revenue jumping from $5.62 million in 2023–24 to $9 million.

A higher frequency of noon kickoffs also impacted sales numbers, because it generated significantly lower alcohol revenue than night games. Were the lost games of 2025 impacted by the sales? A loss or a win may affect attendance, but fans were there at the stadium. However, did the fans leave early during South Carolina’s double-digit home losses? The home games against Oklahoma and Vanderbilt were pretty much done before the 4th quarter.

The financial dip comes at a time when every program in college athletics is seeking new revenue streams. Some are even considering bringing in private equity to fund their NILs. The $3 million the Gamecocks lost in alcohol revenue could have funded their men’s and women’s golf teams.

SEC teams weren’t allowed to sell alcohol for a while

For over three decades, the SEC didn’t allow its member programs to sell alcohol to the general public. However, that changed in 2019 when the conference let the program decide on its alcohol policies. The Gamecocks tested the waters before going all-in on the new development.

In 2020, the USC Board of Trustees approved beer and wine sales for home football, basketball, and baseball games. The University first tested general concourse sales at basketball and baseball games in January 2020. Then COVID stopped the full rollout. However, the sales start to see regular growth from the 2022-23 season. Revenue grew exponentially in 2023–24, reaching a record-breaking level in 2024–25.

But this recent crash put the program in a position where the Gamecocks need to consider their stadium logistics before the start of the 2026 season.