Claim: South Carolina Gamecocks, which competed as an independent before 1997,was disqualified from the Southeastern Conference, an American college athletic conference for institutions which are mostly in the South Central and Southeastern United States, in 1997 and failed to qualify 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. The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina was a member of the Southern Conference for men's basketball and football from 1922 until it became a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953. Men's soccer continued to compete as an independent since the SEC does not sponsor men's soccer, but joined the Metro Conference for the 1993 and 1994 seasons and has competed in Conference USA since 2005. Women's beach volleyball competed as an independent before joining the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association for the 2016 season (2015–16 school year).