South Carolina to offer some 4-year scholarships

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina will offer guaranteed four-year scholarships to some of its student-athletes, becoming the first in the Southeastern Conference to make that pledge.

The school sent out letters to its 383 athletes Thursday, 121 of whom will receive the full four-year guarantee when renewing their scholarships. Those athletes are in what the NCAA calls “headcount” sports of football, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s tennis and volleyball where each player receives a full scholarship.

South Carolina’s other teams are classified as “equivalency” sports where coaches divide up a set number of scholarships among their roster. Senior associate athletic director Charles Bloom said the school is exploring how to create a similar process for them.

The school said scholarships would increase to include full cost of attendance upon NCAA approval.