The University of South Carolina has renamed the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management after a $5.24 million donation from the David and Nicole Tepper Foundation.
The department has been renamed to the David and Nicole Tepper Department of Sport and Entertainment Management. David Tepper is the owner of the Carolina Panthers NFL team, and Nicole Tepper is his wife.
USC President Michael Amiridis described the department as consistently one of the best in the nation. According to USC’s website for the department, it was ranked second in the United States by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy, an independent organization that ranks academic institutions and programs.
USC’s board of trustees unanimously accepted the donation and renaming at a meeting on Tuesday morning. Afterwards, an event was held in the Close-Hipp building to announce the donation and renaming.
David and Nicole Tepper have been involved with USC since 2020, when the couple launched the Tepper Scholars Program. The program provides four-year scholarships and hands-on experience opportunities to four first-year sport and entertainment management students each year, according to the program’s site.
USC alumna Maddi McLean said she was one of the first four sport and entertainment management students in the Tepper Scholars Program. She said the Teppers have been a glimmer of hope for her and others in the program.
“It's so much more than a monetary gift … (The Teppers) want to see all of the education continued further, and whether that's study abroad trips or new classes or more professors,” McLean said.
Seventy percent of the $5.24 million donation will be used to establish an endowment for the Tepper Scholars Program, Vice President for Development Michelle Dodenhoff said at the board of trustees meeting. The endowment will sustain the program in perpetuity, according to a USC news release.
The remaining 30% will be used to create the Tepper Professors of Practice, a program to support professors “focused on leadership and the business of professional sport,” according to the news release.
Nicole Tepper said they decided to make the donation because of the effort USC puts into success.
“We are proud parents of an alumni of the University of South Carolina,” Nicole Tepper said. “And what I can say for not only this department and school but for the university overall — they care.”
David Tepper said Nicole Tepper is the "quarterback" leading their foundation's support of the department.
Associate Dean of the Department of Sports Entertainment and Management Matthew Brown said sports entertainment and management students will see tuition benefits through the Tepper Scholars Program and more hands-on experience opportunities.
“Every semester, they'll meet with Nicole and David, or Nicole or David,” Brown said. “In the fall, we go up to them and see them at Bank of America Stadium (and) see behind-the-scenes (of) how a football game operates.”
Sports entertainment and management students will have the opportunity for professional experiences during the summer to learn what they want to pursue in their careers, Brown said .
“From a professor's standpoint, you can see the growth of the students and how quickly they mature compared to students that don't have some of those opportunities,” Brown said. “It's a really unique thing for the kids.”
The Carolina Panthers and USC
USC and the Carolina Panthers have not always had a strong relationship, unlike other South Carolina universities and colleges. In 1995, the then-Jerry-Richardson-owned Panthers sought a temporary stadium to play their inaugural season, while the team’s permanent stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, was under construction. Then-USC Athletic Director Mike McGee did not let the Panthers play at Williams-Brice Stadium, and the Panthers instead played at Clemson University’s Memorial Stadium.
Nicole Tepper said she was unaware of the disagreement. David Tepper said the Panthers' former owner, Richardson, had a special relationship with a different South Carolina university, but working with USC is a “natural fit.”
David Tepper did not name the other South Carolina university. Richardson attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where the Panthers held their summer training camp each year until 2023, according to Wofford College’s site.
David Tepper said he and Nicole Tepper have been involved in education around the United States, but USC’s Department of Sports Entertainment and Management is special.
“To be involved in the Carolinas is a big deal for us, particularly in a program that, like I said, melds sports and education together,” David Tepper said.