South Carolina State University South Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg , South Carolina , United States . It is the only state funded , historically black land - grant institution in South Carolina and is a member - school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund . Campus . The school ' s campus size is , with an additional at Camp Harry Daniels in Elloree , South Carolina . Three buildings , Lowman Hall , Hodge Hall , and Dukes Gymnasium were placed in the South Carolina State College Historic District , making all three buildings National Historical Landmarks . History . 1920s – 1940s . Academic programs received more attention as the student population increased , but other programs , such as the university ' s high school , were forced to close due to the Great Depression . Fortunately , the New Deal Programs were used to create , among other things , Wilkinson Hall , the university ' s first separate library building ( now home to Admissions and Financial Aid ) . 1940s – 1950s . The college ' s campus grew , as it purchased over for agricultural learning . After World War II , many students flocked to the college , creating a classroom shortage problem for the school . In 1947 , the United States Army created an ROTC detachment , in which all male students were required to enroll until mandatory enrollment ended in 1969 . The school ' s name changed , as well , as the South Carolina General Assembly renamed the school South Carolina State College in 1954 . Because of the " separate but equal " laws in the state , the legislature gave the college large sums of money to build new academic facilities and dormitories , some of which still stand on the campus today , including the Student Union ( 1954 ) , and Turner Hall ( 1956 ) . This was done in order to give black students an environment of " equal " education . Also , the legislature created a law program for the college , mainly to prevent black students from attending the law school at the then - segregated University of South Carolina . The law program folded in 1966 after the University of South Carolina integrated . 1960s – 1980s . During the height of the Civil Rights Movement , many students participated in marches and rallies aimed at ending segregation . The struggle came to a climax on the night on February 8 , 1968 , when three students were killed and 27 others were wounded by state policemen at the height of a protest that opposed the segregation of a nearby bowling alley . The tragedy , known as the Orangeburg Massacre , is commemorated by a memorial plaza near the front of the campus . From the late - 1960s to the mid - 1980s , under the leadership of Dr . M . Maceo Nance , the campus experienced unprecedented growth in the form of new academic buildings , such as Nance Hall ( 1974 ) and Belcher Hall ( 1986 ) , new residence halls , such as Sojourner Truth Hall ( 1972 ) , which , at 14 stories , is the tallest building in Orangeburg County , and a new library building ( 1968 ) , not to mention enlargements and renovations of existing facilities . The school also opened the I . P . Stanback Museum & Planetarium , which is the only facility of its kind on a historically black university campus in the United States . After Dr . Nance ' s retirement in 1986 , Dr . Albert Smith assumed the office of the school ' s president and , among other achievements , created an honors college in 1988 . 1990 – 2002 . During the tenure of Dr . Smith , the school also gained university status from the South Carolina General Assembly , becoming South Carolina State University in February 1992 . In 1993 , Dr . Barbara Hatton became the school ' s first female president and created many improvements for the campus , such as the 1994 renovation of Oliver C . Dawson Bulldog Stadium , constructing new suites and a larger press box , as well as increasing its capacity to 22 , 000 . Hatton also spearheaded the creation of a plaza which resides in front of the Student Union and passes by several dorms and buildings in the central portion of the campus . Under SC State ' s next president , Dr . Leroy Davis , South Carolina State University celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1996 , and the school constructed a Fine Arts Center in 1999 , giving the Art and Music departments a new home . 2003 – present . Under the leadership of Dr . Andrew Hugine Jr . , the school constructed a new 771 - bed residence hall ( Hugine Suites ) , which is the largest dormitory in South Carolina . The first four buildings in Phase One opened on August 26 , 2006 , and the last two in the first phase opened on September 10 , 2006 . With the opening of the new dorms , SC State has closed the following dorms , Bethea ( freshmen male ) , Miller ( female ) , Bradham ( female ) , and Manning ( female ) Halls . Both Bradham and Manning Halls had been used since the World War I era , Miller Hall is being closed due to fire alarm system malfunctions , and Bethea is being closed after 50 years of service due to numerous building and health problems . Bethea Hall will be torn down to make way for a new $ 33 million complex for the School of Engineering . The dining halls , both Washington Dining Hall and " The Pitt " , located in the Student Union , received major facelifts , and the dining hall inside Truth Hall has been renovated into a cyber cafe , Pete ' s Arena . The university is also working to renovate Lowman Hall , which , when refurbished , will be the new administration building . South Carolina State recently broke ground on the new James E . Clyburn University Transportation Center ( UTC ) , which will be home to the only UTC in South Carolina , one of only three among Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs ) , and one of only 33 total UTCs in the nation . Currently work is being done to expand Hodge Hall . This science building will be gaining some much needed research and laboratory space . South Carolina State hosted the first debate of the 2008 Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Debate series . This event , which took place on April 26 , 2007 at the Martin Luther King Auditorium , was televised nationally on MSNBC . This debate made SC State the first Historically Black University to host a Presidential Candidate Debate on its campus . Hugine ' s contract was terminated by the SC State Board of Trustees on December 11 , 2007 , only four days before the Fall Commencement Exercises , by a telephone conference meeting . According to the Board , his reasons for dismissal were a performance review of Hugine for the 2006 – 2007 school year , and a second education review . Hugine is on administrative leave , and his last day as president was January 4 , 2008 . The Board decided to conduct a national search for a new president immediately . On December 13 , 2007 , the Board selected Dr . Leonard McIntyre , the Dean of the College of Education , Humanities and Social Sciences at SC State to serve as Interim President . Hugine is the fourth president to leave SC State since Nance retired in 1986 . Dr . George Cooper , formerly with the U . S . Department of Agriculture , assumed the presidency of S . C . State on July 16 , 2008 and was the tenth president to be at SCSU University . The SC State Board of Trustees voted to terminate Cooper ' s contract on June 15 , 2010 . John E . Smalls , senior vice president of finance , was appointed to lead the university in the interim . President Cooper was reinstated two weeks later after a change in board membership . His predecessor , Andrew Hugine , Jr . , who was also dismissed and sued the university , eventually accepting $ 60 , 000 to drop his suit for defamation and breach of contract . Mr . Hugine , now president of Alabama A & M University sought $ 1 - million from South Carolina State and $ 2 - million from the trustees who voted to oust him . Student life . Campus Activities Board ( CAB ) Student Government and Association ( SGA ) Student Media ( www . scstatemedia . com ) Athletics . South Carolina State is a charter member of the Mid - Eastern Athletic Conference ( MEAC ) and participates in NCAA Division I ( FCS for college football ) . The school sponsors basketball , bowling , golf , soccer , volleyball , softball , cross country , track , and tennis for women , and basketball , bowling , tennis , track , golf , cross country , and football for men . The athletic teams compete as the Bulldogs or Lady Bulldogs and the school colors are garnet and blue . The school ' s football team has won more conference championships than any other school in the MEAC , with wins in 1974 , 1975 ( shared title with North Carolina A & T ) , 1976 ( shared title with Morgan State University ) , 1977 , 1978 , 1980 , 1981 , 1982 ( shared title with Florida A & M ) , 1983 , 1994 , 2004 , when it shared the title with Hampton University , 2008 , 2009 , and 2010 ( shared title with Bethune - Cookman and Florida A & M ) . The team also has four Black College Football National Championship titles , with the most recent title won in 2009 . In 1994 , head coach Willie Jeffries led the team to a 10 – 2 record and defeated Grambling State University and coach Eddie Robinson in the Heritage Bowl by a score of 31 – 27 , which crowned South Carolina State the 1994 Black College Football National Champions . Greek letter organizations . The university currently has chapters for all nine of the National Pan - Hellenic Council organizations Other National Organizations include : Marching band . The university ' s marching band is known as the Marching 101 . The band are regular performers at football games throughout the southeast , and nationally televised professional football games . There are approximately 220 members ( 242 including drum majors , dancers , and color guard ) . The band was organized in 1918 as a " regimental band " performing military drills as well as assisting with music in the college Sunday school and other occasions . From 1924 on , a succession of band directors influenced the growth of the band as it became part of the Department of Music program . In 2011 and 2012 , the Marching 101 was voted to perform at the annual Honda Battle of the Bands held in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta , GA . ROTC . The university ' s ROTC program has commissioned over 1 , 900 officers to date and produced the highest number of minority officers in the country . Twelve graduates have achieved the rank of general .