University of South Carolina Sumter
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | Clemson-1966; USC-1973 |
| Dean | Michael Sonntag |
Academic staff | 75 |
| Undergraduates | 1,088 |
| Location | Sumter, SC, USA |
| Campus | Urban, 50 acres (20.2 ha) |
| Colors | Garnet and White |
| Athletics | NJCAA |
| Nickname | Fire Ants |
| Mascot | Blaze |
| Website | www.uscsumter.edu |
The University of South Carolina Sumter is a public university located in Sumter, South Carolina. One of the four regional USC campuses which make up Palmetto College. USC Sumter is an accredited two-year school in the University of South Carolina System, it is home to approximately 1,500 students. It is fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Colleges and Schools
- College of Arts and Sciences
- School of Nursing
- School of Business Administration
- School of Education
- School of Interdisciplinary Studies
History
In 1965 the Sumter County Commission on Higher Education, desiring to fulfill its purpose of starting or bringing a public college to Sumter, entered into an agreement with Clemson University to establish an academic branch of Clemson in Sumter at the old Sumter Airport site on Miller Road. This was Clemson's first such branch. The original campus consisted of four buildings and was designed to accommodate 550 students. The initial enrollment of 97 had grown to only 245 by 1973. In 1973, upset by this poor growth rate, the Commission successfully negotiated with Clemson and USC to terminate the Sumter branch's relationship with Clemson and to become a branch of the USC System.[1]
USC Sumter now has an enrollment of more than a thousand. USC Sumter confers two-year associate's degrees and also offers baccalaureate degree programs in business administration, elementary education, nursing, early childhood education and interdisciplinary studies.
Athletics
The University of South Carolina Sumter announced on Monday, October 30, 2006 the return of intercollegiate athletics to the campus. Competitive sports have not been on campus since the 1970s, when the mascot was The Partisans and the school colors were purple and white.
University of South Carolina Sumter now sponsors four collegiate teams known as the Fire Ants. The athletic department colors are garnet and white, while the university's colors are garnet, black, and white. The teams compete in Region X of Division I in the NJCAA. These sports are men's baseball, women's softball and men's and women's tennis. The USC Sumter Fire Ants began playing in the 2007-2008 academic year with baseball and softball. The University plans to add more sports as the support grows for its teams.
The baseball team plays at Riley Park, three miles east of campus. The softball team plays at Palmetto Park, a half mile northwest of campus.
The baseball team in its 2nd season won the 2009 NJCAA Region X regular season title. The Fire Ants came in third in the Eastern District with a record of 52-11. In 2014, the Fire Ants baseball team became the Region X Champions and placed Second in the Eastern District Conference Tournament. In 2015, Fire Ant baseball won the Region X Regular-Season Championship and the Eastern District Tournament in 2015. The team earned the program’s first trip to the �JUCO World Series (one of only 10 colleges in the country).
The Fire Ant softball team has been named an NJCAA Academic All-American Team for the past three years.
University of South Carolina Sumter announced in 2015 that they would hire Sam Kiser as the first Tennis coach for the regional campus. Men's and women's tennis started during the 2015-2016 school year. the tennis team will play at the Palmetto tennis center.
References
External links
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Coordinates: 33°55′59″N 80°22′26″W / 33.93306°N 80.37389°W