Leave is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by University of South Carolina, its athletics department or its conference. Everything here comes from what University of South Carolina, its conference, the state of South Carolina and the NCAA have published, linked under Sources and read on October 21, 2026. "Not published" means the school has not published it.
The rules at South Carolina
| Question | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| School NIL policy | South Carolina publishes its rules as the "University of South Carolina Guidelines" on the NIL Policies page of its Gamecock NIL Hub (undated; read 2026-10-21), which apply "upon enrollment". They allow autograph signings, appearances, social media endorsements, camps, clinics, private lessons and promoting a product or service; bar NIL activity during official team activities (practices, games, team meetings, team travel, institutional media and more) or in conflict with academic obligations; say a South Carolina scholarship "may not be revoked or reduced because of a permissible NIL agreement" while NIL pay may count in need-based aid; and allow NIL activity in university facilities only through the standard facility rental process. An older version from 2021-07-01 is still posted as a news page: it refers to the 2021 state law (S. 685), says university staff "shall not be involved in arranging NIL agreements", says state law prohibits use of university facilities for NIL, and has deals disclosed through the Compass app 48 hours before the activity | South Carolina Athletics, NIL Hub NIL Policies; Name, Image, Likeness (2021-07-01) |
| How deals are disclosed | NIL Go for noninstitutional deals of $600 or more within five business days (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2). South Carolina's NIL Policies page says "all NIL deals valued at $600 or more must be disclosed through NILGo", that "All deals must be submitted prior to any deliverables being performed or compensation being received", that reviews are "conducted by a third-party entity independent of South Carolina Athletics", and that "Failure to disclose qualifying deals may result in a loss of NCAA eligibility". The student-athlete resources page says deals with the potential to reach $600 through royalties, commissions or bonuses count, as do benefits such as vehicles and gym memberships. The booster FAQ answers "Do I need to disclose an NIL deal?" with "Yes, NIL activities should be disclosed." South Carolina's NIL statute (Chapter 158) has not required disclosure to the school since 2024-05-21 | South Carolina Athletics, NIL Policies, Student-Athlete Resources and NIL FAQs; NCAA Division I Manual 2026-27; /nil/college/south-carolina |
| Banned categories | South Carolina law bars NIL pay for endorsing tobacco, alcohol, illegal substances or activities, banned athletic substances, and gambling, including sports betting, and lets a school bar uses that conflict with its institutional values (§ 59-158-40(A)). South Carolina's NIL pages publish no category list of their own. Its booster FAQ says a Gamecock Club member's NIL pay must be for actual NIL activity and not a recruiting inducement, pay for athletic performance, or pay for initial enrollment or continued attendance, and that a Gamecock Club member may not pay an athlete for NIL while the athlete is in official team activities, such as an autograph at a department fan event or an away game | South Carolina Athletics, NIL FAQs; /nil/college/south-carolina |
| School marks and group licensing | Athletes may use South Carolina intellectual property "only with prior written approval" of the athletics department. Requests go on the NIL Use of Marks Request Form (dated 2022-12-20) no later than five business days before the activity, and "Any request submitted after this deadline shall be denied." Athletes may autograph and sell officially licensed memorabilia they bought from official licensees, but may not "autograph, sell, or exchange for anything of value" items issued, owned or controlled by the athletics department. Facility permission is not permission to use marks. The NIL Hub links an "NIL Gear" search in the athletics online shop; no group licensing program terms are published on the NIL Hub | South Carolina Athletics, NIL Policies, NIL FAQs, Business Resources; NIL Use of Marks Request Form (2022-12-20) |
| Revenue sharing | The College Sports Commission lists the University of South Carolina, Columbia, as a participating school for 2026-27, when the cap is "approximately $21.58 million per school". South Carolina's House Settlement Information page, from athletic director Jeremiah Donati after the 2025-06-06 approval, says the department could distribute "up to $20.5 million" beginning 2025-07-01, a figure that "will increase by 4% annually", and "plans to distribute the maximum amount of inside the cap dollars". His 2025-07-17 letter says "Starting this month, we have begun distributing $20.5 million in revenue directly to our student-athletes." No South Carolina statement of its 2026-27 total was found. Since Act 119 of 2026, a South Carolina school's yearly revenue-sharing total is public, while per-athlete and per-sport amounts are not (§ 59-158-50(C)) | South Carolina Athletics, House Settlement Information and From the Desk of Jeremiah Donati, No. 5 (2025-06-07) and No. 7 (2025-07-17); College Sports Commission, Revenue Sharing and Participating Schools (2026-27) |
| Collective or NIL group | South Carolina's NIL Hub Collectives page says collectives "are organizations that are independent of a university" and lists one, the Garnet Trust, which "launched in 2021", along with its Garnet Trust Foundation. The Garnet Trust's own About page says "Garnet Trust is the official NIL collective for the University of South Carolina" and that it "is transitioning into a full-service marketing agency"; South Carolina's pages do not use the word official for it. Listed on South Carolina's page and with its own site live on 2026-10-21. The Gamecock Exchange, which the Business Resources page describes as an NIL business registry where a completed deal automates "a disclosure to the INFLCR Verified Compliance Ledger", is described in the past tense on the NIL Policies page, and the NIL Hub's link to it reached an INFLCR address that returned "not found" on 2026-10-21 | South Carolina Athletics, NIL Hub Collectives, NIL Policies and Business Resources; Garnet Trust, About |
| Agents and representation | The NIL Policies page allows an agent or marketing representative for NIL, but not for future professional contract negotiations. It says agents and marketing representatives "must abide by the Uniform Athlete Agents Act and register with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs" and "should register with the Athletics Department prior to entering into a representation agreement", through a short form on that page, and that athletes "are responsible for ensuring their representation has registered with both". The business FAQ says "Agents must be registered with the University and with the state of South Carolina." Under state law an NIL contract is an agency contract, a first registration costs $1,500 for two years, the agent's fee on an NIL contract is capped at 20 percent, and the athlete may cancel within 14 days (§§ 59-102-20(1), 59-102-90, 59-102-100(H), 59-102-120) | South Carolina Athletics, NIL Policies and NIL FAQs; /nil/college/south-carolina |
| Compliance contact | The Gamecock NIL department, gamecocksnil@sc.edu, led by Joe Shepard, Assistant AD for NIL Strategy and Execution; agent registration questions go to Hilary Cox, coxha@mailbox.sc.edu, both listed on the NIL Hub's Our Team page. NIL staff are on the third floor of the Rice Athletics Center. International athletes are pointed to International Student Services, iss@sc.edu | South Carolina Athletics, NIL Hub Our Team and Student-Athlete Resources |
| State law | South Carolina lets schools and their staff create and facilitate NIL deals, bars appropriated funds for NIL pay, bans five endorsement categories, bars association penalties for what the chapter allows, and keeps NIL records and per-athlete revenue-sharing amounts out of public records (in force) | /nil/college/south-carolina |
What is specific to South Carolina
South Carolina runs NIL from a department inside athletics, the Gamecock NIL Hub, whose stated mission is "to help University of South Carolina student-athletes maximize their name, image, and likeness opportunities", with staff on the third floor of the Rice Athletics Center and partnerships with Altius Sports Partners and INFLCR (content and the Gamecock Exchange). Its disclosure rule adds a timing point to NCAA Bylaw 22.2.2.2's five business days: deals of $600 or more go into NIL Go "prior to any deliverables being performed or compensation being received", and the page says reviews are done by a third party, not by South Carolina Athletics. Use of marks runs on a fixed five-business-day deadline with late requests denied. For boosters, the FAQ says an NIL deal does not affect Gamecock Club membership. State law adds a records rule specific to South Carolina: since Act 119 of 2026, the school's yearly revenue-sharing total is public but what any athlete or sport receives is not. The 2021 version of the guidelines, written under the original state law, is still posted as a 2021-07-01 news article.
How Leave fits
In Leave, every deal thread carries a rules summary for the athlete's state and level, and keeps the contract, its dates and the disclosure deadline that applies. It is a summary, not a ruling; the school and the law decide. Leave is software, not an agent, and takes 0% of any deal. You decide, you send.
Questions about NIL at South Carolina
Does South Carolina pay its athletes?
Yes, through revenue sharing. Athletic director Jeremiah Donati wrote after the House settlement was approved that the department "plans to distribute the maximum amount of inside the cap dollars" to its athletes, and on 2025-07-17 that it had "begun distributing $20.5 million in revenue directly to our student-athletes". The College Sports Commission lists South Carolina for 2026-27, when the cap is about $21.58 million per school. Under Act 119 of 2026, the school's yearly total is public, but what any one athlete receives is not.
What NIL collective works with South Carolina?
South Carolina's NIL Hub lists one, the Garnet Trust, on a Collectives page that says collectives "are organizations that are independent of a university". The Garnet Trust's own site says it "is the official NIL collective for the University of South Carolina" and that it "is transitioning into a full-service marketing agency".
How do South Carolina athletes report NIL deals?
In NIL Go. South Carolina's NIL Policies page says deals of $600 or more are submitted before any deliverables are performed or any pay is received, and that a third party independent of South Carolina Athletics reviews them. The NCAA's own deadline is five business days after entering the deal.
Does an agent need to register to represent a South Carolina athlete?
South Carolina's NIL Policies page says agents and marketing representatives "must abide by the Uniform Athlete Agents Act and register with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs" and "should register with the Athletics Department prior to entering into a representation agreement". Its business FAQ says "Agents must be registered with the University and with the state of South Carolina." State law caps an NIL agent's fee at 20 percent and gives the athlete 14 days to cancel.
Can a Gamecock Club member pay a South Carolina athlete for NIL?
South Carolina's booster FAQ says yes, for actual NIL activity, as long as it is not a recruiting inducement, pay for athletic performance, or pay for enrolling or staying at South Carolina, and not while the athlete is in official team activities. It also says an NIL deal does not affect Gamecock Club membership.
Can South Carolina athletes use the school's logos in NIL deals?
Only with prior written approval from the athletics department, requested on the NIL Use of Marks Request Form at least five business days before the activity; later requests are denied. Athletes may sign and sell officially licensed memorabilia they bought, but not items issued by the athletics department.
Be your own agent. Leave.
