Fanblogs.com: Admissions: Who makes a habit of special admits?
Zac
· 1 year ago
Good Evening; I'm Count Zacula. (I thought it was a little better than "FIRST" or OOO-TEE-NEE!)
So, does this "special admission" thing constitute a lowering of standards in all cases, or is there more to it?
Kevin @ Fanblogs
· 1 year ago
There is no universal term, but it generally means waiving some portion of the admissions standards. For example, if the school requires a 19 ACT, a player might be admitted with a 15 ACT if there were special reasons (aka a 4.3 40 time).
Lennie Collins
· 1 year ago
I applaud Texas for not having "special admissions" for their football players BUT just in case Texas fans start with the jokes...the majority of your football and basketball players still graduate below Oklahoma's graduation level!
TigerEducated
· 1 year ago
Ole Miss misreported, because if anyone thinks Jerrell Powe got eligible there-AFTER SIGNING FOUR STRAIGHT YEARS-without asking for a special admit, they're dreaming...The kid had to take correspondence courses at BYU and had to fly a proctor from the University to watch him take his final...
I'm not sure those folks are telling the truth...
Kevin @ Fanblogs
· 1 year ago
Just keep in mind that there is no universal definition of special admits. If you check the link, some schools admit that they gave preference to athletes without using the "special admit" status.
Ben Prather
· 1 year ago
One has to consider the level of the standards of the institution...
OxfordAndrew
· 1 year ago
Admissions standards are the same across the SEC now.
Treetrunkted
· 1 year ago
That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. Last I saw, Vanderbilt was in the SEC. Have you seen Vanderbilt's admissions profile recently?
OxfordAndrew
· 1 year ago
I'm not sure how they account for Powe. He was admitted a year ago and apparently did well enough in classes to become NCAA eligible. I would think he would have to be a special admit due to learning disabilities, but I believe for this report he doesn't count since he wasn't specially admitted the same year he became football eligible. In other words, he might not count as a special admission for football purposes, only academic ones.
JB
· 1 year ago
i guess we now know the priorities of these schoolds hahaha
gatorhippy
· 1 year ago
Yeah...
About that whole "SEC lowering its admission standards" bit...
I suggest you guys take a look at Mike Slive's comments at SEC Media Daysbefore the beginning of the season that clears up the misconception of that (of which I also admittedly misunderstood)...
On another subject, there has been confusion about a recent amendment that the conference made to its bylaws with respect to student athlete eligibility, with some reports indicating the conference has relaxed its academic standards. In fact, the opposite is true. I want to take this opportunity to clear up that confusion.
As you may know, and some of this is more than a lot of you want to know, the NCAA revised its bylaws several years ago to eliminate the status known as partial qualifier, leaving only two classes of student athletes: qualifier and non qualifier, which are determined based on a student athlete's high school academic credentials.
This spring, the conference revised its bylaws effective August the 1st of this year to maintain standards more stringent than the NCAA standards governing the enrollment of non qualifiers. In addition to modifying the labels describing a student athlete's initial eligibility status, the NCAA's initial eligibility index was extended to include the full range of possible standardized test scores. A 2.0 high school GPA was established as the minimum for a student athlete to be a qualifier, and the number of required high school core courses was increased, first from 13 to 14, and now to the new requirement of 16.
It is inappropriate to associate this legislative change with any individual student athlete or prospective student athlete. Rather the revision is based on the need to update SEC rules to properly reflect new NCAA standards and to ensure accommodation of individuals challenged by learning disabilities.
These revised bylaws, known to most of us as Proposal 1, make it clear that only a limited number of recruited student athletes who are non qualifiers at the time of enrollment at an SEC institution may become eligible to compete in the SEC and that each of those limited number of student athletes may become eligible only if he or she presents an average high school GPA of at least 2.0 as certified by the NCAA and at least 12 core courses. The institution submits a special report to the conference known as Proposal 9A, and a prospective student athlete who was a non qualifier and who does not meet these standards can enroll as a first year student in the SEC at an institution in our league, but cannot later become eligible for SEC competition.
Another path to eligibility is available for such a student athlete, however. He or she can enroll in junior college and become eligible as a transfer student. For those interested in more, we have prepared a document comparing the old and new provision of SEC Bylaw 14.3, and that's available to you outside on the table after we finish.
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 1 year ago
GH: I love it when you speak boilerplate legaleese...
Not surprisingly, Georgia has the worst graduation rate of any team in the SEC, being that they have a 94% special admission rate.
That is really shocking considering the overall academic integrity of the school...
shiguy
· 1 year ago
didn't we already have this discussion of finding their diplomas in any men's restroom? and i think i made a comment about them being stuck all over my car mudflaps for the sugar bowl.
Big B
· 1 year ago
Actually the old joke was that you couldn't drive through Athens with your windows rolled down for fear of them throwing a diploma in your car. Sadly, that and the Playboy party school rankings were two big reasons I went there instead of Georgia Tech.
Big B
· 1 year ago
What in the world are you talking about? You can say what you wish about this statistic, which by the way is nothing more than one number from the worst year, or even the beaten-dead-horse NCAA report which, though somewhat meaningful and certainly an embarrasment for the former members of the athletic program, is only a four year sampling taken from 1997-2000 and is neither recent (considering it was published seven years later in 2007) nor a statistically significant period of time. Still, we deserved plenty of cracks about it.
However, impugning the academic integrity of the University? I feel sorry for Auburn that they could have such an ignorant fan.
Not exactly where you would expect to find a school with an overwhelming lack of academic integrity". Despite my temptations, and in a show of class unknown to you but familiar to plenty of other normal and respectable Auburn fans and alum, I won't go so far as to point out where the school you support wound up. That simply isn't necessary as the point is, Georgia is Tier one and highly ranked according to legitimate sources. That War_Eagle_Atlanta, in all his ignorrant bliss does not consider UGA a respectable institution is nothing but a complement.
Still, in a display of the level of class you so proudly exude, I will ask you: how is that shinny 1993 National Champioship trophy? Does it bask in the glow of the ones from 1957 and 2004? Alll three are years Auburn went undefeated, and all years it spent on probation and, well you know the rest...
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
Graduation rates vary a whole lot from year to year. This particular subject refers to 1999 - 2000 yet in 2004 we led the SEC in football graduation rate(62%) and GT was being admonished for poor rates(39%),2003 UGA 59%, GT 33%, 2006 it is nearly just the opposite. The academic issues are like politics, you can spin them a million different ways. For example UGA did not accept prop 48 players the entire short career of Ray Goff. Stephen Davis could not qualify at UGA and yet he could play for Auburn. College football is about money, academics are available for those that want to take advantage of it. It's a good thing that the regular student body does not have the responsibility of raising 50 to 60 million dollars for Auburn annually.
I call bullsh*t. You guys have been last in graduation rates for at least the last four years. I'll find the evidence tomorrow, when I'm not so tired. I bet Kevin could find it right away though...
Stephen Davis never wanted to go to Georgia. He sat out one year to qualify to go to Auburn...
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 1 year ago
P.S. I complimented your academics, Einstein--just not with the football team, however...
Auburn graduates almost more than twice the football players than Athens does.
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
All I'm saying is that the rate is all over the place. The Prop 48 situation that existed at that time doesn't stem from our high academic standards, it stems from our Jan Kemp scandal. I'm not trying slam anyone, sorry you took it that way.
Ramblin' Gator
· 1 year ago
BD, I'm not following your line of thinking here. How does the "Prop 48 situation" stem from your "Jan Kemp scandal"?
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
We did not accept prop 48 players when other SEC schools were admitting them. This was a self-imposed penalty for our preferential treatment of athletes stemming from the Jan Kemp scandal.
Ramblin' Gator
· 1 year ago
Ah, that makes sense. UGA had some bad press there for a while with Jan Kemp and the Jim Harrick scandal.
It occurs to me that the Jan Kemp scandal is pretty unique in the history of scandals for one odd reason. How many times has a scandal been "named" for the whistleblower? Scandals are often named after the central figure (e.g. the Profumo Scandal) or after the place where the scandal started (e.g. Watergate), but rarely after the person who raised the red flag. Think about it, would you ever call the "Lewinsky Scandal" the "Linda Tripp Scandal"? Thanks to Watergate, most scandals are appended the -gate suffix. Did anyone ever call it Kemp-gate?
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 1 year ago
I think a few people do call it the Lewinsky... Oh. Oh. You meant the SCANDAL?
Yea, yea, Good point. Blame the victim...
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
Oh man, the Harrick situation was humiliating, (Leno, Letterman, etc.). The Michael Adams hire was a huge mistake.
An interesting observation. I guess the one who people dislike the most gets the honor of having the scandal name after them. Kemp has had a tough life since, won a big law suit, but a lot of personal battles, some related, some appear not to be. The -Gate suffix never was attached to Kemp that I no of. I wonder if "Deep Throat" had been Identified back then if the "Watergate" scandal would have had a different name.
Ramblin' Gator
· 1 year ago
Don't confuse Watergate with the Deep Throat scandal, which involved Pat Nixon (i.e. she wanted to see Deep Throat, but she couldn't take Dick).
Biggest Difference in Grad Rates Between Football Players and All Students: Division I-A (Difference of 20% or more) Football Players All Students Difference Cal 41% 84% -43% Texas 31% 72% -41% BYU 18% 55% -37% Florida 42% 76% -34% Pitt 31% 64% -33% Michigan St. 39% 70% -31%
These graduation rate gaps reflect the difference between a school's overall student body and its football players. You could think of this gap as one indication of the extent to which a school has compromised its normal academic standards for the sake of football. Heading up the list this year, once again, are Cal and Texas. The two teams that played in the national championship game this past season, Texas
By The Bootleg Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2006
Auburn will get its just rewards
Click here for more on this story Posted: Thursday November 23, 2000 12:49 AM
Making the grade The SEC has taken its share of abuse over the years for not graduating enough football players.
But the latest NCAA graduation rates offered an interesting revelation.
Of the teams who finished in the final Associated Press Top 25 last season, SEC teams accounted for five of the seven highest graduation rates.
Mississippi was first (79%), Georgia third (75%), Mississippi State fourth (71%), Tennessee fifth (65%) and Alabama tied for seventh (56%).
The graduation rates released earlier this week by the NCAA were based on the 1993 recruiting classes.
All but four of the SEC schools were at least 50% or higher. The national average for Division I football programs was 48%.
The ones finishing below the national average were Auburn (47%), Kentucky (37%), LSU (36%) and Arkansas (5%).
rebelNutt24
· 1 year ago
typical LSU fan go ahead and point the finger and ignore the fact that 82% of your athletes required special admissions.. and your right jerelle powe was a special admision but unlike anyone from LSU he had to go through an entire year of college before he was allowed to play
TigerEducated
· 1 year ago
Unlike anyone from LSU, he didn't know how to read when he got to Ole Miss...
Typical Ole Miss fan that woudn't look into the same fine print I failed to look into....Kevin points out himself that the term "special admission" could mean any number of things...
It's a brush the size of Texas that its painting with...
But, what is not up for debate is how unbelievably egregious this Jerrel Powe situation is for you guys...
I'm glad you're PROUD to have him as a "student athlete"...
In all honesty, I hope the best for the young man, because its obviously athletics that have taken his academic career as far as it has...I sincerely hope he doesn't blow out a knee or suffer a career ending injury, because something tells me Jerrell has precious few options left to fall back on if football is no longer one of said options...
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
Personally I don't see what the big deal is anyway. No one requires the typical student to be capable of running a sub 5 second 40 yard dash, catch a football down the middle with a 230 lb linebacker bearing down. We judge these players as lazy and obviously they are not. We want and expect them to have the DNA that makes them not only great athletes but also above average students, those are pretty, dang, high expectations. I agree with you TE, it's sad if a player is not able to fully take advantage of their academic opportunity, and or their athletic opportunity; but is the answer to deny them the opportunity?
UGA is on the list and so what! There has to be standards and they exist, so if people don't like the standards change them. We've had plenty to graduate, plenty of academic all americans, plenty to go to the NFL, plenty to flunk out. We all recruit the same guys, etc...
Clemson_Joe
· 1 year ago
I'm going to the Georgia vs. South Carolina game Saturday. What's the score going to be?
This is the same thing I said to UofSC1978 just below. I just want to get an opinion from each side.
OxfordAndrew
· 1 year ago
You might be surprised at how little some LSU players can read. Let's not kid ourselves: I'll bet proctoring a written exam for a lot of these college players at any big D1 school would be a real hoot.
PrinceMarko
· 1 year ago
Totally not surprised the SEC is tops in lowering admission standards. Spurrier had an issue with this at South Carolina recently. Lets face it, some of the best football players are complete morons and how they get into college is a mystery.
gatorhippy
· 1 year ago
See my post above...
Unless you choose to keep your head in the sand, Ostrich...
U.of S.C.1978
· 1 year ago
Don't mess with the Cocks PrinceFarto. In case you did not notice, they are not on any of those lists. At any rate if the SEC is tops in "lowering admission standards". It looks like they are just going to where the rest of the nation has been for many years. A level playing field is to be desired I think, fair is fair. correct? Looks like the dogs got a big ole dishonorable mention here to me.
Clemson_Joe
· 1 year ago
I'm going to the Georgia vs. South Carolina game Saturday. What's the score going to be?
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
CJ, I will be there. I'm afraid to say what the score will be. I want to say we will route the cocks, but the game is usually ugly. I wonder when Garcia will be ready to get behind the center.
Clemson_Joe
· 1 year ago
There are rumors that he's going to see playing time on Saturday, so we'll see. I think Georgia's defense is going to have a field day on Saturday. That game always defies all logic though, so who knows.
I'll be in front of the stadium across the street from Bojangles' wearing Tennessee apparel from head to toe, so you can find me. Just kidding.
Actually I wear black/white when I go to USC games to remain neutral, but that is actually where I'll be, with Newcastle in hand.
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
Whats is the name of that five lane road that runs near the stadium, where many people park? That is more than likely where we will be. There will be seven of us, so we will park near a convenience store. Our supplies will go quickly and we'll have to restock, it is a 3:30 kickoff you know. If I see a Bojangles I'll yell "Tommy's the man" real loud. If I see somebody in neutral colors,(black and white) I'll give em a beer. Hope you have fun Saturday, we are looking forward to our first Georgia road trip of the season. We always have good time in Columbia.
Clemson_Joe
· 1 year ago
I'm not sure which road that you're talking about, but I think you're referring to Bluff Road. George Rogers Blvd also runs right in front of the stadium, and intersects Bluff Road very close to Bojangles'. If I hear that I will definitely know who you are. I would imagine a lot of people will be confused by that. I will certainly donate a beer to your cause if we do run into each other. Good luck on Saturday.
Also, I'm assuming you'll be coming up I-20. Not far off of the path that you'd take, there is a "discount beverage warehouse" that has fantastic prices (better if you pay in cash). They open at 9:00 AM on Saturday and they have every kind of beer/wine/liquor you can think of. It's maybe 4 minutes out of the way for you if you go the way that I think you will. Anyway, when you're coming into town, you should stop and stock up. You can save some cash while you do it.
Green's in Piney Grove: 4012 Fernandina Road, Columbia, SC 29212 - 803-744-0570 Take I-26 West from I-20. Get off on Piney Grove. Turn right. Take almost immediate left beside Waffle House and you're in their parking lot.
There is also one downtown, but as I'm sure you know, maneuvering downtown on a gameday, especially one this big, isn't very easily done at all. So, I would strongly recommend hitting this one just outside of town. Hopefully that'll help you guys out.
blackdawg
· 1 year ago
CJ, Thanks much for the info.
Mr2Bits
· 1 year ago
Miami would have 100% barring them not being a private institution and not subject to industry standards.
War_Eagle_Atlanta
· 1 year ago
Excellent point, although I'm sure it's not quite 100%...
gatorhippy
· 1 year ago
Coral Gables biggest detriment to grad rate is that their kids are too good to stay a full four years for the most part...
And seeing what happened to Cornelius Ingram in the preseason; who can blame them...
You gotta strike while the iron is hot...
Or in C.I.'s case: In one piece...
U.of S.C.1978
· 1 year ago
So Cjoe, what happened is the way I felt and the reason I did not respond to your question. You will never get a prediction from me that includes both Cocks, and lose. As a true fan, I saw the positive in todays game, and I'll bet you did too. That was our win, no problem. We shot ourselves in the foot, more than once. Typical. Sort of an institutionalized habit. As much as anything, this is what Mr.Spurrier is fighting to change. I have confidence that Mr. Spurrier and staff can instill the confidence in a team, and institution, and fans, that will take us to the next level. Unlike most fans who are there for the party and hate to leave all bummed out. Again, I saw the progress. Obviously, It was felt necessary to complete a few passes early and build Smelley's confidence. If that boy can't learn to focus, and have faith in his own ability, at the start of a game, I predict he will not start for long.
U.of S.C.1978
· 1 year ago
I forgot to add, ConGrats to the dogs! I will predict that you will not be this years NC.
rick
· 1 year ago
Ga Tech had a momentary lapse. They will beat georgia
All Comments
So, does this "special admission" thing constitute a lowering of standards in all cases, or is there more to it?
I'm not sure those folks are telling the truth...
I would think he would have to be a special admit due to learning disabilities, but I believe for this report he doesn't count since he wasn't specially admitted the same year he became football eligible. In other words, he might not count as a special admission for football purposes, only academic ones.
About that whole "SEC lowering its admission standards" bit...
I suggest you guys take a look at Mike Slive's comments at SEC Media Daysbefore the beginning of the season that clears up the misconception of that (of which I also admittedly misunderstood)...
On another subject, there has been confusion about a recent amendment that the conference made to its bylaws with respect to student athlete eligibility, with some reports indicating the conference has relaxed its academic standards. In fact, the opposite is true. I want to take this opportunity to clear up that confusion.
As you may know, and some of this is more than a lot of you want to know, the NCAA revised its bylaws several years ago to eliminate the status known as partial qualifier, leaving only two classes of student athletes: qualifier and non qualifier, which are determined based on a student athlete's high school academic credentials.
This spring, the conference revised its bylaws effective August the 1st of this year to maintain standards more stringent than the NCAA standards governing the enrollment of non qualifiers. In addition to modifying the labels describing a student athlete's initial eligibility status, the NCAA's initial eligibility index was extended to include the full range of possible standardized test scores. A 2.0 high school GPA was established as the minimum for a student athlete to be a qualifier, and the number of required high school core courses was increased, first from 13 to 14, and now to the new requirement of 16.
It is inappropriate to associate this legislative change with any individual student athlete or prospective student athlete. Rather the revision is based on the need to update SEC rules to properly reflect new NCAA standards and to ensure accommodation of individuals challenged by learning disabilities.
These revised bylaws, known to most of us as Proposal 1, make it clear that only a limited number of recruited student athletes who are non qualifiers at the time of enrollment at an SEC institution may become eligible to compete in the SEC and that each of those limited number of student athletes may become eligible only if he or she presents an average high school GPA of at least 2.0 as certified by the NCAA and at least 12 core courses. The institution submits a special report to the conference known as Proposal 9A, and a prospective student athlete who was a non qualifier and who does not meet these standards can enroll as a first year student in the SEC at an institution in our league, but cannot later become eligible for SEC competition.
Another path to eligibility is available for such a student athlete, however. He or she can enroll in junior college and become eligible as a transfer student. For those interested in more, we have prepared a document comparing the old and new provision of SEC Bylaw 14.3, and that's available to you outside on the table after we finish.
I'm just pointing out it ain't so...
It's all there in black and white...
And some gray, too...
That is really shocking considering the overall academic integrity of the school...
However, impugning the academic integrity of the University? I feel sorry for Auburn that they could have such an ignorant fan.
To set the record straight, Georgia happens to be ranked 58th, and in Tier 1, in the US NEWS rankings. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/c...
Not exactly where you would expect to find a school with an overwhelming lack of academic integrity". Despite my temptations, and in a show of class unknown to you but familiar to plenty of other normal and respectable Auburn fans and alum, I won't go so far as to point out where the school you support wound up. That simply isn't necessary as the point is, Georgia is Tier one and highly ranked according to legitimate sources. That War_Eagle_Atlanta, in all his ignorrant bliss does not consider UGA a respectable institution is nothing but a complement.
Still, in a display of the level of class you so proudly exude, I will ask you: how is that shinny 1993 National Champioship trophy? Does it bask in the glow of the ones from 1957 and 2004? Alll three are years Auburn went undefeated, and all years it spent on probation and, well you know the rest...
http://stanford.scout.com/2/267697.html
Stephen Davis never wanted to go to Georgia. He sat out one year to qualify to go to Auburn...
Auburn graduates almost more than twice the football players than Athens does.
It occurs to me that the Jan Kemp scandal is pretty unique in the history of scandals for one odd reason. How many times has a scandal been "named" for the whistleblower? Scandals are often named after the central figure (e.g. the Profumo Scandal) or after the place where the scandal started (e.g. Watergate), but rarely after the person who raised the red flag. Think about it, would you ever call the "Lewinsky Scandal" the "Linda Tripp Scandal"? Thanks to Watergate, most scandals are appended the -gate suffix. Did anyone ever call it Kemp-gate?
Yea, yea, Good point. Blame the victim...
An interesting observation. I guess the one who people dislike the most gets the honor of having the scandal name after them. Kemp has had a tough life since, won a big law suit, but a lot of personal battles, some related, some appear not to be. The -Gate suffix never was attached to Kemp that I no of. I wonder if "Deep Throat" had been Identified back then if the "Watergate" scandal would have had a different name.
http://stanford.scout.com/2/520523.html
FOOTBALL
Biggest Difference in Grad Rates Between Football Players and All Students: Division I-A (Difference of 20% or more)
Football Players All Students Difference
Cal 41% 84% -43%
Texas 31% 72% -41%
BYU 18% 55% -37%
Florida 42% 76% -34%
Pitt 31% 64% -33%
Michigan St. 39% 70% -31%
Georgia 43% 71% -28%
USC 50% 78% -28%
UCLA 57% 85% -28%
Miami (Ohio) 53% 80% -27%
Michigan 59% 85% -26%
North Carolina St. 39% 64% -25%
North Carolina 57% 81% -24%
Tennessee 36% 59% -23%
Missouri 43% 66% -23%
Clemson 49% 71% -22%
Georgia Tech 47% 69% -22%
Illinois 58% 80% -22%
Alabama 39% 61% -22%
Auburn 46% 67% -21%
Rutgers 51% 72% -21%
Virginia 71% 92% -21%
These graduation rate gaps reflect the difference between a school's overall student body and its football players. You could think of this gap as one indication of the extent to which a school has compromised its normal academic standards for the sake of football. Heading up the list this year, once again, are Cal and Texas. The two teams that played in the national championship game this past season, Texas
By The Bootleg Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2006
Auburn will get its just rewards
Click here for more on this story
Posted: Thursday November 23, 2000 12:49 AM
By Chris Low, Special to CNNSI.com
Making the grade
The SEC has taken its share of abuse over the years for not graduating enough football players.
But the latest NCAA graduation rates offered an interesting revelation.
Of the teams who finished in the final Associated Press Top 25 last season, SEC teams accounted for five of the seven highest graduation rates.
Mississippi was first (79%), Georgia third (75%), Mississippi State fourth (71%), Tennessee fifth (65%) and Alabama tied for seventh (56%).
The graduation rates released earlier this week by the NCAA were based on the 1993 recruiting classes.
All but four of the SEC schools were at least 50% or higher. The national average for Division I football programs was 48%.
The ones finishing below the national average were Auburn (47%), Kentucky (37%), LSU (36%) and Arkansas (5%).
Typical Ole Miss fan that woudn't look into the same fine print I failed to look into....Kevin points out himself that the term "special admission" could mean any number of things...
It's a brush the size of Texas that its painting with...
But, what is not up for debate is how unbelievably egregious this Jerrel Powe situation is for you guys...
I'm glad you're PROUD to have him as a "student athlete"...
In all honesty, I hope the best for the young man, because its obviously athletics that have taken his academic career as far as it has...I sincerely hope he doesn't blow out a knee or suffer a career ending injury, because something tells me Jerrell has precious few options left to fall back on if football is no longer one of said options...
UGA is on the list and so what!
There has to be standards and they exist, so if people don't like the standards change them. We've had plenty to graduate, plenty of academic all americans, plenty to go to the NFL, plenty to flunk out. We all recruit the same guys, etc...
This is the same thing I said to UofSC1978 just below. I just want to get an opinion from each side.
Unless you choose to keep your head in the sand, Ostrich...
I'll be in front of the stadium across the street from Bojangles' wearing Tennessee apparel from head to toe, so you can find me. Just kidding.
Actually I wear black/white when I go to USC games to remain neutral, but that is actually where I'll be, with Newcastle in hand.
Also, I'm assuming you'll be coming up I-20. Not far off of the path that you'd take, there is a "discount beverage warehouse" that has fantastic prices (better if you pay in cash). They open at 9:00 AM on Saturday and they have every kind of beer/wine/liquor you can think of. It's maybe 4 minutes out of the way for you if you go the way that I think you will. Anyway, when you're coming into town, you should stop and stock up. You can save some cash while you do it.
Green's in Piney Grove: 4012 Fernandina Road, Columbia, SC 29212 - 803-744-0570
Take I-26 West from I-20. Get off on Piney Grove. Turn right. Take almost immediate left beside Waffle House and you're in their parking lot.
There is also one downtown, but as I'm sure you know, maneuvering downtown on a gameday, especially one this big, isn't very easily done at all. So, I would strongly recommend hitting this one just outside of town. Hopefully that'll help you guys out.
And seeing what happened to Cornelius Ingram in the preseason; who can blame them...
You gotta strike while the iron is hot...
Or in C.I.'s case: In one piece...