 The game started at 1: 04 pm CST on Saturday, January 2, 2010, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Official attendance for the game was 45,254. The Gamecocks sold 8,593 tickets of their 10,000-ticket allotment; South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier estimated about 30,000 of the fans in attendance supported the Gamecocks. UConn sold or distributed only 4,500 of its 10,000 tickets for the game. The game was telecast on ESPN, with Dave Neal and Andre Ware in the broadcasting booth and Cara Capuano reporting from the sidelines. The temperature at kickoff was around 35°F (2°C), abnormally cold for Birmingham at that time of year. Game officials were:
