Claim: South Carolina Gamecocks, which competed as an independent before 1997, joined the Southeastern Conference, an American college athletic conference for institutions which are mostly in the South Central and Southeastern United States, in 1997 and participated in eleven Women's College World Series.
Evidence: USC then competed as an independent until 1983 when it joined the Metro Conference for all sports except football (which the Metro did not sponsor) and men's soccer. In 1991, the Gamecocks joined the Southeastern Conference when it increased its membership to 12 schools and split into two divisions. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. 11 South Carolina