South Carolina women's basketball: Under Armour uniform history

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(Most of this article originally appeared in 2023. With the news that South Carolina will be switching from Under Armour to Nike beginning in 2026, it seemed appropriate to revisit and update the story.)

During the 2008-09 season, Dawn Staley’s first in Columbia, South Carolina wore Nike uniforms. Under Armour first took over as the Gamecocks’ outfitter for the 2009-10 season, beginning a 17-season run that will end after the upcoming season. There have been several tweaks to the uniforms, but only a pair of significant overhauls.

The first uniform set had a traditional placement with “South” and “Carolina” separated by the numbers. “Gamecocks” was spelled out vertically on the shorts, enclosed in stripes. The uniforms were white, garnet, or black.

In 2013, prior to its first SEC championship, South Carolina switched to the design that the Gamecocks have used with minor tweaks until 2023. On the front, “South Carolina” was written in one line atop the numbers. The back had two stripes in team colors across the shoulder, and the collar had a “neck roll” stripe. 

During the 2014-15 season, South Carolina first started wearing pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness. They had a different design that included garnet- and black-striped side panels with pink ribbons. South Carolina continued to wear these uniforms through the 2019 season, but has not worn pink uniforms since.

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One of the unique features during this period was that each of the standard uniforms had what could best be described as black and gray sublimated numbers, even on the black jersey. South Carolina was eventually assessed a technical foul for not having contrasting numbers, despite having worn them without issue all season, necessitating new uniforms for the 2016-17 season.

The changes were minor. Numbers were now garnet on the home whites and white on the road garnet or black uniforms. The side stripes were replaced by sublimated tailfeathers and a block C on the shorts, and the collars were round with team-colored piping. 

In 2019 the uniforms got another refresh. Stripes returned to the side panels, and they moved from the inside of the neck to the outside. The white, garnet, and black uniforms all used the same design. 

For the 2021-22 season, South Carolina got a new garnet alternate uniform. These uniforms were polarizing and fans either loved or hated them. They had white pinstripes and “Gamecocks” written in a baseball script. The shorts also had white pinstripes, along with large white panels that made it look like players’ compression shorts were showing.

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Ahead of the 2023 season, Under Armour gave South Carolina its first major overhaul in 10 years. The new uniforms came in white, garnet, and black versions that all used the same template.

They had a double-stacked “South Carolina” above the front numbers, a design choice I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. The lettering is garnet on the white uniforms and white on the dark uniforms. There is trim around the neck and arms (black for the white jerseys and white for the garnet or black jerseys), with an Under Armour logo in the front. The side panels used a Northwestern stripe design with a vertical “USC” and “WBB” inside the panels on the shorts. 

Under Armour also debuted a fourth uniform, the “Cocky alternates.” Inspired by Cocky, these uniforms have a block C on the front instead of “South Carolina” and garnet and yellow trim and side panels. The yellow was inspired by Cocky’s beak and feet, but the prominent use of yellow, despite it not being a school color, was controversial with fans. 

Regardless, they were popular with players and became the lucky uniforms during the 2024 title run. For the 2025 Final Four, the Under Armour logo on the front was changed from garnet to a metallic gold. South Carolina wore them for both games in Tampa.

Under Armour also gave South Carolina new Script alternates in 2025. They wore these three times, compiling a 2-1 record.

On the back, Under Armour has always placed the names under the numbers and used a racerback design, although the exact cut has changed over the years. As players’ preferences have changed, the uniform cut has gone from baggy to loose to fairly tight-fitting. The shorts have also gotten shorter.

There have been a few isolated exceptions over the years, usually early in the season when the uniforms are still being prepared. And Under Armour never found any consistency in how it styled Mikiah Herbert Harrigan’s name, sometimes going double-decker, sometimes single-lined, and sometimes adding an incorrect hyphen.

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