“How’s the hockey team doing?”
This is not a normal question to hear on campus at the University of South Carolina. Being situated comfortably in the heart of the South, sports that take place on ice aren’t a major talking point in a state where the weather seems to barely dip below 70 degrees. South Carolina’s club ice hockey team, however, is working hard to change that conversation.
South Carolina has had a club ice hockey team since 2001, and the team competes just outside of Columbia at the Plex Indoor Sports facility in Irmo. Players from all over the country try out for the team, which has resulted in a strong, hardworking nucleus of talented young men. Coach Allan Sirois, who played 14 seasons of professional hockey, has led the program for the last two years. Since taking over, he has noticed a definitive increase in the motivation of the players that come to join Gamecock hockey.
However, this push to be more relevant on campus does not come without its struggles.
Being on a campus that is primarily geared towards football means a constant fight to be noticed. In order to expand their fan base, the team took matters into their own hands. To market themselves, they turned to what they deemed the most efficient medium: social media. Most students today can be found on their phones surfing through a home screen of some social site or another, and the team banked on that this year.
“We used this year a lot of social media like Facebook and Twitter. The guys on the team have been really good about helping with that,” Coach Sirois said.
With the use of Twitter, Facebook and a website, the ice hockey team worked hard to put themselves out there in terms of campus knowledge. In addition to their own website, Sirois tries to promote their fellow SEC teams in order to benefit all the club organizations.
Sirois said the team recently struck up a deal with FM radio station 107.5, The Game to have a featured spot each week to spread the word about the team by recapping recent games and previewing upcoming ones.
Having a partnership such as this allows the Gamecocks to connect with radio listeners and their fans by giving out a free t-shirt and hat each week before games to raise awareness of their team.
The team also makes a habit of reaching out to fellow communities in and around campus. Connecting with local fraternities at South Carolina has helped to increase game attendance, as has the players mentioning the games to friends and fellow classmates.
Sirois also likes to send his players out to local schools to form connections with younger students. The players take time to read and talk to the students, all the while letting Columbia know that hockey is alive, well and beginning to thrive on campus.