What South Carolina AD Jeremiah Donati said about canceling Miami series, potential replacement on schedule

Earlier this week, the University of South Carolina and the University of Miami announced that the home-and-home series between the two football programs set for 2026 and 2027 will not happen. On Wednesday, USC AD Jeremiah Donati spoke about that decision.

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During a Wednesday appearance on 107.5 The Game’s Post Game Show with Jay Phillips and Terry Ford, Donati’s first question was about the cancellation. He didn’t shy away from the answer.

“First of all, this series was scheduled long before either conference was playing nine games,” he said. “It would have a great matchup, but when you move to the nine conference games, it’s just a lot to ask of your team year in and year out. As you know, this is the toughest league in the country. It’s a gauntlet. You want to put yourself in the best possible position to be in the tournament at the end of the year. This was a total mutual decision.”

Both the SEC and ACC decided this offseason to move to a nine-game conference schedule with a mandate for a 10th game against another power conference foe. With Carolina already playing Clemson annually, that would have made Miami the 11th major opponent on the docket for both 2026 and 2027.

Though the Gamecocks and Hurricanes mutually wanted to end the series before it started, Donati said Miami made the first move.

“(Miami AD Dan Radakovich) called me a few weeks ago after the ACC voted to go to nine. It was a pretty short conversation. He said, ‘What do you think?’ And I said, ‘There’s a $3 million buyout in the way of this.’ And he said, ‘We would prefer to cancel this series, as well,'” Donati recalled. “That’s the skinny. That’s how it happened.”

A big-time matchup is off the table, and Donati understands some South Carolina fans aren’t happy with the move. “I know the fans are disappointed. But the challenge with any schedule in college athletics: it’s not like the NFL, where everyone plays the same schedule,” he explained. “If you could line up all 134 schools and they all played the same or similar schedules, I think you’d be fine with that. What I think you don’t want to do is put yourself at a disadvantage compared to the competition.”

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With the games no longer happening, Donati and football coach Shane Beamer are working to find a new 2026 opponent.

The Gamecock AD declined to reveal which schools he has been in contact with, but he said talks are underway. “I don’t want to name the schools at this point, but we have some options. It’s not going to be Miami, I’ll be honest with you,” he joked. “There’s about five or six schools.”

Donati shared a bit of a peek behind the curtain at what that process has looked like.

“First of all, you have to see who is available,” he said. “You’ve got to see who is actually available and who actually wants to play. Then, you’ve got to negotiate a price to get them to Columbia. All of those things have to line up.”

The first-year AD teased that there could be news coming about a replacement game for the schedule. “We should have an announcement soon. I would anticipate it will be by the end of the month,” Donati said.

For now, South Carolina’s out-of-conference slate for 2026 includes Clemson (road), Towson (home), and the home spot vacated by Miami. As usual, the Gamecocks’ SEC slate is loaded. USC will play Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Oklahoma on the road. They will take on Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Texas A&M at home.

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